Chapter 25: Party

Friday came more quickly than Severus expected. He'd almost forgotten about the party, but Harry reminded him at lunch. He quietly passed him a note as they finished their food at the professor table.

Don't forget, tonight at 7.

Snape stared at the messy scrawl for a few minutes before he looked up to see the Gryffindor practically quivering with excitement. He was too nervous to be excited. A party. With all of the Weasleys. No doubt Granger will be there too. His heart pounded as he discreetly took Harry's hand and gave it a squeeze.

The rest of the day flew by and before Snape knew it, he was staring into his mirror. A slim, muscular man in boxers stared back with a nervous frown. He sighed and ran his hand through his greasy hair as Harry walked up behind him. He was wearing a tight, maroon dress shirt with black pants. "How do I look?"

"Brilliant. What about me?" Severus asked as he gestured to himself.

"Perfect, as always. But you might want to wear a bit more, it's a little chilly out. Y'know with it being winter and all," he replied with a smirk.

"Hmmm." He headed to his closet and pulled out a black shirt and pants. Once he had that on, he riffled through a drawer.

"What else could you need?" He asked as he marveled at how attractive the potion master was in nice clothes. Not that his robes aren't sexy, Harry thought.

"I guess nothing," he replied as he tucked his necklace beneath the black fabric. "Where is this get-together?"

When he handed him the address and Severus nodded and prepared to apparate. "Wait!" Harry yelled and the potion master gave him a quizzical look. "I'll be right back!" He ran to his room, downed a potion and returned to the man's side.

"What was that for?"

"Remember what happened last time?"

Snape nodded.

"I drank a potion so it wouldn't happen again. Now come on, we're gonna be late!" He said and looped his arm around Severus's.

They appeared in front of an old mansion. "This belonged to an old wizard who hadn't a family or any close friends. When he died, the ministry tried to sell the place to anyone who could afford it. No one did and eventually they converted the first floor and basement to… well you'll see," Snape told Harry.

The younger man nodded distractedly as he smoothed his shirt. He was chewing on his lip and staring through the windows.

He's nervous, the potion master realized. "If you don't want to go with me, I can leave," he said softly.

"No, I want you with me. I just haven't seen them in a long time and—" The door opened revealing a very cheerful Mrs. Weasley wearing bright red robes.

"Harry!" She exclaimed as she wrapped him in a hug. "It's been to long! Oh and who is your date?"

Severus stepped into the beam of light spilling from the door. "Molly," he said lightly.

"Severus!" A look of confusion and shock crossed her face for a split second before it was replaced by a smile as she gestured for them to come in.

Harry took his hand gently as they crossed the threshold into the elaborately decorated building. Just in front of them was a giant Christmas tree adorned with exquisite ornaments from around the world. To the left someone was playing a black grand piano as people sang muggle Christmas carols. Children tromped up the spiral staircase in the middle of the first floor. It was a completely open floor-plan with a few couches and pieces of furniture scattered around the walls. In the back right corner, a counter separated a wall of kitchen appliances from the rest of the area. Harry heard his name called to his right and turned to see Ron and Hermione running to him. They hugged him tightly as she asked him millions of questions. She was silenced, however, when she noticed Snape standing awkwardly an arm's length away. Before either of them could ask, Harry spoke. "Severus is my date this evening." His tone was pleasant with a hint of authority.

"Professor," Hermione said as she offered her hand.

"Please, call me Severus," he replied and shook hands.

Ron stared open-mouthed until she elbowed him. "Er, Hi."

Someone called the ginger's name and he took off without another word, thankful for the interruption.

Fred and George came over as Hermione opened her mouth. "Heya Harry!"

"How's everything?"

"Hey. I'm great. How are you both?"

"We're alright. Thankfully it's not a full moon," George said as he elbowed his twin.

"Yeah, Remus and I actually get to come to an event, finally," he replied smirking.

"Hermione, don't let us keep you from talking to Harry!"

She shot them a bemused smile as they made their way over to the piano. "So anyway, Harry, I was going to say…"

Severus watched the interaction with a forced smile. Everything seemed too stressful as he looked around the room, searching for anyone to stand near. He knew a lot of the people there, but they didn't exactly like him, save for Harry. But the one who invited him was busy talking to the Weasleys and his old classmates. He decided to stalk to one of the couches on the outer wall to stay out of the way. People sporadically casted him odd glances and strange looks before returning to their conversations. I shouldn't be here, he thought bitterly. No one wants me here anyway. He stared across the room at Harry and his heart fluttered. The Gryffindor was laughing and talking to Charlie and Fred. He longed to know what they were saying so he could see the sheer joy on Potter's face again. Snape glanced around the room for the tenth time, making sure there was no danger. Once a spy, always a spy, he sighed.

Harry had been talking to more people than he could count when he realized Snape was no longer beside him. He scanned the room and quickly found him sitting alone on a couch. An excuse easily flew from his lips as he left the conversation and made his way over to the uncomfortable-looking potion master. "Hey, you doing okay?" He asked cautiously as he sat on the old leather couch.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, guilty he took the Gryffindor from his fun.

"You know, you could come stand by me and talk to people."

"They don't want me here. Let's face it, I've probably taught more than half the witches and wizards in this room. And I'm a greasy git."

"Sev, it's okay to be nervous. C'mon. let's go get some punch and talk to Remus."

He nodded and pulled himself off the sofa. A warm, soft hand wrapped around his and gently pulled him to a table with a large, glass punch bowl. Severus filled two glasses and handed one to Harry. The young man thanked him and sipped his drink as they walked over to Lupin.

"Remus!" Harry greeted cheerfully.

"Harry!" He said as he shook his hand.

"You know Severus. He's my guest this evening," he said as Sev extended a hand to Lupin. They shook with forced smiles.

"How have you been?" Harry inquired.

"I've been well. Having Fred around has definitely improved full moons…" Severus absentmindedly put an arm around Harry as he half-listened to the werewolf talk.

They stayed at the party for a total of five hours. Severus ended up drifting to the wall once more, but he didn't mind as much. It gave him an opportunity to see Harry smile and enjoy some much needed interaction with his friends. He spoke with a few people who passed by but they didn't say anything note-worthy. Eventually, Harry came back over to him looking exhausted and they left.

As soon as they were back in Sev's chambers on the couch, Harry had a guilty look. "What did you do?" Severus asked.

"I might have told a few people that we're having a party…"

Snape pulled Harry into his lap as he laughed. "I'm glad I came with you," he said, changing the subject.

"Really? I was worried. It didn't look like you were having fun."

"I enjoyed spending time with you," he replied softly as he ran his hands through the raven hair. Harry smiled sleepily up at him and curled into his chest.

"Thanks for coming. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you. I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't."

Harry pulled himself up to look Severus in the eyes. He leaned in and pressed his lips to his, gently, lovingly.

Severus returned the kiss, equally as gently. He felt Harry's hands around his back, pulling him closer and weaving his fingers into his hair. A growl hummed in his throat as the Gryffindor pulled back and smiled.

"I love you," he whispered and Snape's heart hammered against his ribs, trying to slither up his throat.

"I love you too," he replied as he stared into the emerald eyes and caressed his cheek.

Harry nuzzled into the potion master's strong, sold chest and listened to his heartbeat until he fell asleep.

A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews, you guys give me the motivation I need to keep writing. Love you! Thanks again for reading!