51: (December, a week later)

Severus sat down on the couch and Harry immediately wormed his feet under Severus' thighs.

"Harry!" Severus admonished, but Harry didn't even need to look up from his book to know the other man was smiling. In fact, Harry didn't think Severus had stopped smiling in the past week.

"It's cold in here. After living in the dungeons for so long, I'd think you'd want to bask in some warmth."

"After living in the lion's den for so long, I'd think you'd want to stop sweating," Severus shot back. "You really should change anyway."

Harry gasped and looked up from his book. "I thought you liked who I was! Why would I-"

"You know very well that I'm talking about your clothes. Draco and his wife should be here any minute."

"That's odd," Harry commented as he rose, "I thought we were having Hermione and her husband over tonight."

Severus smiled at Harry's choice of words. Harry hadn't moved in - had, in fact, told Severus a kind "No thank you" followed by a "No, stop asking" and finally a "No, bugger off" when Severus had brought it up this week. For now, Severus would have to content himself with Harry just keeping a drawer here. Harry still lived in the hospital wing for now, but was planning on moving back to Grimmauld Place as soon as he was cleared by his therapist.

That was something else that was new. Though Severus had grown to not loath the Mind Healer while he stayed at Hogwarts, Harry still had never found her useful. Instead, Harry had taken what Severus had said about blaming himself for things he couldn't control to heart. The first morning they'd woken up together, Harry had called around and found a Muggle therapy centre that was open. He'd met a kind old man who was a squib and made an appointment.

He didn't have a diagnosis yet, but he'd learned temper tantrums like he had when he destroyed things could be a symptom of an anxiety disorder, and his self-deprecation and intermittent catatonia might be a sign of depression or suppressed memories and emotions. It wasn't going to be an easy road, but Harry was finally getting some semblance of a road map in his frequent appointments. He and Severus had both agreed they have no more self-deprecating jokes, and while Harry had been without gloves a few times in the previous week, he still preferred to either wear them or avoid touching anything.

It was a start. It was their start.


A/N: Remember my last A/N when I said I hoped it wouldn't be another year and a half? Yeah, well, whoops!