A/N: I'm sorry for the late update! I completely forgot yesterday was Tuesday lmao please don't get mad at me

To get a Potions Mastery, one could stay studying local plants to discover new properties or travel abroad to collect and study new specimens, bringing new knowledge to the country.

That was why Harry and Severus travelled together to Brazil and stayed several months in the Amazon Forest. They stayed at a hotel in the middle of the forest; it was very expensive, but it gave them easy access to the land. The heat was excessive and the mosquitoes could transmit diseases, but nothing that a few charms couldn't keep at bay.

Each day, they chose a new direction to walk. Severus then would teach him how to identify the plants, how to distinguish a harmful herb from a safe one, and how to collect both. They eventually stumbled on some things Severus had never seen before, and then he would teach Harry how to discover potential uses for them.

One day they walked for hours on end and eventually found a river.

"Rio Negro," Severus said, and Harry looked at him dumbfounded. "Dark River," he translated with an eye roll.

It was an appropriate name, Harry thought. The river was pitch black and it was incredibly large; he could see just a small portion of land on the horizon. It was an impressive sight.

"Why is it black?"

"Humus decomposition," Severus answered and Harry nodded mutely. He had completely forgotten what hummus was.

At night, they would fuck. A silencing charm made sure they wouldn't be interrupted, and Severus would drag him from one orgasm to another until they could barely stay awake. Sometimes, Severus would make fun of Harry for stupid things, like being jealous of Regulus Black.

He was told that Regulus was straight as an arrow and he shouldn't worry, but the man was bloody handsome! Severus hated when Harry referred to another man as handsome, but it was the only way to retribute the teasing.

Harry had never been so happy, and six months had never passed by so fast.

Severus had taken a sabbatical year from Hogwarts to be his Master, but they couldn't spend the whole year abroad. Harry still had to go back, organize the information about the new plants into publishable articles and present the new discoveries to the potioneers community. Then he had to wait for other potioneers to confirm his discoveries and then finally get his Mastery.

It was insane work, and Harry wanted to finish everything before Severus had to go back to Hogwarts, which meant many sleepless nights, copious amounts of coffee and a few mental breakdowns.

He had to drink a Dreamless Sleep potion the night before the presentation and he could barely eat. Not even Severus' steady presence mitigated the worry. When he finally received the news that his work was accepted and he was now a Potions Master, Harry cried for fifteen minutes straight.

It wasn't a surprise that, with all the emotional turmoil of his life, he had forgotten completely to mention to his family he was dating Severus. (They had finally talked about it. They were boyfriends, although Severus preferred the term partner.)

Harry didn't want to go to a fancy place to celebrate; he just wanted to get out of the laboratory a bit and breathe some fresh air. They eventually ended up at Florean Fortescue to get some ice cream, and they sat together on the tables outside of the shop.

"Harry?" a voice called to him, and he turned his head in the direction of the sound.

His father was standing in the middle of the street, jaw hanging open in shock. Sirius was right beside him, his grey eyes morphing from shock to rage in seconds.

Harry noticed he was still holding Severus' hand, but he refused to let go. "Morning, James."

James' face turned into a weird shade of purple.

"What are you doing here? Are you trying to drag your family's name on the mud by being seen with him?"

"I was not aware that I'm still part of your family, as you clearly stated that you had no son," Harry answered coldly. That memory hurt like a blazing knife within his mind, but he didn't give James the satisfaction of knowing that.

It was difficult, though. James seemed positively enraged, and when Harry compared that with the loving and affectionate father he had lived with, he saw no similarity. It was like he was facing a stranger.

"I wasn't aware that you were such a slut that you'd fuck someone twenty years older than you," his father said to his face, and Harry felt his composure slipping.

Severus got up from the chair, pointing his wand at James' chest. His face was contorted in a sneer of hate and disgust. "I suggest you leave, Potter."

James laughed at his face. "Or what, Snivellus? Are you going to stay put while I use your own spells against you and then call my wife a mudblood again?"

Harry's head was spinning. He felt frozen in place, incapable of reacting. The people he loved the most in the world were staring at each other with hatred. What would he do? What could he do? He felt his hands shaking and knew he couldn't cast any spells like that.

Sirius walked forwards, pointing his own wand at Severus.

"James, you shouldn't blame Harry. I'm certain it's all Snivellus' fault. He's Imperiused him or something."

"Or a love potion," James said, also withdrawing his wand. "Tell me, Snivellus, how long have you been planning to steal my son from me? How long have you been working on transforming him into a ridiculous fag like you?"

"Can't you see you're hurting your son?!" Severus yelled, voice trembling with fury.

James' eyes flickered to Harry briefly.

"All he ever wanted was for you to accept him and love him unconditionally, the bare minimum a father could do, but you're so bloody selfish that it was impossible. No wonder he waited so long to tell you the truth, and no wonder he never told you we are in love." Severus said the last word with a smirk and prepared himself for the strike. He could see the anger building in James and Sirius, the recklessness making them act without thinking. He was ready to throw them off their feet.

But he wasn't ready to see Harry leaping in front of him, arms stretched to receive the two spells directly on the chest, protecting Severus from the blow. His lover fell to the ground, eyes vacant, and Severus exploded.