The flames were just beginning to die down and a Mediwitch-in-training, perhaps a year or two older than his eldest son, had already spotted Harry. Before she could blurt out his name and draw the attention of numerous harried-looking visitors flowing to and from the public Floo area of St. Mungo's, Harry put a finger to his lips, signalling her to remain quiet. Holding in her intended greeting earned her a grateful smile and a hushed "I'm surprising someone".
"Anyone I can help you find, Mr. Potter?" she offered.
"No, thank you. I know the way."
With a parting "Have a wonderful day, Sir" from the witch, Harry exited the Floo room for the slightly-less-bustling hallway.
He joined a group of people who were making their way to the lifts and, after tapping on the shoulder of a man who appeared to be suffering from uncontrollable giggling so he could get by, departed the lift on the second floor.
He'd just reached the end of a long hallway and was turning the corner when he spotted his husband. Severus was standing next to the Healer station, handing over a rack of potions and speaking to a Healer in lime green robes. The Healer, who looked vaguely familiar to Harry, walked away and Harry was about to make his way to the Potions Master when another man appeared at the other end of the hallway.
He was wearing cobalt robes and carrying a broom and as the man walked past the counter, Severus turned to watch him as he passed by and entered the second-to-last room on the right.
It felt like a hole had been punched in his chest.
Harry began to back up, deciding it might be better to go back to their quarters and wait for Severus to come back home when the man turned and saw him.
A flash of surprise followed by the briefest flicker of dismay showed on Severus' face though it was gone the next second. Severus was by his side in three quick strides and Harry automatically lifted his head for a quick kiss while his mind was still on the scene he had just witnessed. He forced himself to focus on the present moment by promising himself he could think about what he'd seen when he was alone later.
"Is everything alright?" Severus asked, concerned. "I thought you would still be in Diagon with Hermione."
"Everything's fine. Hermione just got called back to the Ministry halfway through our lunch. Since I got done early I thought I'd surprise you."
"I love your surprises and while this is a very pleasant surprise, I'm afraid Healer Marchbanks just told me they need three more batches by tomorrow morning. I need to brew for a few hours but I should be done by this evening."
"I could help you. We haven't brewed together in ages."
"Thank you for offering but it will be quicker if I work alone. If you are there with me, I'm likely to become...distracted."
"Oh, okay," Harry murmured, disappointed.
Brushing an errant strand of hair from Harry's forehead, Severus suggested, "Why don't you finish the last of those Seventh year essays you mentioned last night? Then you won't have any marking to do over the weekend and perhaps we can do something."
"Sure. I'll just go now then and I'll see you at home later, yeah?"
"Yes, of course. There are just a few things I need to pick up and then I'll be in my lab the rest of the day."
With a brief peck goodbye Harry turned, made his way out of St. Mungo's and Apparated directly to the gates of Hogwarts. He was glad he didn't see anyone on his way to their rooms as he wasn't in the mood to interact with any students or fellow professors.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Harry strode over to the hearthrug and paced a few times between the two overstuffed chairs bookending their walnut coffee table before collapsing down onto the couch.
It was true that he did still have a pile of essays he needed to mark but he'd already decided on the way back to the castle to put it off until the next day. He would use his free period, which coincided with Severus' last class and a time he usually used for flying around the pitch on Fridays, to finish those essays so he could have his weekend free like Severus said.
Severus.
His husband of twenty-two years. Father of Harry's three children.
Severus.
Taking a deep breath, Harry held it in for ten seconds and then slowly released it. He would think about this logically.
It was only a glance, Harry told himself. He just noticed an attractive man for a second, perfectly understandable, Harry reasoned.
Not just any attractive man, an inner voice argued.
Even though Harry had only caught a momentary glimpse of the man, he recognised him. The man had been Henry Richardson, author of the Defence Against The Arts textbook Harry used for his classes. So not only an attractive man, but an intelligent one as well.
Harry knew a stray glance at a passing man meant nothing on its own. But added to the signs he'd been noticing lately, perhaps it was time to take a closer look at his marriage. He and Severus had been married twenty-two years. During that time, they had frequent dates and a fulfilling sex life. But...but Harry had begun noticing in the last year or so that the time they spent alone together was slowly disappearing.
At first it was postponed dinners so Severus could talk to their oldest son Brian about his Mastery program, helping him work through problems whenever he was stuck on something. Then there were the late evenings spent on the Quidditch pitch after Lucy asked Harry to help her get ready for Quidditch tryouts taking the place of several of Harry and Severus' monthly trips to the theatre or cinema in London. The last time they went out of an evening, just the two of them, was over two months prior. Since their last romantic outing, they had attended one birthday party-Rose-and the customary Sunday dinners at the Burrow. Of course, Harry understood. Their family came first, but Harrydid miss spending quality time with just his husband.
And it wasn't only the amount of time they had to spend together. It was what filled the time they spent together. When they had an evening together away from their children and students-rare for two Heads of House-they were usually spent in front of the fire with a pile of parchments and a glass of whiskey each, and most of their conversation consisted of sharing a particularly insightful or truly horrendous answer from a homework assignment.
Maybe Severus was craving intellectual stimulation. Maybe that was why that particular man had caught his husband's attention.
Severus was a genius. Not just with potions, but with spell creation and Defence Against the Dark Arts. He had already started creating his own spells when he'd been a student at Hogwarts. And Severus had been a co-author of the Defence textbook Harry had started but never finished.
~~~~~
After the war, when Harry was 19 and contemplating what to do with his life, he thought about what he enjoyed that he might turn into a career. He was a fair flier and had received offers from several Quidditch teams, but after defeating a Dark Lord Harry didn't want to pick something frivolous for his profession, especially since he had a feeling most teams just wanted to be able to say they had the Boy Who Lived as their Seeker.
Even before he returned to Hogwarts for his Eighth year, he knew that he didn't want to be an Auror. After battling Voldemort throughout his adolescence, he didn't want to spend the rest of his life apprehending common criminals and filling out paperwork for the Ministry.
By mid-November he was frequently recalling his time teaching the DA during his Fifth year. It was something he seemed to have a knack for and teaching would be meaningful. But even after he earned his Mastery, which required an additional two years beyond the NEWTS, he would be teaching the students here at Hogwarts. He would love the chance to share his knowledge even more, reach people who had left Hogwarts but still had more to learn about Defence Against The Dark Arts. That's when he first started thinking about writing his own Defence textbook.
When he decided writing a Defence textbook seemed like a realistic idea and not just a fantasy, Harry brought it up to Ron and Hermione first. They both thought it was a fantastic idea. Hermione also pointed out Harry's time leading Dumbledore's Army their fifth year and suggested incorporating some of the advanced defensive theory and historical examples he would learn while studying for his Mastery. Ron said his personal experience and conversational tone would make a brilliant textbook, unique and interesting, that people would love to read.
After he revealed his idea to Ron and Hermione and they encouraged him, he decided he was ready to share his plan with Severus. When Harry told Severus about his aspiration to become a textbook author, he mentioned that he wanted to focus on studying for his NEWTS before starting on the book. Severus said he thought it was an excellent idea and even offered his assistance. Harry was thrilled. He tentatively suggested making it a joint project and Severus accepted.
Although Harry said he was going to wait on starting the textbook until he finished his NEWTS, he was too excited to wait for long, which is why the second day of winter hols found Harry curled up on the sofa in Severus' rooms buried in library books and notes he had made during his time with the DA.
Harry wasn't the only one eager to start on their project. While putting aside one book in favor of the next, he glanced across at Severus and saw that the older man was engrossed in "Confronting The Faceless", presumably reviewing the notes he'd made in the margins, a worn copy of "The Essential Defence Against The Dark Arts" by Arsenius Jigger on the side table, waiting to be perused.
Taking the Muggle pen he was absently chewing out of his mouth, Harry began tapping it against the bound notebook he was using to record his ideas for the book.
"Hey, Sev?"
Severus gave a distracted hum.
"Maybe we could format the book where some of the information is presented to look like handwritten notes that have been added on, like you do for your books."
Running his thumb along his upper lip while he considered it, Severus replied, "Yes, that is a clever concept. I think presenting the content that way will appeal to the average person."
Harry and Severus continued conducting their initial research throughout the rest of the holiday break, but once the rest of the students returned to the castle, Harry shifted most of his focus back to homework and getting ready for the NEWTS.
Six months later, he had graduated Hogwarts, having earned five NEWTS.
After his graduation, he had two months before he continued his education. During that time, he and Severus really made progress, both professionally and personally. By the start of Harry's schooling, they had completed an outline and started their first rough draft. The day before Harry's birthday he arrived at Severus' quarters, lit only by three wall sconces and the candles on the table, to find Severus had made his favourite-shepherd's pie-and the man himself sitting at the table, waiting for him.
That was the night Severus proposed to him.
By the time they left Harry's birthday party at the Burrow the following night, their wedding date had been set: April 10.
In the midst of working to complete their first rough draft and wedding planning-helped by Molly, Arthur, Bill, and Hermione-Harry began his Mastery program. And as he worked towards his Mastery, they decided to hold off on finishing their book so they could incorporate more of what Harry was learning.
Ten months after Harry finished Hogwarts, he and Severus were married on the grounds of the castle, surrounded by their family and close friends. Then in September they discovered Harry was two months along with their first child. Five days after the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary, their son Brian Severus Potter-Snape was born.
Two months later, Harry was officially a Defence Master. The young father had a final meeting with Remus Lupin the week after term had ended for Hogwarts and Brian's honorary uncle passed on the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor as they had arranged almost three years earlier.
Harry had some time to adjust to being a parent before he began teaching, but between his duties as a father, husband, and professor, he and Severus both agreed the best thing for them at that moment was to shelve their textbook and return to it later so their mostly-completed manuscript joined Harry's old textbooks and assorted school mementos in his Hogwarts trunk.
~~~~~
Shaking himself from reminiscing about the past, Harry was shocked to see that two hours had passed since he'd gotten home and Severus would be back in less than an hour.
Sparing a few more minutes for his thoughts, Harry decided to dig up their old manuscript and see about getting it published after he made some additions and edits. On his way to their kitchen, he lugged his trunk out from the back of their closet, grabbed the bound pages from the top, and transferred them to the bottom drawer of his desk.
Then he spent the remaining time before Severus returned making the Potions Master's favourite dinner. The food was just finished and Harry was setting down the second plate when Severus walked in.
"A second surprise in one day." Severus strolled over and bussed Harry's cheek. "This looks wonderful. Will it keep for five minutes so I can have a quick shower and change?"
When Harry answered in the affirmative, Severus disappeared into their bedroom. While Severus was scrubbing off the last few hours spent standing over a cauldron, Harry poured them both some wine and sat down at the table.
Severus emerged five minutes later, dropping a kiss to the top of Harry's head on the way to his seat. After Severus complimented Harry on the food, they spent dinner chatting idly about their day and their plans for the weekend. It was a Hogsmeade weekend but luckily neither man had chaperone duty this time.
Their daughter Lucy would be spending the afternoon in the village with her friends, stopping by their quarters after to see her oldest brother Brian, who would be spending the day with Severus and Harry. Lucas, a Seventh year and the middle Potter-Snape child, would also go to Hogsmeade before joining his family in his parent's rooms. It had been months since all five of them had been together and both men were looking forward to it. They spent a quiet couple of hours in their sitting room, Harry glancing furtively at his husband every fifteen minutes, before they retired to bed.
The following day, Friday, passed quickly and Harry did indeed get all his marking done during his free period, leaving his weekend clear of professorial duty.
The Saturday visit with all three of their children was lovely. Brian shared stories about his fellow Mastery candidates, Lucas regaled them with tales his uncle Ron had told him when the teenager'd told his family he was planning to join the Auror program after he graduated from Hogwarts, and Lucy enthused about a Charms project she was working on with her friend Natalie.
Harry felt better after seeing his kids and looked over the Defence manuscript for the first time in two decades late Monday afternoon while Severus was taking care of some House business.
With the advancements that had been made in the Defence discipline since the book was first written, there were quite a few edits that needed to be made. Harry thought two chapters could be cut, he had material for what he thought could make three new chapters, and he would need to make a handful of other edits, but he expected he'd be able to get it all done within the week. When he was satisfied with all the changes he had made, then he would tell Severus what he was doing and propose submitting it to a publisher after his husband was able to complete his own review and make his own edits.
Fortunately Harry had a light workload that week and was able to wrap up his work on the Defence text by Thursday evening.
He had just finished going through the changes he'd made when his daughter stopped by his office ten minutes before his office hours were over.
"Luce! What brings you by?" he asked his little Gryffindor.
"Actually, dad, maybe I can do something for you!
"Yeah? What's that?"
Instead of answering directly, she asked, "Are you alright? You were a bit off last weekend."
"Yes, I'm fine." Harry gave a crooked grin. "What makes you think anything's off?"
"You were quieter than usual. And you didn't mention your plans for tomorrow."
"My plans for tomorrow..." Harry began.
"Yeah. You and papa usually tell us where you're going for your anniversary. You haven't said anything yet this year."
One second of silence passed, two, while Harry scrambled for something to say. "Because it's a surprise this year, love. I'll tell you about it on Saturday."
With a knowing glance and an "okay dad. Tell papa I said hi", his daughter departed.
Covering his face with his hands, Harry breathed out a whispered "Fuck". In his preoccupation, he had completely forgotten his and Sev's anniversary was the next day. Thankfully, he was an early shopper. He already had Severus' gifts tucked away in his dresser, having bought them in March. A new wand holster because Harry had noticed Severus' current one was getting worn when Severus had assisted with a duelling demonstration for Harry's Fourth year class. The latest book in a Muggle series that Severus vehemently denied being hooked on-Harry was lucky Severus hadn't had time to buy it for himself.
But it was the last one that was the main present. With the help of Bill and Charlie, Harry had been able to source quite a few potions ingredients and now had a case full of exotic ingredients Severus couldn't usually procure.
So at least he had Severus' present taken care of. But in his preoccupation, he hadn't planned anything else for their anniversary. But...Severus hadn't mentioned any plans either. They usually discussed what they were going to do at least a week in advance. Should Harry be worried that his husband hadn't brought up their anniversary?
Speaking of worry, Harry realized he should get back before Severus started worrying about him.If he even still cares enough to worry about me, Harry couldn't help but think.
Taking a moment to make sure he had everything he needed, Harry returned to their rooms.
He found Severus in his armchair, a cup of tea at his elbow. His husband inquired about his office hours while Harry put his things away at his desk. When he had put his quill back in its well, he joined Severus, seating himself in the armchair across from him.
"I was wondering if you had any plans for tomorrow." When Harry gave a tiny shake of his head, Severus continued, "I thought perhaps we could stay in. I can make us dinner."
Half an hour ago, Harry would have wondered if Severus was going to tell him he had been feeling dissatisfied as of late, maybe even bring up the possibility of divorce. But even if that were something Severus was considering, Harry figured he wouldn't do it on their anniversary so he said, "Yes. that sounds wonderful."
As he ran his fingers along his sleeping husband's collarbone and down his arm that night in bed, Harry decided to tell Severus about their book during dinner the next evening. He hoped evidence of his renewed intellectual interests would be enough to keep his husband. Then after addressing Severus' need for intellectual stimulation, he could work on adding some spontaneity and excitement back into their life together, which probably seemed unbearably monotonous to a man who had lived the kind of life Severus had. With his plan in place, Harry curled up against his husband and drifted off.
Harry woke earlier than usual Friday morning and, being careful to not wake his husband, crept out of bed and into their kitchen. As Severus was making dinner that evening, Harry would make Severus breakfast in bed.
Secure behind a Silencing charm, Harry proceeded to produce a stack of waffles, eggs-scrambled for Severus, over easy for himself-and a pIate of fruit. Harry put it all on a tray that already held syrup, napkins, and utensils, added two cups of coffee-a cauldron mug with bubbles rising up the sides every ten minutes for Severus, bashfully given to the man on Father's day from Brian when their son was three, and a forest green mug with a griffin that flew around and mantled its feathers for Harry, a birthday gift from five year old Lucas-and levitated the tray to their bedroom.
Harry sat back down on the bed, pillows piled behind him. He guided the tray down in front of him and turned his attention to waking his husband. Peppering Severus' face with kisses, Harry had just reached the bridge of the older man's nose when he woke. While the man stretched, Harry performed a quick mouth-freshening charm on them both. When Severus had joined Harry back against the headboard, the younger man told him "Happy anniversary" and received the same greeting from his husband.
He leaned forward and gave the man a lingering kiss. Once the kiss broke, he rested his forehead against the other man's for a moment before pulling back and moving the tray up to them.
Having handed Severus his coffee, Harry deposited one waffle on each plate, placing the one with scrambled eggs in front of Severus and keeping the one with over easy eggs for himself.
They had an indulgent time having breakfast in bed, with time for another waffle before they needed to get up and get ready for the day. With one last kiss in front of their door, Harry and Severus parted ways for their respective classrooms.
The morning passed in a flurry of practice duels for his NEWT-level classes and Severus was already at the Head table when Harry slid into the chair beside him. They caught each other up on their morning classes while eating and once again parted ways at the door. When Harry walked back into his classroom, he found a slim vase with a bunch of variegated and red tulips waiting for him on his desk.
His afternoon was even more hectic than his morning. There was a mishap between two of his Fourth year Hufflepuffs that resulted in a month's detention for both students, and a discussion with them after class, but Harry hurried through the halls and made it back to their quarters at his usual time.
Taking a deep breath with his hand on the doorknob, Harry paused for a moment so he wouldn't appear winded and then opened the door.
He entered to the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows, soft strains of piano music coming from the record player in the corner. Their table was set for two, red roses sitting in the middle surrounded by dishes. Champagne was chilling in a bucket at one end of the table and Severus was carrying their main course to the table, placing it in the center near the roses. He pulled out a chair for Harry and said "Welcome home" as he sat. Severus took the chair next to him and they busied themselves serving themselves salad.
Spearing a tomato on his fork, Harry commented, "This all looks delicious, Severus. And thank you for the tulips."
"Thank you, Harry. And you're welcome. I wanted to brighten your day between idiotic students."
"You did brighten my day. But I know you don't really think the students are idiots. Though I did have a problem with Smith and Summers in my last class. An argument about Quidditch, I assigned them both a month with Argus, but if it happens again, I'll send them to you."
"I'll keep an eye on them in my class as well."
From there the conversation moved on to upcoming films they could watch the following weekend. While discussing the merits of the latest superhero movie versus the latest science fiction movie, they finished their salads and Severus removed the cover from the largest pan.
"Sev! You made Shepherd's pie."
"Of course. It's your favourite." Severus served Harry a piece before getting some for himself while Harry reached for the champagne.
When they both had a glass, they toasted with "Happy anniversary" and turned back to their food.
"Oh, so I found our old manuscript for that Defence textbook when I was clearing out some stuff. Made some changes to it this week. Maybe you could take a look at it and we can finally get it published."
"I haven't thought about that book in years. Yes, I'll go over it on Sunday. Quite a bit of it should need only minor edits, if any, but other sections are well out of date at this point."
"I know. When I reviewed it, I got rid of two chapters, added three new chapters, and made a few other tweaks. Let me know if you like the new stuff after you read it."
"That's an impressive amount of work. How long have you been working on this?"
"Oh, uh, I started on Monday. It only took a few days."
With an impressed huff, Severus smiled and said, "I look forward to seeing what you've added. You'll have a new text to assign by the time Lucy starts her OWL year."
"Yeah, I suppose so. I hope the students like it. At least I won't be like Lockhart, quizzing students on my favourite colour."
Severus snorted. "There's no chance of you being like that twit Lockhart. And your students will love it. They'll be getting a first-hand account from the Man Who Defeated Voldemort himself of some things they've only heard Binns drone on about in History of Magic.
Harry beamed and moved their conversation to Fred and George's latest product, of which he'd confiscated five already that week.
Once they were done eating, they carried their dishes back to the kitchen and cleaned together before returning to the table for dessert: Treacle tart.
"Thank you Severus. This was wonderful." Harry said, scooping up the last spoonful.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for this morning."
"Of course, Sev."
They returned to the kitchen one last time to make tea and retired to the couch in their living room.
They had been nursing their tea in easy silence for several minutes when Harry set his cup aside, stretched, and with an "I'II be right back" to Severus headed to their bedroom to retrieve Severus' gift.
Severus also appeared to just be returning to the room when Harry got back, nudging something out of view as Harry passed between the chair and sofa on his way back to his seat.
Depositing the bag he was carrying onto the low table in front of them, Harry declared, "Here, you go first."
"Very well." Severus slid forward, his knee touching Harry's as he settled on the edge of the cushion.
Reaching into the midnight blue gift bag, Severus pulled out the wand holster first. "Ah, excellent. I'd been planning to stop by Dervish and Banges for a new one next time I had Hogsmeade duty."
The Muggle novel came next.
"Thank you, Harry. Now I can find out what happened with...I mean this will be very useful for Monday, I'm overseeing detention with Travers and Finch-Fletchley.
"Yes, of course, Monday evening detention material," Harry, agreed, though by the way Severus' hand stroked the cover, he knew his husband would read it before then.
With a clearing of his throat, Severus turned his attention to the last item in the bag. Holding the case he found with one hand, Severus moved the bag to the floor and put the case in its spot on the table.
Lifting the latch, Severus opened the lid and breathed in sharply. "Oh, Harry, this is exquisite. How did you acquire the Horntail scales? They are highly regulated.''
"Charlie was able to get it for me. Actually, he and Bill sourced most of the ingredients for me."
Reverently closing the lid and giving it one last caress, Severus gave Harry a brief but deep kiss and retrieved Harry's present from where he'd pushed it. Placing the long rectangular package, wrapped in navy blue paper, on the table next to his new case, Severus said, "Your turn."
Harry removed the paper and opened the box to reveal a broomstick.
"Severus, this is the Peregrine 242. This is what the Falmouth Falcon players ride."
"Indeed," Severus intoned. "I know you love that decrepit old Firebolt because Sirius gave it to you and you keep insisting it's fine because you're not a professional player and only care that you can still keep up with Lucy. But I thought it would be better for you to receive it as a gift instead of buying a new broom for yourself." Harry nodded and Severus continued, "And when I saw some man carrying one at St. Mungo's, I figured it was finally time for you to have a new broom."
Harry froze abruptly. Some man. Had he heard that correctly? He needed to make sure.
"Some man at St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.
"Hmm...oh yes, someone at St. Mungo's had one. Probably bringing it for his child."
Henry Richardson didn't have any children. It was more likely that he had brought it for a niece or nephew. Severus had been looking at the broom, not the man. He really did meansome man.Those words were the greatest gift Harry could receive. With those words, he realised he had misunderstood. Perhaps Severus was tiring of their routine domestic life, but he wasn't looking at anyone else.
Running two fingers along the shaft of the broom, Harry admired the craftsmanship before turning from the broom back to Severus.
Looping a hand behind Severus' neck, Harry pulled his husband forward into a hungry kiss. As Severus gave a surprised moan, Harry climbed into the taller man's lap.
"I take it-you-like-your gift-then?" Severus asked between kisses.
"I love it," Harry said. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Harry."
Severus ran his hands up and down Harry's thighs, pressed teasingly against the bulge of Harry's hard cock, and up around his back, his long fingers splayed over Harry's spine.
"Tease," Harry gasped, rocking his hips forward.
"Never." Severus rumbled.
"Prove it," Harry challenged.
In response, Severus slid his hands under Harry's arse and stood up, Harry's legs automatically wrapping around his waist.
Severus carried him into the bedroom and set him down on the edge of their bed. Toeing off his shoes, Harry scooted back to the head of the bed, Severus following closely. Severus recaptured Harry's lips and while they kissed, Harry reached up to undo the buttons of Severus' shirt and pushed it off his shoulders, Severus following suit with Harry's button down.
Severus licked and nipped his way down Harry's neck, his chest, until he reached his waistband. Shifting back onto his knees, Severus unbuckled Harry's belt, pulled it through the loops, and tossed it onto the floor. He tugged his trousers and pants down and off, throwing them in a pile with his belt. Before he could do anything else, the rest of his clothes vanished.
He raised an eyebrow, "Impatient, Harry?"
"For you, always."
"Hm. My sentiments exactly." And he engulfed Harry's cock to the root. Harry's hips twitched up and Severus pinned them down. He began bobbing his head and then swallowed around him.
"E-Enough," Harry moaned, "Sev, enough."
Lifting his head, Severus replaced his mouth with his hand, stroking him slowly." Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Harry panted. "I want to come on your cock."
"Very well. Can you-" Severus broke off. Harry's hand was already letting go of the sheet and rooting around their bedside drawer.
"Here," Harry handed him their lubricant.
Severus slicked two fingers, circling then brushing lightly across his hole before finally breaching him with both fingers. Harry only let him stretch him for a few minutes before he started pushing at his shoulder, saying, "Now Sev, I'm ready".
Scissoring his fingers one last time, Severus removed his fingers and slicked his cook. He entered Harry gradually, pushing forward a bit before withdrawing, forward, back, until he was finally buried to the hilt inside him. He withdrew completely then sank back in to the base in one stroke.
Severus started an easy rhythm, tangled his fingers with Harry's own, and pinned their joined hands on the pillow beside his head.
Hooking his other arm behind Harry's knee to push it closer to his chest, Severus' next few thrusts hit Harry's prostate, turning Harry's quiet murmurs of "Merlin" and "Sev'rus" into full-throated moans and louder exclamations of "Oh fuck" and "Sev" before he tried to hold it in.
Severus freed Harry's lower lip from between his teeth and said, "Let me hear you...we're alone tonight...let me...hear your pleasure."
Harry groaned and didn't try to keep in any further noises. At a particularly forceful thrust, he raked his nails down Severus' back, leaving eight red lines from his husband's shoulders to just above the swell of his arse.
Severus leaned down and bit Harry's neck then moved his mouth up a bit and sucked until a bruise appeared.
Severus reached for Harry's cock but with a quiet "Not yet," Harry intercepted him before he could start stroking him, guiding his hand up to tweak his right nipple instead.
Harry slid his leg up, rubbed his heel along the small of Severus' back, and flipped them over so he was sitting astride Severus' hips. Severus' left hand ghosted over Harry's stomach, settled on his hip. His other hand roamed Harry's chest, thumbed over his left nipple, travelled past the bruise he'd made, and traced the shell of an ear.
Harry gripped their headboard with one hand, splayed the other across Severus' chest, and started riding him to the rhythm Severus had established.
Their pace began to pick up and Severus reached for his cock again. Harry encouraged him and Severus wrapped his hand around him, swiping his thumb through the precome and spreading it around the tip, and began to fist his cook. Harry shifted slightly, rose up and dropped down one last time, and Severus felt his inner walls spasm around him, his release spilling onto his hand and their bellies. Severus snapped his hips up once more, filling Harry with his release.
As Harry's cock gave a final twitch, he leaned forward to rest against Severus' chest to catch his breath. When they were no longer panting, he moved off Severus, settling beside him on the bed and throwing an arm across his chest.
Some minutes later, Severus picked up Harry's hand, pressed a kiss to his knuckles, and returned it to his chest, leaving his own hand on top and lazily running a finger across the back of it. "That was more...intense than we've had recently."
"Yeah," Harry breathed, "it was."
Harry put his other hand on Severus' chest, trailing the tips of his fingers along his collarbone and tapping repeatedly on his shoulder. Blowing out a breath, Harry said tentatively, "I do have a confession to make."
"Oh?" Severus nosed at Harry's hair.
"See, it wasn't just a coincidence I found our old book. I went looking for it last Thursday, after I got back from St. Mungo's."
"Why? And why not just tell me that?"
"Because I saw the way you looked at that man in the hallway." The hand over Harry's tightened its grip. "I thought you were watching him because he was Henry Richardson, the author of the Defence Against the Dark Arts texts I use for my classes."
"You thought I was interested in somebody else?" Severus asked hoarsely.
"Yes," Harry admitted. "Not only because you looked at him as he walked past you in the hall, but that moment is why I started considering it, realized it might be possible."
"The way I looked when I saw you, like I'd been caught at something, could not have helped. I had absolutely no idea why he was. I was just worried you might realize what I had just seen-the broom-and figure out your anniversary gift. You said it was not only due to that. What else have you been thinking about?"
"After I left St. Mungo's, I started thinking about the past year or so, and how we haven't been able to spend as much time together as we used to. I know it's because of our kids, our family, and I totally understand. It's just, we've always had time for the kids and for ourselves, I guess lately we just haven't been finding the time for ourselves like we used to. And when we do have time to spend together, we use most of that time for marking student papers while we sit on the couch and catch each other up on how our day was.
I know what the first half of your life was like, I thought maybe you were finally starting to tire of our life together, our routine domestic life, after more than twenty years. And when we were first married, even the year before we got married, we were working together, discussing advanced Defence theory and techniques, even working on potions and spell creation a bit. We haven't really done that sine then.
I dug up our old manuscript because it's something we created together, something we can have published together, the two of us. When I saw Richardson catch your attention, even for that fleeting moment, not only an attractive man but an intelligent one, I thought maybe you were missing more intelligent conversation, craving more intellectual stimulation than I've provided in years."
Harry let out a relieved sigh when he was finally done speaking.
Severus had stayed silent while Harry was talking and remained quiet for an extra beat, two, to make sure Harry was really finished. Then he rolled onto his side, put his arm around Harry's waist, and pulled him even closer so there was absolutely no space between them.
"Hmm...where to even begin," Severus mused. "First of all, I would never desire anyone else, would never look at anyone else the way I look at you. Secondly, I have not been lacking intelligent conversation in my personal life; you are certainly a worthy conversationalist on a plethora of subjects, academic and otherwise. Thirdly, our alone time and 'routine domestic life' as I believe you put it. You do not need to worry that I am bored of domesticity. You mentioned my previous lifestyle. I was a spy for almost twenty years, I don't miss it. Iwant our quiet domestic routine, the usual outings, and the evenings spent in front of the fire with you. Have you become dissatisfied with our relationship? Tired of our life together?"
"No, of course not!"
"Excellent, because I was never even considering going anywhere. I chose you twenty-four years ago and I would love nothing more than to continue to choose you every day for the next 100 years. Is that acceptable to you?"
With a sniff, Harry said, "It's perfect."
Severus kissed a trail up the side of Harry's neck. "Perfect. Nxt time you're worried; just come to me, alright?"
"Alright," Harry agreed.
They both settled down more comfortably, ready for sleep after the evening they'd had.
"Good night, Severus. I love you," Harry murmured.
"Good night, Harry. I love you. Always."