Diagon Alley, while not packed with the pre-Hogwarts rush as it had been three weeks earlier, still had clusters of shoppers strolling about. This was Harry's first observation upon Apparating into an alcove tucked between Obscurus Books and Wiseacre's.
His second was that he needed to get moving or he was going to be late. A quick glance at his pocket watch showed it was ten minutes to seven. Clicking the cover closed, Harry shook his head so his fringe covered his scar and took off his glasses, hanging them from his collar.
He strode quickly along the cobblestones, staying close to the shopfronts and keeping his head down to avoid being recognised, making it to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron with several minutes to spare. Pausing outside for a moment to put his glasses back on and take a deep breath, Harry smoothed down his burgundy dress shirt before turning the doorknob and stepping into the dim interior of the Leaky Cauldron.
He gave his eyes a moment to adjust and when they did, he spotted Severus leaning against the bar, talking to Tom. When the barman saw him, he nodded his head in Harry's direction and moved further down the bar.
Severus straightened up from the bartop before turning to face the doorway to Diagon, giving a gentle smirk when he saw Harry standing there. They both remained still for another moment, just taking the other man in, before Harry closed the distance between them, stopping when he was right in front of Severus, close enough that he needed to tilt his head back to meet his eyes.
Harry was the first to speak. "Evening, Severus."
"Good evening, Unspeakable Potter." At the look Harry gave him, he spoke again.
"Good evening, Harry." Harry's lips stretched in a wide grin at the Potions Master's correction.
"Shall we?" Severus asked, gesturing for Harry to precede him to the exit into Muggle London.
When they were both standing on the pavement outside the Leaky Cauldron, Severus told Harry, "As I don't know our destination, I will look to you to lead the way."
"Never thought I would hear that from you back when I was a student," Harry observed.
"I am sure there are many areas you never imagined I would allow someone else to take the lead in while you were still at Hogwarts. I think you will find there are times where I will occasionally allow you the lead," Severus purred.
With a blush heating his cheeks, Harry cleared his throat and began walking, he and Severus joining the sea of Muggles, most of whom were striding determinedly to their destinations though there was the odd straggler strolling leisurely, a mobile glued to their ear. There was one such person in front of them when they were partway through the second block and the glare Severus directed at the back of his head would have had a First year in tears. Grabbing hold of Harry's hand, Severus darted around the man, quickly reaching the corner where they had to wait for the pedestrian signal.
Severus let go of Harry's hand as soon as they stopped walking, and Harry mourned the loss of contact. As there were Muggles surrounding them, they stayed quiet while waiting to cross the street, remaining in silence until they approached the third building on the next street. The restaurant had floor to ceiling windows and Harry could see most of the tables were occupied.
"Here we are," Harry told Severus.
They made it to the door just behind a couple in their 50s and the man held it open for Severus, who widened the door a bit more so Harry could walk through first. After giving his name to the maître d', they were shown to a table and given menus. Once they were alone, both Harry and Severus turned their attention to deciding what to order. Harry was done first and he started to fidget with the metal salt shaker while Severus finished making his selection.
He had just glanced away to take in the restaurant and the other diners when he felt long fingers sliding along the back of his hand. Stilling instantly, Harry's eyes darted up to meet Severus'. The older man brushed his hand once with his thumb before moving his hand back to his menu, closing it and placing it on the table. Harry let go of the salt shaker, lowering his hands to his lap, and was just about to speak when their waiter arrived at their table. They placed their orders—green salad, Fettuccine Carbonara and Pinot Grigio del Veneto for Severus; Zuppa del Giorno, Lasagne al Forno and Nero d'Avola for Harry—and Harry waited for a moment after their waiter left before speaking.
"I'm glad you agreed to tonight. I've been wanting to go to dinner with you for a while."
"We've both been at dinners at Grimmauld Place," Severus pointed out, continuing before Harry could say those dinners included everyone from the Order. "But I too am glad to be here, just the two of us."
Harry smiled at that and said after a moment, "Now that we're here though, I must admit it was easier knowing what to say in letters than it is right now."
"I myself am experiencing the same issue," Severus admitted. "What do you usually talk about in these situations?"
"These situations?" Harry asked.
"Dates," Severus clarified.
"Oh," Harry said. "I wouldn't know, seeing as how I haven't been in this situation since I was at Madam Puddifoot's with Cho and that did not go well. We talked about Quidditch a bit. What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you. What do you usually talk about in these situations?"
"Ah, well, I have not been in this situation in quite some time either. Decades, in fact. However, though it did not work out for you before, I would not be averse to discussing Quidditch."
"Really?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Really," Severus confirmed. "As a student, Quidditch never interested me, as I am sure you can probably imagine. Back then I preferred to be in the dungeons, creating new potions or inventing new spells. The only matches I attended were the ones Lucius dragged me to. That changed after graduation. I was one of the youngest professors and the youngest Head of House in centuries."
At this point, their waiter returned with the salad and soup, along with a basket of bread and their wines. Once he had departed and they started in on their food, Severus picked up where he had left off.
"In what I can see now was an effort to make me feel more comfortable with my new role at Hogwarts, Minerva engaged me in a bet that her Lions would take the Quidditch cup that year instead of my Snakes. She had just been my professor a few years earlier, so of course I agreed to her bet. No one from Horace's 'Slug Club' had been on the Quidditch team the final year he taught so Slytherin's team wasn't quite as good as it had been during my school years. But Slytherin had a good captain my first year as a professor, a Sixth year whom, during my Seventh year, even I saw had potential when she was just a Second year. She worked the team hard, not unlike Oliver Wood from what I hear," Severus teased.
Severus chuckled when Harry gave an exaggerated shudder.
"You laugh, but you don't know what he was like. Early morning practices, flying for hours in case there was a match that lasted all day, and don't get me started on his pre-match pep talks."
Taking a small sip of his wine, Harry urged Severus to finish his tale. "So did the Snakes take the Quidditch cup that year?"
"And every year since," Severus confirmed, just a touch smugly.
"Until I came along," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, until you came along," Severus agreed.
Conversation continued to flow smoothly as they finished their starters and moved on to their entrees. From Quidditch, they moved on to discussing Harry's work. "I know as an Unspeakable, your work is classified, but I must say, it is not a career I thought you would pursue while you were at Hogwarts."
"It's not something I had ever imagined for myself either. But after Voldemort was gone and we had sat our NEWTs, Hermione pushed Ron and I to think seriously about our futures and decide what we wanted to do next. She got loads of pamphlets and we browsed through them together. I wasn't sure about working for the Ministry, but I was drawn to the description of the Unspeakable department, meagre though it was, and that, along with Kingsley as the new Minister, convinced me to give it a shot. I'm glad I did, I find the work very enjoyable."
Severus' lips had turned up in a small smile while Harry spoke and he voiced his agreement to Harry that it was important to enjoy one's work.
"And you," Harry enquired. "Would you say you enjoy your work?"
"I would certainly say that it is infinitely more tolerable now, having only one job, with no need to constantly consider what would make it back to Riddle."
"Just tolerable? That's not what I got from your letters. You wrote before term started that you had several promising NEWT students last year, two of whom should still be at Hogwarts this year if I recall correctly. And when I spoke to Albus last week, he happened to mention that you told him about a First year, Charles, was it? A Muggleborn Ravenclaw that seems to have a natural affinity for potions."
Severus sniffed. "I suppose there are a few who are truly a joy to teach. But the idiocy of the rest of their classmates more than accounts for my response of 'tolerable'".
"I'm sure," Harry replied, amused.
Their waiter returned to take their plates and their dessert order—Affogato for Severus, Tiramisu with a cup of coffee for Harry—and while they waited, Severus took the opportunity to ask Harry about his house.
"How is Grimmauld Place these days?"
"The house is really coming along nicely. Kreacher has been really helpful with the renovations. Actually, he's been more helpful in general ever since I gave him Regulus' locket. But I haven't lived there since Ron, Hermione, and I were hunting for the horcruxes. I stayed at the Burrow for a while after the final battle, then last year I bought a house in Topsham. I considered London and Hogsmeade, but, even though I know I'm just a moment away from the Burrow with Apparation or the Floo, I didn't want to be so far away from the Weasleys. I also entertained Ottery St. Catchpole as an option, but ultimately decided I didn't need to be right over the hill either. In the end, I thought Topsham was the right location for me. The property has a fair amount of land and I was able to have the house built to my specifications so it's perfect for me."
When they finally finished their desserts, Harry insisted on paying, telling Severus he could pay the next time they went out.
Adjusting the coat Hermione had given him for this 19th birthday while following Severus out of the restaurant, Harry took the lead once they were back outside, walking left away from the restaurant and back towards the Leaky Cauldron. Severus kept pace next to him and when they were a few metres from the restaurant, Harry took a chance, reaching down and taking Severus' hand in his own. Severus startled, glancing down at their joined hands before firming his grip and tangling their fingers together.
They walked in comfortable silence until they had crossed the first street. Severus was the one to break it, bringing up a potion that had been presented at the previous year's potions convention that he thought Harry would enjoy. The ensuing discussion lasted until they reached the faded sign of the Leaky Cauldron, where Severus pulled open the door for Harry and followed him straight back to the entrance to Diagon Alley. Instead of walking through the bricks into the alley, they both Disapparated, appearing at the gates of Hogwarts the next moment.
Harry cleared his throat and took a step closer to the other man before speaking. "Well, I guess this is good night then."
"Indeed. I had a wonderful evening tonight." Severus also took a step closer to the other man, reaching out to him. Severus' warm hand cupped Harry's cheek, his thumb gently stroking the skin once, twice, before he leaned down and brought their lips together in a chaste kiss. He was beginning to pull away when Harry moved, wrapping one arm around his waist and lifting the other to the back of Severus' neck.
Harry pulled back for a moment then leaned back in, Severus meeting him halfway, for another kiss, this one deeper, Harry swiping his tongue along the seam of Severus' lips. Severus granted him entry with a low moan and they remained locked in an embrace for several minutes. With a gentle nip to Harry's bottom lip, Severus finally pulled back, giving Harry one final peck before straightening up.
Harry could feel Severus brushing his hair back while he tried to catch his breath, looking up to meet Severus' eyes just as Severus was pulling his hand back. Catching his hand, Harry brought it to his lips to press a kiss to the centre of his palm before letting Severus have his hand back.
"Can I see you again next Saturday?" Harry asked. "I'll make you dinner this time, and I can show you my place."
"Next Saturday," Severus agreed. "Dinner at your house, but we will be making it together. I've seen your potions skills. Is 5 o'clock acceptable?"
"5 o'clock is perfect. I'll send Hedwig to you tomorrow with the coordinates. Try to reply to me this time, okay?"
"Of course. I promise not to give Hedwig any reason to peck at me." Severus reached for Harry's hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "I will see you next week."
"See you next Saturday." Harry forced himself to take a step back, then another, keeping his gaze locked with Severus' until he turned on the spot and returned to his house, already thinking about what he wanted to make with Severus on their second date.