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schemingreader (![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} schemingreader) wrote,@ 2007-09-26 12:02:00 |
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FIC: "Not Family" (Snape/Harry, NC-17) by cruisedirector and schemingreader
Title: Not Family
Authors:schemingreader and cruisedirector
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Snape/Harry (others mentioned)
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Possible misuse of icing. Domestic bliss.
Summary: Harry is divorced. How did Severus wind up with all these in-laws?
Beta: The fabulousrexluscus.
Notes: Sequel to "Not Sleeping," "Not Alone," "Not Telling" and "Not Easy." Last part.
Words: ~6000
"This is why I never married."
Severus thought he had merely raised an eyebrow, but the expression must have conveyed some unintended meaning, because Minerva McGonagall fixed him with a glare and demanded, "Did you believe it was because no one had ever asked me?"
"Certainly not." Raising his glass, Severus saluted her before he tossed back the last of the whisky and lifted the bottle to pour again. "I had imagined, however, that the most worthy candidates were likely Slytherins."
Ginny's voice traveled across the room. "It is not your business, Percy, and of anyone in this family who has no business telling me..." Severus tried to ignore her without Occluding. He refilled Minerva's glass, though hers was only half empty.
"When I was a student, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup six years in a row." Minerva smiled nostalgically. "I had already decided that I wanted to teach. I couldn't see myself following a star Quidditch player from Falmouth to Wimbourne and on to Transylvania for the World Cup, although he did plead with me. His father believed that women should remain at home with the children, like Mrs. Weasley."
Across the room, Mrs. Weasley was now attempting to intercede in the discussion between Ginevra and her brothers. Arthur had retired from the Ministry, but Molly continued to serve as chief administrator of the home for orphans established in the aftermath of the war. Severus would only have been slightly surprised if she had become Minister of Magic by the time he returned from South America.
"Such a shame about Gryffindor this season," he declared to Minerva. "If only your Beater had not been disqualified for blagging, he might have stood some chance of stopping young Scorpius there." The boy had arrived with Ginny and her children and was, at present, playing Gobstones with Lily Potter, who was winning handily.
Harry was grinning at Severus like a complete idiot. "What's wrong, Potter?" Minerva asked testily.
"Nothing."
"Not rooting for Slytherin House now that you have a daughter there?"
"Oh, no, of course not," Harry said. "Having the children in different houses means not talking Quidditch much, at all." He gestured. "Carry on."
"So pleased we amuse you," she replied acidly.
Draco Malfoy came in with his father. Lucius leaned surreptitiously on the cane he'd once carried only for style. Arthur Weasley froze and Molly put a hand on his arm as Harry's daughter Lily came to meet them in the doorway. "Happy Christmas, Mr. Malfoy," she said.
"Happy Christmas, Lily," Draco responded, and his father echoed him. Narcissa came inside a moment later, carrying a platter that was promptly sent off to the kitchen by Draco.
"Ginevra, darling, how wonderful that you invited us," she gushed. She kissed Ginny on both cheeks. Severus rose; he was determined that Harry would come off handsomely somehow.
"Severus," Narcissa said, relief evident in her voice. "Happy Christmas." She kissed him, too, and then it was only natural for Harry to shake her hand, as he was right there.
"I think you know my moth -- know Arthur and Molly Weasley," Harry said.
"Yes, happy Christmas," Molly and Narcissa said at the same time. Arthur and Lucius just stood looking at each other.
Ron and Hermione and their two children came in at that moment, which was fortunate as Severus had no inclination to step between the glaring older wizards.
"We've got parcels for everyone," Hugo announced. "Hullo Scorp, hullo Al! My Muggle grandparents bought us the most smashing chocolates -- I brought some to share."
"Your parents bought chocolates?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "People change."
"You're not wrong." Ron was glaring daggers at Ginny, who had gone over to give Draco a chaste kiss on the cheek. Hermione followed her husband as he stormed over to greet them both, scowling.
Severus had learned from Lily that Ginny had moved in with Draco -- very nearly the day her divorce from Harry had become final. It was hard to say which of their mothers was more distressed at this turn of events. Severus suspected that it might be Molly, because despite her obsession with proper appearances, Narcissa seemed simply delighted to have three more children in her life.
Albus continued to resist the Malfoys. Severus had overheard more than one tearful conversation in which the boy had told Harry that he didn't want to stay with Ginny -- he wanted to live with Harry and Severus all the time -- but Harry, who saw much more of the children at Hogwarts, had insisted that Albus remain with his siblings for the holidays. James had accepted Draco once a few tricks with frogs and flobberworms failed to land him in serious trouble, and Lily liked Scorpius.
"I hope they haven't brought outrageous gifts," Harry muttered to Hermione, who had made her way back over from the spot where Ginny was now speaking in forceful tones to three of her brothers. "Narcissa took Lily shopping and bought her fancy party dresses and a doll with outfits to match. It wasn't even her birthday. Ginny thought it would be rude to take them back. Can you imagine what will happen if Molly knitted the children jumpers and the Malfoys produce silver dragon chess sets that breathe fire?"
"I don't envy you," said Hermione, who gave Harry a brief hug of greeting, then surprised Severus by leaning up to embrace him. He stiffened automatically. Muggles did this at holiday celebrations, Hermione had been raised by Muggles, she would consider his behavior rude. A moment later she released him. "Professor Snape. It's good to see you. And Professor McGonagall." She extended a hand, which Minerva took, bemused.
"Hugo is determined to get Albus and Scorpius on speaking terms," Hermione informed them. Severus had trouble keeping himself from laughing. If there were any two boys likely to be discovered on the Astronomy Tower in seventh year, it was the young Malfoy scion and Potter's sweet middle child. He saw the looks that Scorpius gave Albus when he thought no one was looking. Who could blame him? Albus looked like Harry...
Harry, who was looking at him suspiciously. Minerva laughed. That was the problem with not Occluding; his thoughts were visible in his face. Luckily, Harry's favorite Weasley interrupted his next, obvious question.
"Mate, I know it's not your fault, but could you do something about my sister?" Ron's sotto voce question carried far enough that it earned them a glare from Ginevra.
"No," Harry said.
"I don't mean about Malfoy -- Malfoy! -- but could you persuade her to go easy on my mum?"
"No," Harry said. "She's her mother. Even when we were married, that wasn't a relationship I was going to get in the middle of."
Privately Severus thought that it was likely Ginny who needed protection from Molly rather than the other way around. Even had he been inclined to voice such an opinion, however, the vegetable dip would have kept him silent. Most of the Boxing Day food consisted of leftovers from the various family Christmas parties of the day before -- Harry's children had spent the morning with their father and himself, the evening with their mother and grandparents -- but Molly had tossed all the uneaten veg onto a platter and made a paste with curry and creme fraiche, and the result was delicious.
Ron stuck out a hand, stiffly, as if he had had to work up to the action. "Professor Snape," he muttered in greeting.
"Mister Weasley." Severus offered him a small smile, which seemed to unnerve Ron even more. "Congratulations. I am told that your daughter is an excellent Potions student."
"Got that from Hermione, not me." Shuffling his feet, Ron blushed faintly. Rose Weasley stood slightly off to the side, watching the other children play Gobstones, nose wrinkling slightly as the spitting commenced again. Scorpius laughed delightedly, but Severus remembered his own mother insisting that he play against her -- she had always won -- and sympathized with the girl. Christmas at the Snape household had generally involved his father drinking too much and falling into either a sleep or a rage while his mother attempted to keep Severus distracted.
"Should I ask everyone to come into the dining room before Arthur and Lucius come to blows?" Harry asked Severus in a low voice. The two men were pointedly avoiding one another as they greeted the other guests.
"Before one of the children spills soup on the carpet, at least." There were more than a dozen wizards and witches present capable of casting an effective cleaning charm, but Severus did not want to listen to the cries of dismay beforehand.
Raising his voice, Harry called over the chatter, "Thank you all for coming. I know this hasn't...it's been a complicated year for all of us." Draco had his arm around Ginny, at whom Molly was shooting glares, while Narcissa was trying to insinuate herself near Lily and Scorpius without getting too close to the Gobstones. "If you'll come into the dining room, we can start dinner."
"For someone who always hated parties, you seem to be having rather a good time," Lucius said low in his ear as they passed on the way into dinner. "Schadenfreude?"
"Naturally," Severus said. "How entertaining it would be if you and Arthur Weasley engaged in fisticuffs, again." Lucius blanched; it was just detectable under his usual pallor. "Though I don't suppose my nubile young lover would enjoy it, and I would hate to be deprived of my evening's entertainment just for the pleasure of watching you repair a bloody nose."
"So touchy," Lucius complained.
"I always was," Severus said.
But he was having a good time, and keeping Lucius Malfoy in line was not the least of it. He'd never liked Christmas, but he was enjoying being part of a happy family. It was almost like being back at Hogwarts with Albus, except that he actually felt he was a part of things. Or, at least, no more an outsider than the numerous other people here today attempting to work out where they belonged.
"This used to be my kitchen, Mum, you aren't going to keep me out," Ginny was saying sharply from across the room as Severus entered. He could see that it was not Ginny whom Molly was politely trying to block, but Narcissa, who had been explaining that she had brought something delicate prepared by her house-elves, the serving of which she wanted to supervise personally. All the children were sitting together at the end of the table furthest from the fireplace; Draco and Ron both reached for the seat next to James, then paused and gave each other appraising looks.
The front door banged open, causing silence to descend over the room as everyone turned at the sound. "Am I late?" A rather handsome young man strode into the dining room with a wide smile on his face and promptly tripped over a chair leg, practically landing in Severus's lap. "Bugger! I'm sorry!" he stammered, hair turning faintly reddish as he straightened. "Oh! You must be Snape."
"That's Teddy," Lily piped up from the end of the table. "He's not supposed to say 'bugger' when there are children in the room." Severus had seen Lupin and Tonks' son on several occasions, but had never spoken to him. He had thought the young man resembled his mother, though he could see now that the shape of his face was entirely his father's...this was what Remus Lupin might have looked like had he not been bitten by a werewolf as a child, scarred and frightened and taught to make himself blend in.
"Brought you a present, Lils," Teddy announced, turning away from Severus for a moment to grin at her. Conversation resumed all around, and in that moment Teddy caught Severus's arm. "I'd heard that you were back. You were at Hogwarts with my father, weren't you? If we..."
Severus was saved by Arthur, who came over to give Teddy a pat on the back. At one time Severus had heard that Teddy was dating Arthur's oldest granddaughter, but Bill's family was in France at present and Severus did not know whether that youthful romance had come to an end. Despite having been orphaned as a baby, Teddy did not seem as desperate for a family as Harry had been.
And what was he going to tell Teddy Lupin if the young man hoped for tales of heroism about his father? Severus was likely the only one of his contemporaries who had known Remus Lupin's secrets. He sighed inwardly. Lupin was dead, Severus was here; he supposed he could mention that he and Lupin had attended meetings of the Order of the Phoenix in this very house. Lupin had tried to be kind to him -- he ought to find a way to do the poor fellow a good turn twenty years later. He tried to look pleasant; young Lupin looked mildly alarmed.
"Place cards," Harry muttered under his breath. "I should have listened to Hermione and got place cards. Everyone is trying to sit with the children."
Molly and Narcissa, having reached some sort of modus vivendi, emerged from the kitchen followed by enormous platters of food.
Minerva cleared her throat. "Severus," she said, and handed him a glass of wine, lifting her eyebrows. She tapped her wand on the tablecloth, and bottles of sparkling wine popped their corks and filled the wineglasses at each place.
"I would like to propose a toast," Severus said in his lecture voice. All eyes turned to him, and the room grew quiet. What would he say? Absent friends? Gaaah. God Save the Queen? No. To Harry's incredible arse, which makes you all worthwhile? He was sorely tempted. They were still waiting. "To new beginnings," he said. "Happy Christmas."
Everyone took a drink. Little Rose sputtered a little and Lily giggled, not unkindly. They nudged each other. Harry started them passing the food, and for awhile there was nothing but eating and drinking.
"Ron," Harry called, "I've still got your wizard's chess set from school upstairs. Let's have a rematch."
"I suppose you've been practicing with Snape," Ron said. He was only a little stiff about it.
"I'm not very good at chess," Severus admitted. "I can't offer much of a game."
"Darts, that was always your game," Lucius said. "Wasn't it? It's a game of throwing sharp things at a target, Scorpius." Of course, the young Malfoys were too pureblooded to know what darts was.
"I'll give you a game of darts," George Weasley offered. He'd become a very quiet man, but sometimes his old sly humour bubbled up. "As long as you'll let me stand behind you, Professor."
Severus winced inwardly. Harry squeezed his thigh under the table and said, "Great, then. I think Ginny has rather good aim as well."
"Yes, we'll both play, Professor," Draco said.
"Good, that's you lot sorted," Minerva said in an undertone to Hermione, who grinned.
Ginny won the first round of darts, which seemed to irritate Lucius more than Draco. Severus had not been concentrating fully; he had been half-watching Harry and also half-watching Albus and Scorpius, who stood to the side watching the darts intently. Both children were moderately talented Seekers, and Severus did not entirely trust either not to try to pluck a dart out of the air mid-throw. James, Hugo, Lily and Rose preferred to play chess -- the boys teamed against the girls in a long and close match.
Teddy joined the darts players in the second round. His tosses were erratic: some were perfectly thrown, while others were clumsily misdirected. Ignoring both Harry and Albus, Severus pulled his focus in and scored several points more than Ginny, who attempted to be gracious in losing and shook his hand. He would not have minded outright hostility from her. He was sorry to see her anger directed alternately at Harry and her mother, each of whom she snapped at about trivial matters, whether the soup tureen should be soaked and where had Lily lost her hair ribbons.
"Is it time for gifts yet?" Narcissa asked brightly, pulling herself away from a conversation with Hermione whose subject Severus couldn't imagine. Ron and Harry appeared to be hopelessly deadlocked at chess, while James and Hugo couldn't agree what their next move should be and Rose was insisting that they forfeit since they had taken too long to decide.
"Wait until you see what I've made for each of you," Molly said in a tone of great satisfaction.
"Think it's another jumper?" Teddy whispered to Albus, elbowing him good-naturedly.
The gifts were not jumpers. They were heavy Quidditch gloves and matching socks in each child's House colors. All the adults got a large jar of jam, including Draco and each of his parents. Severus' was rosehip and apple, and it had a green ribbon; he was surprisingly pleased to receive it. Harry went suspiciously pink and left the room for a moment.
"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said.
"Your grandmother was the first person ever to give me a Christmas present," Harry told Lily in a low voice.
"I know, Dad," she said.
"I made you a scarf, also, Harry," Molly said. "I know you are all too old for the jumpers, but Harry...needs a bit of looking after. "
"Mum," Ginny said through her teeth.
Harry made some coded marital gesture with his eyebrows, and she calmed down a little. He put his arm around Molly Weasley and kissed her on the cheek and said something in a low voice.
Minerva handed round tins of shortbread. Severus had made everyone small bottles of potion: bruise-healing paste for the children and calming draught for the adults. It was the same thing they both had given their colleagues at Hogwarts.
Then Narcissa brought out her boxes. Each of the adults received a rare quill and ink set in a leather case. Severus believed his own to be a roc feather, and recognized the ink as containing lazurite. Harry's quill and ink were both cinnabar red.
The packages for the children were much larger. Each contained an Invisibility Cloak.
Arthur went red in the face, sputtering, "You can't give such things to children! Not only are they restricted..."
"It's the best present ever!" Hugo was racing across the room. Half his body was missing where the folds of the cloak flapped around him.
"They can't take them to school," Percy said in a haughty voice. "Can you imagine the rules they would break?" Harry, Ron and Hermione were all silent, staring alternately at the floor and one another. Harry looked suspiciously as though he might begin to laugh.
Striding over to Lily, Molly attempted to wrestle the cloak from atop her head, where the little girl had twisted it like a turban, making everything above her eyes disappear. "Give me that! This is extremely generous of you, Lucius, Narcissa, but you must realize that the children cannot possibly..."
"Harry and I can make decisions for our own children, thank you, Mother," Ginny announced. James and Albus had disappeared entirely, having built a sort of tent around themselves with their cloaks and crouched down to fit inside.
"Don't worry, Ginny," Hermione said. "These cloaks won't hold up the way Harry's has."
Ginny clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes, threw up her hands in a gesture reminiscent of Molly, and stalked out of the room.
Harry sank into a chair. "Can we take them to school, Daddy?" Lily asked.
"I might need to think about that," Harry said. "As I'm teaching there."
"They're technically permitted," Minerva said. "At least, there's precedent to allow them."
Severus began to laugh. The room seemed to quiet. Molly Weasley was dabbing at her eyes. She was looking at Harry, who was smiling like a damned fool.
"What?" Severus inquired.
"Nothing," Harry said.
"Who knew you could laugh like that?" Minerva chuckled. "That's really --"
"Sexy!" George Weasley put in, leering.
"What's wrong now?" Ginny asked her mother, having come back in holding a drink.
"You aren't ever getting back together, are you?"
"No," Ginny replied, but her voice was gentle.
"I see that," her mother sniffled. Briskly, she tucked away her handkerchief and turned back to the children. "Albus and James, come out from under there!" she commanded.
It was Scorpius's head that popped out first, followed by James and then Albus. "Can't we stay under here and play chess?" the fair-haired boy asked. He offered Molly a charming smile.
Lucius's smile was a mirror of his grandson's. "How nice to see them all getting along," he said smoothly.
"We haven't given you our presents." Draco had summoned a set of packages. "I don't know about the rest of you but I could use some of this." He had brought each of the adults a very fine bottle of wine from the vineyards on the Malfoy family estate in France. Ginny had provided charmed sleeves, weightless, to keep the bottles at their ideal temperatures.
Teddy had brought gifts only for the children -- Pygmy Puffs for the girls, snails for the boys, each in appropriate containers with a supply of food donated, he said, by Uncle George. George had also brought elaborate decorative candles for the adults that changed their color and shape as they were exposed to flame. Severus received one that looked like a fire crab.
"I had a really hard time coming up with gifts this year," Harry said.
Immediately everyone in the room began to speak. "You know there's no need, dear," Molly assured him.
"It's quite enough that you've played host to all of us," added Hermione. Draco and Lucius both looked relieved.
"Still, I didn't want to send people home empty-handed." Severus looked at him curiously. Whatever Harry had got up to, he had done it without asking for advice or assistance. Looking a bit sheepish, he pulled out a Muggle camera. "I knew I'd want to remember today, and I hoped everyone else would, too. So I have a folding frame for everybody, and if you could all come stand by the tree?"
Reluctant to stand next to each other, the guests clumped and reassembled until they formed a group with the taller ones in back and the smaller children in the front. Harry put the camera on a tripod.
Severus stood off to the side, waiting. Harry took his hand and steered him into the group. "Here, you'll stand by me," he said.
"I don't look good in photographs," Severus said.
Harry gave him the Lily Evans patented green glare. "I want my children to have a photo of everyone who is important to them."
"But surely I'm not --" Severus began, but then he shut up. All three Potter children were smiling at him.
"He always says that," Lily said.
Severus stood in the back between Lucius and Arthur, with Harry standing in front of him. At the last moment, Harry pulled one of Severus's arms around his waist, and the flash went off.
The camera spat out a single sheet upon which an image slowly coalesced. Such cameras had not existed for Muggles or wizards when Severus was very young, and it still seemed like magic to him that the photos developed instantaneously. Harry used a spell to replicate the photograph and nearly two dozen small silver frames flapped over, popping open to admit the pictures, then folding neatly against a mirrored side into neat flat squares.
"Cake, then," Molly said briskly, marching the children off to the kitchen while yanking an Invisibility Cloak from Hugo's head. Severus followed them without prompting. He hoped there wouldn't be a silly game to find the silvered almond or whatever it was that meant someone was supposed to get married, but Molly's cakes were worth that risk. Harry's sweet tooth must have been rubbing off on him.
Harry caught up with him in the kitchen, holding a plate dripping over the edges with buttercream icing. He also had a bit of buttercream on his nose. Had they been alone, Severus would have licked it off, and then they would likely have made love in the kitchen despite Severus's protests of discomfort.
Since they were not alone, he contented himself with wiping off Harry's nose with his finger and licking the finger clean. Harry's pupils dilated watching him. "Maybe Molly will leave the extra icing," Harry whispered.
"Whatever could you have in mind?" Severus smirked.
"I can't discuss it now -- there are children present, and ex-wives and Malfoys." Harry looked pleased with himself. Severus glanced over to see Lucius eating Molly's cake with relish. "But eventually everyone's got to go home."
Eventually, they did go home. Molly surprised him by kissing him on the cheek. Minerva left him another bottle of the excellent whisky. The children all shook his hand and Albus kissed him goodbye. That last was a bit of a shock, as he had never kissed a man on the cheek when he was a lad, but apparently Harry's children always kissed their father, so Albus thought he ought to kiss Severus as well.
The last of Potters and Weasleys and Malfoys straggled out the door and left Harry beaming at him stupidly.
"What did you say to Lucius?" Harry asked. "Why didn't he goad Arthur again?"
"Nothing. Why are you laughing?" Severus swallowed a smile. "I might have reminded him what happened the last time."
"He has a bad temper, my father-in -- I mean, my ex -- Arthur has a bad --"
"Don't worry about it so much." Severus put a hand on his shoulder.
"That isn't something I ever thought I'd hear you say."
"Life is complicated, and I have excellent buttercream to lick off your naked torso."
Harry smiled again. "Everyone had a good time, didn't they? And the children all get along. And Draco's grown up a bit, finally. And his mum and Molly..."
"Quiet." Severus was unbuttoning Harry's shirt. It had been a pleasant enough meal, particularly the sweets and Minerva's whisky, but such gatherings always became tedious, and Severus had had enough domesticity for the week. It was easy enough to silence Harry with his mouth, but he couldn't kiss Harry and march him upstairs at the same time, even with the bowl of icing floating behind them. "Bedroom."
"Yes, Professor." Harry took over the task of unbuttoning as they climbed the stairs as Severus allowed pieces of his own clothing to fall away. "Did you ask Molly to leave the icing? Or were we just lucky?"
"I used my powers of suggestion."
"You sweet-talked Molly Weasley? Severus, I'm surprised at you."
"Of course not. I used the Imperius curse."
In the bedroom doorway, Harry whirled. "You didn't!" He looked as though he couldn't decide whether to be amused or aghast. Severus laughed at him, and Harry blushed sheepishly. "You didn't."
Severus could not resist Harry blushing. He kissed him again, rubbing his hard prick against Harry's hip. "Now will you be quiet and get on the bed?"
Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled them down together. He frotted against Severus' thigh. "Mmm," he said. "I got hard when you started laughing like that, in front of everyone."
Severus licked his neck, and murmured into it, "You're distracting me." He pushed the shirt over Harry's shoulders, and then pulled off his vest underneath. "Better," he said. He undid the belt holding up Harry's trousers, pretending to ignore the impatient thrust of his hips. He took off all of Harry's clothing, a piece at a time, while Harry panted. "You'd best hold the headboard," he told Harry, who complied.
He put his hand on his wand to get the bowl of buttercream to hover next to him, and used the spatula to paint Harry's nipples with it. He paused to look at his handiwork before he bent his head and licked the sugary unctuous stuff. He was thorough. It was always best to be thorough.
"You're making a lot of noise," he observed.
"Kiss me, then," Harry said. "That's sure to --" he gasped as Severus swiped his tongue over the buttercreamed left nipple, and then groaned when he shared the taste of chocolate by licking it over Harry's eager tongue.
The icing had thickened in the air and its sugar was beginning to crystallize. It clung in sticky clumps to Harry's armpit hair before his body heat began to warm it, making a thick paste that oozed slowly down his side. "Tickles," gasped Harry, twisting helplessly, still clinging to the headboard as Severus licked the softening sweetness away. "Please. Want more..."
He might have meant more kissing, but Severus was busy swiping buttercream into his pubic hair. He licked and sucked it away, mouth brushing Harry's cock.
Did chocolate buttercream go with arse? In Severus's experience there was little that Harry's arse did not improve, and he let the spatula slip around Harry's balls, between the buttocks that lifted as Harry raised his legs, bending his knees. "You had better intend to clean that up," Harry said with a shiver. Severus did, sucking each testicle into his mouth in turn, then licking through the furrow and around and around the hole.
"God, fuck, Severus, fuck me already, please!"
"I think it's your turn," Severus smirked.
"I'm giving it to you! Consider it your Christmas present."
"Does that mean you didn't buy me an engraved cock ring?"
Harry stopped writhing and looked down at him. "If I gave you a ring, would you wear it? Not a cock ring. A real --"
But Severus wouldn't let him finish. He couldn't answer that question now, his head clouded with whisky and lust. He began to slick his cock with the buttercream.
"What are you doing? You can't fuck me with that," Harry said.
"I don't plan to," Severus said, and straddled his face. Harry gamely began to lick and suck the sweet chocolate off the head, and then the shaft. He pulled Severus deep into his throat. This was a long-standing game with them -- Harry would suck him to the edge, until Severus was so close to coming that he would tell Harry he wanted to fuck him.
Severus looked down into those beautiful eyes, and saw that they were tearing. He pulled back. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Harry gasped, and tried to suck him some more.
"If I've bruised your throat you aren't --"
"It's not my --" he was really weeping and pretending not to be. Severus got off him and pulled him up. "Sorry, I've spoiled -- didn't mean to spoil the mood --"
"Whatever is the matter?"
Harry waved a hand over his face and tried to get his mouth down to suck Severus again.
"Harry, come on. Harry."
"I'm sentimental and I've had too much to drink," he said. "I just want you to always be mine, and never leave."
"You are sentimental," Severus said. "And foolish."
"And fond."
"Foolish and fond, that's right," Severus said, "and so am I."
Harry sat up and pulled a box out from under the pillow. "Happy Christmas."
"Accio parcel," Severus said, and then, holding it, "This wasn't how I planned this."
Harry studied Severus's box. It was obviously too large to hold a ring, unless the ring was inside several layers of packing. Severus thought that Harry was steeling his expression not to look disappointed.
The box from Harry, however, was very small. If it did not hold a ring, Severus could not imagine what it might enclose besides a vial containing memories for a Pensieve.
Opening the box, Severus pushed apart the flimsy paper and looked inside. He felt an odd pang at the discovery that it did not contain a ring after all, though the bright glint of gold caught his eye.
The box contained a medal. The Order of Merlin, First Class.
"Where did you get this?" he asked sharply. "Is it yours?"
Harry shook his head. "They never gave me one. Well -- they tried but by then I'd had enough of the Chosen One business. This one is yours. I asked if I could be the one to give it to you."
Severus felt a tightness in his throat. It was like the first meeting after his return with Minerva, when he had arrived expecting to be the object of her scorn and her first words had been, "Severus, I'm so sorry."
He held the box out to Harry, "I didn't earn this. I don't..."
"Yes, you did. They want -- I want you to have it."
He shook his head. "You are foolish. Open what I gave you."
"Is it a cock ring?" Harry waited to see if he would laugh, but he was still looking at the medal.
He looked up. Harry had opened the box. "These are the papers to register for a civil partnership."
"I hope I didn't presume too much."
"You've got rings in here, too, in the smaller box..."
Severus couldn't help laughing. Harry was so surprised. "Well, we're generally civil to each other."
"You, you --"
"What?"
"I love you so much, you wanker."
"That's quite civil."
But Harry had launched himself across the bed and was kissing him again. "Now we must fuck like rabbits."
"Don't you even want to sign the papers first?"
"No. Consummate first, engagement after." There was still a streak of buttercream across Severus's thigh. Harry bent down to lick it. "I'll even fuck you, if you insist."
"After offering me your arse as a Christmas present? You can't think I'm going to give that up in exchange for a Ministry medal." Harry's mouth moved back to Severus's cock, sliding over the head and moving the foreskin up and down. "I will fuck you, then we can sign the papers, and then if I am still awake and my aging libido has not shut down for the duration of the evening..."
Harry was laughing, eyes still suspiciously bright. "And you tell me to be quiet," he said, leaning up to kiss Severus before flinging himself down against the pillows and raising his legs again. "Love me."
Severus reached for proper lube. "I already told you that I do."
"You did, but your prick hasn't for hours."
"You persist," Severus said, pausing to look at the beauty of Harry's body spread for him, for him, "in thinking of sex as making love." He positioned himself, relishing the moment of fitting the head of his cock into the ring of muscle, slowly, teasing himself, teasing Harry.
Then he thrust his cock into the tight velvety heat of Harry's arse, and watched Harry's eyes roll upward in pleasure. He pulled back and thrust into him again and again.
"The way you do it," Harry managed to say as he grunted in extremis, "that's what it is."
Each push brought him closer. This was something that Severus could do for the rest of his life: watch the flush of Harry's skin, listen to his barely suppressed groans, feel the eager grab of his body. Burying his cock in Harry's arse, he could feel the delicious particularity of this body, of this Harry, who was all his. Harry was pulling him closer and Severus felt him tremble, sigh, convulse, come and come and come.
The sensation of the warm spunk on his own belly sent Severus over the edge, and he thrust wildly and said Harry's name and came. Then it was hard to breathe, for a minute, with Harry shaking beneath him with what might have been laughter or weeping.
"You didn't actually say yes," Severus pointed out when he had swallowed whatever was blocking his throat. Harry's fingers were digging into his shoulder blades and one knee was pressing against Severus's side. Squirming might have dislodged his cock from inside Harry, so Severus tried to keep still.
"You didn't actually ask," countered Harry, who for once wasn't crying. "Marry me."
"It isn't technically..."
"Then live with me forever and be foolish and fond with me. By which I mean yes, I want to be your civil partner." Harry shifted around so he could kiss Severus, causing Severus's cock to slip out in a wet rush. "And you can fuck me or make love to me as often as you want."
Severus kissed him back. "I suppose we'll have to tell your family."
He had not meant to be witty, but Harry laughed and laughed, wiping his eyes. "Oh! I suppose so, yes. It might be considered polite to tell my children. In fact, we might need to have another party."
"But not a wedding."
Harry laughed harder.
"Harry, not a wedding with those -- you always get what you want, don't you?"
Harry's smile was foolish and fond. "Yes."
cruisedirector and schemingreaderTitle: Not Family
Authors:
schemingreader and cruisedirectorFandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Snape/Harry (others mentioned)
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Possible misuse of icing. Domestic bliss.
Summary: Harry is divorced. How did Severus wind up with all these in-laws?
Beta: The fabulous
rexluscus.Notes: Sequel to "Not Sleeping," "Not Alone," "Not Telling" and "Not Easy." Last part.
Words: ~6000
"This is why I never married."
Severus thought he had merely raised an eyebrow, but the expression must have conveyed some unintended meaning, because Minerva McGonagall fixed him with a glare and demanded, "Did you believe it was because no one had ever asked me?"
"Certainly not." Raising his glass, Severus saluted her before he tossed back the last of the whisky and lifted the bottle to pour again. "I had imagined, however, that the most worthy candidates were likely Slytherins."
Ginny's voice traveled across the room. "It is not your business, Percy, and of anyone in this family who has no business telling me..." Severus tried to ignore her without Occluding. He refilled Minerva's glass, though hers was only half empty.
"When I was a student, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup six years in a row." Minerva smiled nostalgically. "I had already decided that I wanted to teach. I couldn't see myself following a star Quidditch player from Falmouth to Wimbourne and on to Transylvania for the World Cup, although he did plead with me. His father believed that women should remain at home with the children, like Mrs. Weasley."
Across the room, Mrs. Weasley was now attempting to intercede in the discussion between Ginevra and her brothers. Arthur had retired from the Ministry, but Molly continued to serve as chief administrator of the home for orphans established in the aftermath of the war. Severus would only have been slightly surprised if she had become Minister of Magic by the time he returned from South America.
"Such a shame about Gryffindor this season," he declared to Minerva. "If only your Beater had not been disqualified for blagging, he might have stood some chance of stopping young Scorpius there." The boy had arrived with Ginny and her children and was, at present, playing Gobstones with Lily Potter, who was winning handily.
Harry was grinning at Severus like a complete idiot. "What's wrong, Potter?" Minerva asked testily.
"Nothing."
"Not rooting for Slytherin House now that you have a daughter there?"
"Oh, no, of course not," Harry said. "Having the children in different houses means not talking Quidditch much, at all." He gestured. "Carry on."
"So pleased we amuse you," she replied acidly.
Draco Malfoy came in with his father. Lucius leaned surreptitiously on the cane he'd once carried only for style. Arthur Weasley froze and Molly put a hand on his arm as Harry's daughter Lily came to meet them in the doorway. "Happy Christmas, Mr. Malfoy," she said.
"Happy Christmas, Lily," Draco responded, and his father echoed him. Narcissa came inside a moment later, carrying a platter that was promptly sent off to the kitchen by Draco.
"Ginevra, darling, how wonderful that you invited us," she gushed. She kissed Ginny on both cheeks. Severus rose; he was determined that Harry would come off handsomely somehow.
"Severus," Narcissa said, relief evident in her voice. "Happy Christmas." She kissed him, too, and then it was only natural for Harry to shake her hand, as he was right there.
"I think you know my moth -- know Arthur and Molly Weasley," Harry said.
"Yes, happy Christmas," Molly and Narcissa said at the same time. Arthur and Lucius just stood looking at each other.
Ron and Hermione and their two children came in at that moment, which was fortunate as Severus had no inclination to step between the glaring older wizards.
"We've got parcels for everyone," Hugo announced. "Hullo Scorp, hullo Al! My Muggle grandparents bought us the most smashing chocolates -- I brought some to share."
"Your parents bought chocolates?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "People change."
"You're not wrong." Ron was glaring daggers at Ginny, who had gone over to give Draco a chaste kiss on the cheek. Hermione followed her husband as he stormed over to greet them both, scowling.
Severus had learned from Lily that Ginny had moved in with Draco -- very nearly the day her divorce from Harry had become final. It was hard to say which of their mothers was more distressed at this turn of events. Severus suspected that it might be Molly, because despite her obsession with proper appearances, Narcissa seemed simply delighted to have three more children in her life.
Albus continued to resist the Malfoys. Severus had overheard more than one tearful conversation in which the boy had told Harry that he didn't want to stay with Ginny -- he wanted to live with Harry and Severus all the time -- but Harry, who saw much more of the children at Hogwarts, had insisted that Albus remain with his siblings for the holidays. James had accepted Draco once a few tricks with frogs and flobberworms failed to land him in serious trouble, and Lily liked Scorpius.
"I hope they haven't brought outrageous gifts," Harry muttered to Hermione, who had made her way back over from the spot where Ginny was now speaking in forceful tones to three of her brothers. "Narcissa took Lily shopping and bought her fancy party dresses and a doll with outfits to match. It wasn't even her birthday. Ginny thought it would be rude to take them back. Can you imagine what will happen if Molly knitted the children jumpers and the Malfoys produce silver dragon chess sets that breathe fire?"
"I don't envy you," said Hermione, who gave Harry a brief hug of greeting, then surprised Severus by leaning up to embrace him. He stiffened automatically. Muggles did this at holiday celebrations, Hermione had been raised by Muggles, she would consider his behavior rude. A moment later she released him. "Professor Snape. It's good to see you. And Professor McGonagall." She extended a hand, which Minerva took, bemused.
"Hugo is determined to get Albus and Scorpius on speaking terms," Hermione informed them. Severus had trouble keeping himself from laughing. If there were any two boys likely to be discovered on the Astronomy Tower in seventh year, it was the young Malfoy scion and Potter's sweet middle child. He saw the looks that Scorpius gave Albus when he thought no one was looking. Who could blame him? Albus looked like Harry...
Harry, who was looking at him suspiciously. Minerva laughed. That was the problem with not Occluding; his thoughts were visible in his face. Luckily, Harry's favorite Weasley interrupted his next, obvious question.
"Mate, I know it's not your fault, but could you do something about my sister?" Ron's sotto voce question carried far enough that it earned them a glare from Ginevra.
"No," Harry said.
"I don't mean about Malfoy -- Malfoy! -- but could you persuade her to go easy on my mum?"
"No," Harry said. "She's her mother. Even when we were married, that wasn't a relationship I was going to get in the middle of."
Privately Severus thought that it was likely Ginny who needed protection from Molly rather than the other way around. Even had he been inclined to voice such an opinion, however, the vegetable dip would have kept him silent. Most of the Boxing Day food consisted of leftovers from the various family Christmas parties of the day before -- Harry's children had spent the morning with their father and himself, the evening with their mother and grandparents -- but Molly had tossed all the uneaten veg onto a platter and made a paste with curry and creme fraiche, and the result was delicious.
Ron stuck out a hand, stiffly, as if he had had to work up to the action. "Professor Snape," he muttered in greeting.
"Mister Weasley." Severus offered him a small smile, which seemed to unnerve Ron even more. "Congratulations. I am told that your daughter is an excellent Potions student."
"Got that from Hermione, not me." Shuffling his feet, Ron blushed faintly. Rose Weasley stood slightly off to the side, watching the other children play Gobstones, nose wrinkling slightly as the spitting commenced again. Scorpius laughed delightedly, but Severus remembered his own mother insisting that he play against her -- she had always won -- and sympathized with the girl. Christmas at the Snape household had generally involved his father drinking too much and falling into either a sleep or a rage while his mother attempted to keep Severus distracted.
"Should I ask everyone to come into the dining room before Arthur and Lucius come to blows?" Harry asked Severus in a low voice. The two men were pointedly avoiding one another as they greeted the other guests.
"Before one of the children spills soup on the carpet, at least." There were more than a dozen wizards and witches present capable of casting an effective cleaning charm, but Severus did not want to listen to the cries of dismay beforehand.
Raising his voice, Harry called over the chatter, "Thank you all for coming. I know this hasn't...it's been a complicated year for all of us." Draco had his arm around Ginny, at whom Molly was shooting glares, while Narcissa was trying to insinuate herself near Lily and Scorpius without getting too close to the Gobstones. "If you'll come into the dining room, we can start dinner."
"For someone who always hated parties, you seem to be having rather a good time," Lucius said low in his ear as they passed on the way into dinner. "Schadenfreude?"
"Naturally," Severus said. "How entertaining it would be if you and Arthur Weasley engaged in fisticuffs, again." Lucius blanched; it was just detectable under his usual pallor. "Though I don't suppose my nubile young lover would enjoy it, and I would hate to be deprived of my evening's entertainment just for the pleasure of watching you repair a bloody nose."
"So touchy," Lucius complained.
"I always was," Severus said.
But he was having a good time, and keeping Lucius Malfoy in line was not the least of it. He'd never liked Christmas, but he was enjoying being part of a happy family. It was almost like being back at Hogwarts with Albus, except that he actually felt he was a part of things. Or, at least, no more an outsider than the numerous other people here today attempting to work out where they belonged.
"This used to be my kitchen, Mum, you aren't going to keep me out," Ginny was saying sharply from across the room as Severus entered. He could see that it was not Ginny whom Molly was politely trying to block, but Narcissa, who had been explaining that she had brought something delicate prepared by her house-elves, the serving of which she wanted to supervise personally. All the children were sitting together at the end of the table furthest from the fireplace; Draco and Ron both reached for the seat next to James, then paused and gave each other appraising looks.
The front door banged open, causing silence to descend over the room as everyone turned at the sound. "Am I late?" A rather handsome young man strode into the dining room with a wide smile on his face and promptly tripped over a chair leg, practically landing in Severus's lap. "Bugger! I'm sorry!" he stammered, hair turning faintly reddish as he straightened. "Oh! You must be Snape."
"That's Teddy," Lily piped up from the end of the table. "He's not supposed to say 'bugger' when there are children in the room." Severus had seen Lupin and Tonks' son on several occasions, but had never spoken to him. He had thought the young man resembled his mother, though he could see now that the shape of his face was entirely his father's...this was what Remus Lupin might have looked like had he not been bitten by a werewolf as a child, scarred and frightened and taught to make himself blend in.
"Brought you a present, Lils," Teddy announced, turning away from Severus for a moment to grin at her. Conversation resumed all around, and in that moment Teddy caught Severus's arm. "I'd heard that you were back. You were at Hogwarts with my father, weren't you? If we..."
Severus was saved by Arthur, who came over to give Teddy a pat on the back. At one time Severus had heard that Teddy was dating Arthur's oldest granddaughter, but Bill's family was in France at present and Severus did not know whether that youthful romance had come to an end. Despite having been orphaned as a baby, Teddy did not seem as desperate for a family as Harry had been.
And what was he going to tell Teddy Lupin if the young man hoped for tales of heroism about his father? Severus was likely the only one of his contemporaries who had known Remus Lupin's secrets. He sighed inwardly. Lupin was dead, Severus was here; he supposed he could mention that he and Lupin had attended meetings of the Order of the Phoenix in this very house. Lupin had tried to be kind to him -- he ought to find a way to do the poor fellow a good turn twenty years later. He tried to look pleasant; young Lupin looked mildly alarmed.
"Place cards," Harry muttered under his breath. "I should have listened to Hermione and got place cards. Everyone is trying to sit with the children."
Molly and Narcissa, having reached some sort of modus vivendi, emerged from the kitchen followed by enormous platters of food.
Minerva cleared her throat. "Severus," she said, and handed him a glass of wine, lifting her eyebrows. She tapped her wand on the tablecloth, and bottles of sparkling wine popped their corks and filled the wineglasses at each place.
"I would like to propose a toast," Severus said in his lecture voice. All eyes turned to him, and the room grew quiet. What would he say? Absent friends? Gaaah. God Save the Queen? No. To Harry's incredible arse, which makes you all worthwhile? He was sorely tempted. They were still waiting. "To new beginnings," he said. "Happy Christmas."
Everyone took a drink. Little Rose sputtered a little and Lily giggled, not unkindly. They nudged each other. Harry started them passing the food, and for awhile there was nothing but eating and drinking.
"Ron," Harry called, "I've still got your wizard's chess set from school upstairs. Let's have a rematch."
"I suppose you've been practicing with Snape," Ron said. He was only a little stiff about it.
"I'm not very good at chess," Severus admitted. "I can't offer much of a game."
"Darts, that was always your game," Lucius said. "Wasn't it? It's a game of throwing sharp things at a target, Scorpius." Of course, the young Malfoys were too pureblooded to know what darts was.
"I'll give you a game of darts," George Weasley offered. He'd become a very quiet man, but sometimes his old sly humour bubbled up. "As long as you'll let me stand behind you, Professor."
Severus winced inwardly. Harry squeezed his thigh under the table and said, "Great, then. I think Ginny has rather good aim as well."
"Yes, we'll both play, Professor," Draco said.
"Good, that's you lot sorted," Minerva said in an undertone to Hermione, who grinned.
Ginny won the first round of darts, which seemed to irritate Lucius more than Draco. Severus had not been concentrating fully; he had been half-watching Harry and also half-watching Albus and Scorpius, who stood to the side watching the darts intently. Both children were moderately talented Seekers, and Severus did not entirely trust either not to try to pluck a dart out of the air mid-throw. James, Hugo, Lily and Rose preferred to play chess -- the boys teamed against the girls in a long and close match.
Teddy joined the darts players in the second round. His tosses were erratic: some were perfectly thrown, while others were clumsily misdirected. Ignoring both Harry and Albus, Severus pulled his focus in and scored several points more than Ginny, who attempted to be gracious in losing and shook his hand. He would not have minded outright hostility from her. He was sorry to see her anger directed alternately at Harry and her mother, each of whom she snapped at about trivial matters, whether the soup tureen should be soaked and where had Lily lost her hair ribbons.
"Is it time for gifts yet?" Narcissa asked brightly, pulling herself away from a conversation with Hermione whose subject Severus couldn't imagine. Ron and Harry appeared to be hopelessly deadlocked at chess, while James and Hugo couldn't agree what their next move should be and Rose was insisting that they forfeit since they had taken too long to decide.
"Wait until you see what I've made for each of you," Molly said in a tone of great satisfaction.
"Think it's another jumper?" Teddy whispered to Albus, elbowing him good-naturedly.
The gifts were not jumpers. They were heavy Quidditch gloves and matching socks in each child's House colors. All the adults got a large jar of jam, including Draco and each of his parents. Severus' was rosehip and apple, and it had a green ribbon; he was surprisingly pleased to receive it. Harry went suspiciously pink and left the room for a moment.
"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said.
"Your grandmother was the first person ever to give me a Christmas present," Harry told Lily in a low voice.
"I know, Dad," she said.
"I made you a scarf, also, Harry," Molly said. "I know you are all too old for the jumpers, but Harry...needs a bit of looking after. "
"Mum," Ginny said through her teeth.
Harry made some coded marital gesture with his eyebrows, and she calmed down a little. He put his arm around Molly Weasley and kissed her on the cheek and said something in a low voice.
Minerva handed round tins of shortbread. Severus had made everyone small bottles of potion: bruise-healing paste for the children and calming draught for the adults. It was the same thing they both had given their colleagues at Hogwarts.
Then Narcissa brought out her boxes. Each of the adults received a rare quill and ink set in a leather case. Severus believed his own to be a roc feather, and recognized the ink as containing lazurite. Harry's quill and ink were both cinnabar red.
The packages for the children were much larger. Each contained an Invisibility Cloak.
Arthur went red in the face, sputtering, "You can't give such things to children! Not only are they restricted..."
"It's the best present ever!" Hugo was racing across the room. Half his body was missing where the folds of the cloak flapped around him.
"They can't take them to school," Percy said in a haughty voice. "Can you imagine the rules they would break?" Harry, Ron and Hermione were all silent, staring alternately at the floor and one another. Harry looked suspiciously as though he might begin to laugh.
Striding over to Lily, Molly attempted to wrestle the cloak from atop her head, where the little girl had twisted it like a turban, making everything above her eyes disappear. "Give me that! This is extremely generous of you, Lucius, Narcissa, but you must realize that the children cannot possibly..."
"Harry and I can make decisions for our own children, thank you, Mother," Ginny announced. James and Albus had disappeared entirely, having built a sort of tent around themselves with their cloaks and crouched down to fit inside.
"Don't worry, Ginny," Hermione said. "These cloaks won't hold up the way Harry's has."
Ginny clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes, threw up her hands in a gesture reminiscent of Molly, and stalked out of the room.
Harry sank into a chair. "Can we take them to school, Daddy?" Lily asked.
"I might need to think about that," Harry said. "As I'm teaching there."
"They're technically permitted," Minerva said. "At least, there's precedent to allow them."
Severus began to laugh. The room seemed to quiet. Molly Weasley was dabbing at her eyes. She was looking at Harry, who was smiling like a damned fool.
"What?" Severus inquired.
"Nothing," Harry said.
"Who knew you could laugh like that?" Minerva chuckled. "That's really --"
"Sexy!" George Weasley put in, leering.
"What's wrong now?" Ginny asked her mother, having come back in holding a drink.
"You aren't ever getting back together, are you?"
"No," Ginny replied, but her voice was gentle.
"I see that," her mother sniffled. Briskly, she tucked away her handkerchief and turned back to the children. "Albus and James, come out from under there!" she commanded.
It was Scorpius's head that popped out first, followed by James and then Albus. "Can't we stay under here and play chess?" the fair-haired boy asked. He offered Molly a charming smile.
Lucius's smile was a mirror of his grandson's. "How nice to see them all getting along," he said smoothly.
"We haven't given you our presents." Draco had summoned a set of packages. "I don't know about the rest of you but I could use some of this." He had brought each of the adults a very fine bottle of wine from the vineyards on the Malfoy family estate in France. Ginny had provided charmed sleeves, weightless, to keep the bottles at their ideal temperatures.
Teddy had brought gifts only for the children -- Pygmy Puffs for the girls, snails for the boys, each in appropriate containers with a supply of food donated, he said, by Uncle George. George had also brought elaborate decorative candles for the adults that changed their color and shape as they were exposed to flame. Severus received one that looked like a fire crab.
"I had a really hard time coming up with gifts this year," Harry said.
Immediately everyone in the room began to speak. "You know there's no need, dear," Molly assured him.
"It's quite enough that you've played host to all of us," added Hermione. Draco and Lucius both looked relieved.
"Still, I didn't want to send people home empty-handed." Severus looked at him curiously. Whatever Harry had got up to, he had done it without asking for advice or assistance. Looking a bit sheepish, he pulled out a Muggle camera. "I knew I'd want to remember today, and I hoped everyone else would, too. So I have a folding frame for everybody, and if you could all come stand by the tree?"
Reluctant to stand next to each other, the guests clumped and reassembled until they formed a group with the taller ones in back and the smaller children in the front. Harry put the camera on a tripod.
Severus stood off to the side, waiting. Harry took his hand and steered him into the group. "Here, you'll stand by me," he said.
"I don't look good in photographs," Severus said.
Harry gave him the Lily Evans patented green glare. "I want my children to have a photo of everyone who is important to them."
"But surely I'm not --" Severus began, but then he shut up. All three Potter children were smiling at him.
"He always says that," Lily said.
Severus stood in the back between Lucius and Arthur, with Harry standing in front of him. At the last moment, Harry pulled one of Severus's arms around his waist, and the flash went off.
The camera spat out a single sheet upon which an image slowly coalesced. Such cameras had not existed for Muggles or wizards when Severus was very young, and it still seemed like magic to him that the photos developed instantaneously. Harry used a spell to replicate the photograph and nearly two dozen small silver frames flapped over, popping open to admit the pictures, then folding neatly against a mirrored side into neat flat squares.
"Cake, then," Molly said briskly, marching the children off to the kitchen while yanking an Invisibility Cloak from Hugo's head. Severus followed them without prompting. He hoped there wouldn't be a silly game to find the silvered almond or whatever it was that meant someone was supposed to get married, but Molly's cakes were worth that risk. Harry's sweet tooth must have been rubbing off on him.
Harry caught up with him in the kitchen, holding a plate dripping over the edges with buttercream icing. He also had a bit of buttercream on his nose. Had they been alone, Severus would have licked it off, and then they would likely have made love in the kitchen despite Severus's protests of discomfort.
Since they were not alone, he contented himself with wiping off Harry's nose with his finger and licking the finger clean. Harry's pupils dilated watching him. "Maybe Molly will leave the extra icing," Harry whispered.
"Whatever could you have in mind?" Severus smirked.
"I can't discuss it now -- there are children present, and ex-wives and Malfoys." Harry looked pleased with himself. Severus glanced over to see Lucius eating Molly's cake with relish. "But eventually everyone's got to go home."
Eventually, they did go home. Molly surprised him by kissing him on the cheek. Minerva left him another bottle of the excellent whisky. The children all shook his hand and Albus kissed him goodbye. That last was a bit of a shock, as he had never kissed a man on the cheek when he was a lad, but apparently Harry's children always kissed their father, so Albus thought he ought to kiss Severus as well.
The last of Potters and Weasleys and Malfoys straggled out the door and left Harry beaming at him stupidly.
"What did you say to Lucius?" Harry asked. "Why didn't he goad Arthur again?"
"Nothing. Why are you laughing?" Severus swallowed a smile. "I might have reminded him what happened the last time."
"He has a bad temper, my father-in -- I mean, my ex -- Arthur has a bad --"
"Don't worry about it so much." Severus put a hand on his shoulder.
"That isn't something I ever thought I'd hear you say."
"Life is complicated, and I have excellent buttercream to lick off your naked torso."
Harry smiled again. "Everyone had a good time, didn't they? And the children all get along. And Draco's grown up a bit, finally. And his mum and Molly..."
"Quiet." Severus was unbuttoning Harry's shirt. It had been a pleasant enough meal, particularly the sweets and Minerva's whisky, but such gatherings always became tedious, and Severus had had enough domesticity for the week. It was easy enough to silence Harry with his mouth, but he couldn't kiss Harry and march him upstairs at the same time, even with the bowl of icing floating behind them. "Bedroom."
"Yes, Professor." Harry took over the task of unbuttoning as they climbed the stairs as Severus allowed pieces of his own clothing to fall away. "Did you ask Molly to leave the icing? Or were we just lucky?"
"I used my powers of suggestion."
"You sweet-talked Molly Weasley? Severus, I'm surprised at you."
"Of course not. I used the Imperius curse."
In the bedroom doorway, Harry whirled. "You didn't!" He looked as though he couldn't decide whether to be amused or aghast. Severus laughed at him, and Harry blushed sheepishly. "You didn't."
Severus could not resist Harry blushing. He kissed him again, rubbing his hard prick against Harry's hip. "Now will you be quiet and get on the bed?"
Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled them down together. He frotted against Severus' thigh. "Mmm," he said. "I got hard when you started laughing like that, in front of everyone."
Severus licked his neck, and murmured into it, "You're distracting me." He pushed the shirt over Harry's shoulders, and then pulled off his vest underneath. "Better," he said. He undid the belt holding up Harry's trousers, pretending to ignore the impatient thrust of his hips. He took off all of Harry's clothing, a piece at a time, while Harry panted. "You'd best hold the headboard," he told Harry, who complied.
He put his hand on his wand to get the bowl of buttercream to hover next to him, and used the spatula to paint Harry's nipples with it. He paused to look at his handiwork before he bent his head and licked the sugary unctuous stuff. He was thorough. It was always best to be thorough.
"You're making a lot of noise," he observed.
"Kiss me, then," Harry said. "That's sure to --" he gasped as Severus swiped his tongue over the buttercreamed left nipple, and then groaned when he shared the taste of chocolate by licking it over Harry's eager tongue.
The icing had thickened in the air and its sugar was beginning to crystallize. It clung in sticky clumps to Harry's armpit hair before his body heat began to warm it, making a thick paste that oozed slowly down his side. "Tickles," gasped Harry, twisting helplessly, still clinging to the headboard as Severus licked the softening sweetness away. "Please. Want more..."
He might have meant more kissing, but Severus was busy swiping buttercream into his pubic hair. He licked and sucked it away, mouth brushing Harry's cock.
Did chocolate buttercream go with arse? In Severus's experience there was little that Harry's arse did not improve, and he let the spatula slip around Harry's balls, between the buttocks that lifted as Harry raised his legs, bending his knees. "You had better intend to clean that up," Harry said with a shiver. Severus did, sucking each testicle into his mouth in turn, then licking through the furrow and around and around the hole.
"God, fuck, Severus, fuck me already, please!"
"I think it's your turn," Severus smirked.
"I'm giving it to you! Consider it your Christmas present."
"Does that mean you didn't buy me an engraved cock ring?"
Harry stopped writhing and looked down at him. "If I gave you a ring, would you wear it? Not a cock ring. A real --"
But Severus wouldn't let him finish. He couldn't answer that question now, his head clouded with whisky and lust. He began to slick his cock with the buttercream.
"What are you doing? You can't fuck me with that," Harry said.
"I don't plan to," Severus said, and straddled his face. Harry gamely began to lick and suck the sweet chocolate off the head, and then the shaft. He pulled Severus deep into his throat. This was a long-standing game with them -- Harry would suck him to the edge, until Severus was so close to coming that he would tell Harry he wanted to fuck him.
Severus looked down into those beautiful eyes, and saw that they were tearing. He pulled back. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Harry gasped, and tried to suck him some more.
"If I've bruised your throat you aren't --"
"It's not my --" he was really weeping and pretending not to be. Severus got off him and pulled him up. "Sorry, I've spoiled -- didn't mean to spoil the mood --"
"Whatever is the matter?"
Harry waved a hand over his face and tried to get his mouth down to suck Severus again.
"Harry, come on. Harry."
"I'm sentimental and I've had too much to drink," he said. "I just want you to always be mine, and never leave."
"You are sentimental," Severus said. "And foolish."
"And fond."
"Foolish and fond, that's right," Severus said, "and so am I."
Harry sat up and pulled a box out from under the pillow. "Happy Christmas."
"Accio parcel," Severus said, and then, holding it, "This wasn't how I planned this."
Harry studied Severus's box. It was obviously too large to hold a ring, unless the ring was inside several layers of packing. Severus thought that Harry was steeling his expression not to look disappointed.
The box from Harry, however, was very small. If it did not hold a ring, Severus could not imagine what it might enclose besides a vial containing memories for a Pensieve.
Opening the box, Severus pushed apart the flimsy paper and looked inside. He felt an odd pang at the discovery that it did not contain a ring after all, though the bright glint of gold caught his eye.
The box contained a medal. The Order of Merlin, First Class.
"Where did you get this?" he asked sharply. "Is it yours?"
Harry shook his head. "They never gave me one. Well -- they tried but by then I'd had enough of the Chosen One business. This one is yours. I asked if I could be the one to give it to you."
Severus felt a tightness in his throat. It was like the first meeting after his return with Minerva, when he had arrived expecting to be the object of her scorn and her first words had been, "Severus, I'm so sorry."
He held the box out to Harry, "I didn't earn this. I don't..."
"Yes, you did. They want -- I want you to have it."
He shook his head. "You are foolish. Open what I gave you."
"Is it a cock ring?" Harry waited to see if he would laugh, but he was still looking at the medal.
He looked up. Harry had opened the box. "These are the papers to register for a civil partnership."
"I hope I didn't presume too much."
"You've got rings in here, too, in the smaller box..."
Severus couldn't help laughing. Harry was so surprised. "Well, we're generally civil to each other."
"You, you --"
"What?"
"I love you so much, you wanker."
"That's quite civil."
But Harry had launched himself across the bed and was kissing him again. "Now we must fuck like rabbits."
"Don't you even want to sign the papers first?"
"No. Consummate first, engagement after." There was still a streak of buttercream across Severus's thigh. Harry bent down to lick it. "I'll even fuck you, if you insist."
"After offering me your arse as a Christmas present? You can't think I'm going to give that up in exchange for a Ministry medal." Harry's mouth moved back to Severus's cock, sliding over the head and moving the foreskin up and down. "I will fuck you, then we can sign the papers, and then if I am still awake and my aging libido has not shut down for the duration of the evening..."
Harry was laughing, eyes still suspiciously bright. "And you tell me to be quiet," he said, leaning up to kiss Severus before flinging himself down against the pillows and raising his legs again. "Love me."
Severus reached for proper lube. "I already told you that I do."
"You did, but your prick hasn't for hours."
"You persist," Severus said, pausing to look at the beauty of Harry's body spread for him, for him, "in thinking of sex as making love." He positioned himself, relishing the moment of fitting the head of his cock into the ring of muscle, slowly, teasing himself, teasing Harry.
Then he thrust his cock into the tight velvety heat of Harry's arse, and watched Harry's eyes roll upward in pleasure. He pulled back and thrust into him again and again.
"The way you do it," Harry managed to say as he grunted in extremis, "that's what it is."
Each push brought him closer. This was something that Severus could do for the rest of his life: watch the flush of Harry's skin, listen to his barely suppressed groans, feel the eager grab of his body. Burying his cock in Harry's arse, he could feel the delicious particularity of this body, of this Harry, who was all his. Harry was pulling him closer and Severus felt him tremble, sigh, convulse, come and come and come.
The sensation of the warm spunk on his own belly sent Severus over the edge, and he thrust wildly and said Harry's name and came. Then it was hard to breathe, for a minute, with Harry shaking beneath him with what might have been laughter or weeping.
"You didn't actually say yes," Severus pointed out when he had swallowed whatever was blocking his throat. Harry's fingers were digging into his shoulder blades and one knee was pressing against Severus's side. Squirming might have dislodged his cock from inside Harry, so Severus tried to keep still.
"You didn't actually ask," countered Harry, who for once wasn't crying. "Marry me."
"It isn't technically..."
"Then live with me forever and be foolish and fond with me. By which I mean yes, I want to be your civil partner." Harry shifted around so he could kiss Severus, causing Severus's cock to slip out in a wet rush. "And you can fuck me or make love to me as often as you want."
Severus kissed him back. "I suppose we'll have to tell your family."
He had not meant to be witty, but Harry laughed and laughed, wiping his eyes. "Oh! I suppose so, yes. It might be considered polite to tell my children. In fact, we might need to have another party."
"But not a wedding."
Harry laughed harder.
"Harry, not a wedding with those -- you always get what you want, don't you?"
Harry's smile was foolish and fond. "Yes."
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