Torina Archelda (torina_archelda) wrote in severus_sighs, @ 2009-10-26 18:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | fic, member: torina_archelda, pairing: severus/harry, rating: g |
Where No One Was Looking by Torina Archelda
Title: Where No One Was Looking
Author: torina_archelda
Pairing: Severus/Harry
Rating: G
Word Count: 2.2k
Warnings: none
Summary: For Adrienne for the SeverusSighs Secret Santa exchange last year (2008). Thanks to atypicalsnowman for the title and an awesome read-through.
A/N: You know I’d almost forgotten I’d written this? And then I realized that, in answer to winoniel's question at the meetup, this was my first ever snarry. Heh. So, time to post it outside the yahoo group I suppose. : )
Severus Snape held his tea between his hands to warm them and blew gently across the top of the revitalizing beverage. Harry was sipping at his slowly, and Severus couldn’t help but smile softly. After a long day of teaching rambunctious brats anxious to go home for the holidays, this was exactly what they both needed. He leaned back slightly in his chair and took a long drink of his tea, then turned to look at Harry’s face. His expression was tinged with sadness, and Severus couldn’t help but wonder why the flakes of snow, falling gracefully onto the vast canvas of Hogwarts’ grounds, would make him unhappy.
“Harry?” he prompted, and Harry turned away from the window with a smile.
“I’m fine, Severus,” he replied. “It’s just…” A far-off look came into his eyes, and Severus frowned slightly in confusion. “The last time I saw Ron and Hermione, it was snowing.”
Ah. Granger and Weasley. He should have known. He set his tea down on the table beside him and reached over to rest his hand on Harry’s arm. “Miss Granger will have her PhD in two years, at which point I’m certain she’ll be free to spend more time with you. And there is less than a year left of Mr. Weasley’s Unspeakable training.”
Harry smiled. “I know. Just sometimes it seems like I haven’t seen them in forever.” His smile widened. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you, Severus.”
Severus hummed, squeezed Harry’s hand gently, and went back to his tea in their companionable silence. Thirty minutes later he heard the clink of Harry’s cup against the table between them, and an hour after that he tore his gaze from the falling snow and turned to look at the man who meant the world to him. He smiled fondly upon realizing he was asleep and stood, draping a blanket over him and pausing a moment to watch him sleep. If someone had told him ten years ago that Harry Potter would come to be his best friend, he’d have given them a one-way ticket to St. Mungo’s. Now… Well. He couldn’t imagine life without Harry either.
Severus took one last long look at his slumbering friend and made his way to the kitchen, not even bothering to hope Harry had any decent groceries. They’d spent their time together in his quarters the last several days so it had been some time since Severus had seen his pantries, but the likelihood of Harry having anything other than miscellaneous frozen goods in his kitchen, especially on a Friday, was very small. He rummaged through the refrigerated cupboards and came up with some broccoli, carrots, and celery. He sniffed at the zucchini and then picked it up. It squished in his hand, and he wrinkled his nose and threw it away, baggy and all. There was only so much cooling and preserving charms could do. He pulled out a package of diced beef, leaving the cabinet unsurprisingly empty. He reached above the sink and took out the sesame seed oil and teriyaki sauce- the marinades he bought Harry usually lasted a while, and when they ran out Severus made sure to buy more- and began to brown the meat. He had just finished chopping up the vegetables and was pouring them into the pan when a hand snaked around him and reached for a carrot slice. He picked up the wooden spoon and slapped it away without pause. “None of that,” he said, and began stirring the mixture. Harry rested his head on his shoulder and inhaled.
“Mhm,” he said, his eyes closing again. “What’s cooking?”
“Stir fry, as you don’t have the ingredients for a proper meal.”
Harry smiled. “Smells lovely. And I don’t need to shop; you can make a meal out of anything, and failing that we’ve got the elves.”
Severus sighed. He hadn’t won this argument in eight years, and he doubted he ever would. “You’re out of meat, which is hardly unusual, but your vegetables are gone as well. Unless you plan on eating dry cereal, marinades, and salad dressing for the foreseeable future, I suggest you do your shopping at some point.”
“S’alright. I’ll just hang out at your place for a while.”
Severus turned his head a moment, looking back into the living room and out the window at the falling snow, his view partially obscured by the mop of messy hair on his shoulder. “There isn’t nearly such a lovely view in the dungeons,” he replied, and Harry sighed.
“Oh, all right,” he agreed, walking over to the kitchen table and pulling the grocery catalogue toward him. “Am I out of milk as well?” Severus lamented the loss of the warmth on his shoulder a moment before replying.
“You haven’t had milk in weeks. Cereal and dressing, Harry. Feel free to assume you’re out of anything else.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “All right, smarty pants. Milk, bread, cheese, some form of meat-”
“You know you always end up with beef. The elves are serving turkey for Christmas, why don’t you order some chicken? I’ll make chicken marsala Friday next.”
“All right, so butter, mushrooms, we’re never out of wine, a few loaves of bread, assorted vegetables-”
“No zucchini. You know it always goes to waste.”
"Mm, rice or noodles? Rice is always good but-”
“Might as well get both. It’s not as if they go bad, and you’re not likely to shop again anytime soon.”
“True. All right, anything else?”
“No, that sounds fine. Hand me a dish, would you?” Harry grabbed a bowl from above the stove and held it while Severus spooned the food into it, smiling.
“Looks delicious as always, Severus,” he said, setting the bowl down on the table and taking out two plates and water glasses as Severus cleaned up.
“Oh! Better send this off with Hedwig, else you’ll never stop whining about the state of my kitchen.” Harry stood, grocery list in hand, and Severus rolled his eyes.
“If the state of your kitchen wasn’t consistently deplorable, I would have nothing to degrade. You deserve entirely each and every one of my remarks.”
From over by Hedwig’s cage, Harry laughed. “I’m not fifteen anymore, Severus. Professor mode doesn’t scare me- I am a professor.” Harry closed the window after his owl and frowned. “Speaking of which. We’ve got exams to grade.”
“So we have. Very well, I’ll retire to my quarters after lunch. Breakfast in my quarters tomorrow- say eight o’clock?”
Harry smiled. “It’s a date, Severus.”
Severus smiled back, and settled in to enjoy lunch with Harry.
* * * * *
Severus looked at the clock for the fifth time in ten minutes and frowned. It was half past eight, and Harry was late. He had probably just overslept, but… There was a part of Severus Snape that would always be a soldier. And all of him would always be concerned for Harry. He swept out of his quarters in a swirl of black robes and quickly climbed the four flights of stairs that separated his and Harry’s chambers. “Veritas,” he told the portrait, and the door swung open. He turned into the living room, and released an audible breath upon seeing Harry slumped over his desk, quill in hand, exams piled up in front of him, and an unstoppered bottle of red ink drying out in the air.
He capped the ink and took the quill from Harry’s hand, both amused and unsurprised that this didn’t even make him twitch. He bent over and carefully lifted Harry bridal-style into his arms. Harry murmured sleepily and wrapped his arms around his neck, frowning slightly. “Shh,” Severus whispered. “It’s only me. Go back to sleep.” Harry smiled and snuggled into his arms, sighing contentedly and dropping off to sleep.
Severus carried him to his room and laid him down on his bed, but when he tried to stand Harry wouldn’t let him go. He quickly disentangled himself from Harry’s arms and pulled the covers up to his chin. Harry frowned a little but then latched onto a pillow and fell back into a peaceful sleep with a sigh and a smile.
* * * * *
Harry walked quickly into the Great Hall at lunchtime that day, his cheeks flushed and his hands in his pockets. He slid into his accustomed seat by Severus and murmured, “I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep grading exams. How long did you wait for me before you came and found me?”
“Half an hour. How late were you up last night?”
“Think I conked out around three or four.” Harry sighed, loading mashed potatoes onto his plate. “I just wanted to get the exams out of the way so I could enjoy Christmas, you know? I didn’t mean to miss breakfast. I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing, Harry.”
“You know it was. I’d have been worried if you’d have done the same to me.” Harry grinned. “Maybe we ought to just move in together and have done with it.”
“Mm, so there would always be food in your pantry and dirty socks on my floor? I think not.”
Harry laughed, and Severus couldn’t help but smile. He opened his mouth to retort when suddenly Hedwig landed on his shoulder. “Hey, girl,” he said, petting her. “You got my receipt there?” He fed the bird a piece of ham and petted her head. “Thanks, Hedwig.” The owl flew off, and Harry opened the letter. “Groceries will be here Tuesday, Severus. That ought to make you happy, hm?” He had just turned back to his plate when another owl swooped through the window, a letter in its beak, and dropped a letter in Harry’s lap before circling the table twice and perching on the back of Harry’s chair.
Harry read through the letter once, and then Severus reached over and took it from his hands. “What have we here?” he asked, beginning to read.
“Nothing,” said Harry, reaching into his bag and pulling out parchment and a quill. “Oliver Wood wants to go to dinner Boxing Day.”
Severus finished scanning the letter and set it down on the table. “And?”
“And I’ve told him no.” Harry signed the letter, folded it, and tied it to the owl’s leg, feeding it the last bit of ham from his plate. “You about done?” he asked, turning to Severus just as the owl flew away. “We haven’t had our walk today.”
Severus took one last sip of water and stood, wrapping his cloak around him. He straightened Harry’s earmuffs, and Harry reached up and pulled his hat further down on his head. They said their goodbyes and made their way out of the Hall, bracing themselves against the cold as they walked out into it. For a while the only sound was their shoes crunching in the snow.
“Why did you turn Wood down?”
Harry looked startled, then shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s just not what I’m looking for, I guess.”
“I wasn’t aware you were looking at all,” Severus said wryly, and Harry flushed. “Hmm. And what are you looking for, Harry?”
Harry’s expression turned thoughtful, and Severus couldn’t be certain if the rose on his cheeks was due to the cold or the lingering stain of a blush. “I don’t know,” he said, frowning a bit in concentration. “Someone intelligent, certainly. They’d have to be stubborn, or they’d never make any headway with me.” Now Harry was grinning. “You know how I can get. It would be nice if they were well-read- some of our best conversations have been about literature. Witty, can take a joke, they’d have to deal with buying groceries themselves if they wanted them, because you know how I am about that-”
Severus started to get a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he wasn’t sure what it meant. Harry… Well, it was almost as if Harry was describing him. But that was impossible. Harry was his best friend, he could never-
But now he looked at Harry, truly looked at him; at the animated way his hands were moving and the growing excitement in his eyes as he described his ideal partner, the sun glinting off his hair and the snowflakes falling on his face, how beautiful he was sleeping and the way he had curled into him when he’d carried him this morning, the feeling of loss he felt every time the warmth of Harry’s body pulled away from him.
Suddenly the light of realization came into Harry’s eyes, and he stopped abruptly, surprise and confusion written on his face. “Well, I- What about you, Severus? What are you looking for?” And in that moment, for the first time in his life, Severus knew exactly what he was looking for, what he wanted. He stopped, and looked at Harry once again. And there was confusion in his eyes- but not disgust or fear.
“Well,” he began, reaching out a hand and brushing a snowflake from Harry’s reddened cheeks, “it seems I’m partial to obnoxious Gryffindor brats who grow up to be better friends than I ever thought I’d have, and I’ll settle for nothing less.”
Harry’s eyes were warm, but his lips were warmer. And as Severus tangled his fingers in his hair and felt Harry’s arms wrap around his neck and kissed the man he loved above all others, he spared a thought for the snow around him, and didn’t think it would make Harry sad anymore.