Fic: A Holiday Tradition - for fancypantsdylan Title: A Holiday Tradition Author: Lavender Brown? Giftee:fancypantsdylan Word Count: ~2000 words Rating: PG Pairing: Snarry, of course. Warnings: * Mpreg, fluffy* Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. Summary: The title says it all. Author's Notes: Happy Holidays, my dear. I hope this meets your every wish. Thanks ever so much to the minx 17 and bellathedark and triciagnosis.
A Holiday Tradition
Harry stood in the shadows of the doorway, listening intently to the rumble of Severus’ voice as he told the children, their children, the story of how they met, how they fell in love.
It was a Christmas tradition. Just as much as leaving cookies out for St. Nicholas and carrots for the reindeer was. Only this was no fantasy, no tale of a fat man in a red suit. This was their reality, one that started the year after Voldemort’s defeat.
A fantasy of sorts. Severus did have a tendency to evade the difficult moments in their courtship. Harry had found that as the years went by he minded those mindless slips less and less.
"Mr. Potter, perhaps you could explain what you are doing lurking around the entrance to my home?" The silky baritone with the iced chocolate undertones was just as thrilling as he recalled, but nowhere near as threatening as it could be. "I do not believe I was expecting you."
"Well you should’ve been. It is Wednesday, after all. And I’ve been here for tea every Wednesday for the past six months." Harry’s voice was lightened by the underlying laughter.
"Now that you mention it, I have been aware of that particular annoyance. Perhaps this is the week that you might care to explain why you are subjecting us both to this inane social ritual?" Severus’ words may have seemed designed to chase Harry back to his office, but his actions, as he opened the door and motioned Harry forward, were very welcoming indeed.
"Perhaps."
Over time, with applications of tea and chocolate biscuits, things began to alter their shapes. Harry discovered that he enjoyed matching wits with Severus, who in his turn, seemed to enjoy being challenged on subjects other than Potions. Tea grew into supper and Firewhiskey by the fire.
The light soprano of Eileen Lily broke into Harry’s thoughts as she asked her father her traditional questions: "Papa, what is Firewhiskey? Can I try it? Would I like it?"
Severus’ chuckle circled his family. "Eileen, no, I do not think that you would like it. It is a special drink for adults. When you are eighteen, my Ravenclaw, I shall drink a glass with you."
The Yule log popped and sent up a spray of what Harry had taught the children to call ‘fireplace stars’ and clothing rustled as his children wriggled to get more comfortable, knowing that their story was nowhere near done, because Daddy and Papa hadn’t run into Uncle Arthur or Aunty ‘Ermmie. That part of the story wasn’t fun but it was exciting with things blowing up, like the Muggle action movie Harry had taken Severus to once upon a time. Harry paused at the door, listening to Severus’ voice without really hearing his words as the memory of that night rolled through his memory.
"And that, my Slytherin friend, is how dating Muggles spend an evening."
"Watching pretty men pretend to blow things up, eating greasy popcorn, and paying too much for the privilege?"
Harry thoughtfully considered his companion’s comment. "Pretty much, yeah. But on the other hand we haven’t had to look over our shoulders all evening; no-one has taken our picture or screamed or been out for blood. We got to spend an entire evening in public, in each other’s company, and, while I don’t know about you, I’ve had a great time tonight from dinner through the movie."
Only in his own head did Harry add the wish for a good night kiss as they Apparated back to Diagon Alley. Heading towards Harry’s flat, they were still discussing the bad and worse points of the movie when they almost ran into Arthur Weasley.
Arthur and Molly may have thought of themselves as his foster-parents, but after the end of the war… well, Harry knew he had changed, but Molly and most of the others in the Order seemed to want him to be eleven and just starting adolescence all over again. Of course most of them had never forgiven Snape - always Snape, never Severus - for anything in his past nor thanked him for everything he had done for the Order.
"Harry! How are you?" Arthur’s expression and voice were both warm and welcoming. Warm and welcoming, that is, until he caught sight of Harry’s companion. "Professor. Harry, Molly was just saying that we hadn’t heard anything from you in ages. She and Ginny are saying goodnight to George."
"I’m fine, Mr. Weasley. Severus and I are just returning from an outing." Harry wasn’t going to allow Severus to go unnoticed or be slighted while they were together, under any circumstances. He chose to spend time with the acerbic man, who, for his part, seemed to find Harry’s company equally enjoyable.
"Arthur, who are you talking to? Oh, Harry! How are you? What are you doing out so late? Come back to the Burrow and have some of the chocolate cake that Ginny made." As Molly rambled on, Harry felt that she still saw only the lost boy of Platform 9 3/4 or the recipient of Ginny's first crush. It was evident from her comments that she saw only Harry, not the darker man standing next to him. Harry glanced over at his date and repeated exactly what he had just said to Arthur. Severus looked as if he’d had just about had enough of being mistaken for a street side gas light.
"Arthur. Molly. I hope you have had an enjoyable evening. Harry and I have just returned from a movie theatre. An experience you might find enjoyable, Arthur. Muggles have some interesting tricks up their sleeves for dramatic effects." The silken voice was blandly chill, as if he really did not care whether anyone was listening to him or not.
"Harry… you… Severus… A movie?" Molly quickly recovered her composure. "How nice of you, Harry, to take the time from your busy schedule to keep our Severus from hiding away from the world."
"Mrs. Weasley, Molly, I think that you misunderstood Severus." Deliberately. "Severus and I are returning from a date." Harry placed his arm around Severus’s waist and leaned against him. The warm strength that he felt there gave him a boost of courage to say his farewells and continue taking Severus back to his flat. Home.
Severus was describing to the children, in family terms, what happened when Harry went for Sunday dinner at The Burrow that next weekend. He let the sound of his husband’s voice turn what had been possibly the most painful non-meal of his life into a Monty Pythonesque comedy sketch. Somehow the man knew exactly what had transpired even though Harry had never actually told him about that dinner or the ones after that he’d refused to attend.
The awkward meeting with Hermione was one Severus had been in attendance for. Thank Merlin, the man was quick with a silencing spell or it would have been all over the Daily Prophet before they’d even come to terms with the fact they’d fallen for each other. Her need to know, to understand every part of Harry’s life, had been a problem for them to overcome. He was used to it even if he didn’t appreciate it. Severus admitted he found her attitude even more annoying outside of Hogwarts than he had in it.
"Harry, I do not understand why Miss Granger feels that she has the right to interrogate you on your personal life. Something left over from the days when you three ran roughshod around Hogwarts, ignoring all the rules, perhaps?"
"What? Slytherins don’t keep track of who their friends are involved with? Don’t question each other’s choices? And in Hermione’s case, there was only Ron for her from third year on, and other than Ginny and an aborted crush on Cho, there wasn’t ever anyone for her to quiz me about." Harry resigned himself to dealing with her until she got tired of the subject. Severus didn't appear to be prepared to be as accepting.
Slytherins would never accost each other in public. Anyone who wished to question me about why I was seen in public with the Boy Who Lived on my arm would do so in private."
Harry grinned at the memory of Severus’ pride in his House and the disdain at Hermione’s lack of manners. It was, without a doubt, Severus’ way of expressing his feelings for Harry, his need to protect him.
It hadn’t been easy to cope with whilst Hermione and Severus had learned to at least tolerate, if not accept, each other. Harry really didn’t know on whom it had been harder to balance their respective places in his life but he did know who had shown the greater amount of tolerance and grace.
It was just one of the very many reasons he was married to Severus after all. Grace under pressure, humour under snarkiness, and the steadfast loyalty that was basis for Severus’ entire adult life. All of them were gifts and he, Harry Potter, was the chosen recipient. It had taken quite some time before Harry realised that Severus was as taken with him as he was with Severus.
"Harry, do you have plans for dinner Friday next?" Severus’ normal confidence was somehow muted in the question.
"Well, I thought that we’d get together and do something like we usually do. Uhm, if you have other plans though…" Here it comes, Harry thought. He’s tired of my company and doesn’t want to see me anymore. Harry wished he’d gotten up enough of that famed Gryffindor courage to tell Severus exactly how much he’d come to mean to him, how much he enjoyed spending his free time with him and exactly how those few fleeting goodnight kisses had made his toes curl and certain other parts of his anatomy stand at attention.
"I do have plans for that evening, yes; however, they include you if you are available."
"Severus, in the past six months, when have you known me to cancel plans with you?"
Maybe this wasn’t going to be the end after all. Was that a faint smile chasing across his companion’s face? Hope, after all, was also a Gryffindor trait.
Alexi and Fred, the two boys they had adopted, were not very interested in the ‘icky kissy’ parts of the story, though, as Eileen Lily grew older, she was both entranced by the romantic parts and stunned by the difficulties her fathers had faced. She had often asked Harry how anyone could doubt that the men who loved her so belonged together. Wasn’t she, after all, living proof of that? If they hadn’t belonged together, would they have gone to the trouble of brewing the potions and casting the charms that allowed Harry to carry her under his heart?
"You were listening," Severus said from behind Harry.
"I always listen. Every Christmas." Harry turned and rested his head on Severus’ shoulder. "I’m waiting for Alexi and Fred to decide on which questions will be theirs."
Severus hummed his agreement, "True. They have yet to add their say to our version of A Christmas Tale." He rubbed his hands over Harry’s swollen belly. "Next year there will be a new set of ears to hear our story."