InsaneJournal

"2008, mate. It's nearly been ten years. Can you believe it?"

In a lot of ways, it felt as if centuries had passed since the definitive fall of Voldemort. So much had happened since that fateful day. Harry smiled over at Ron and Hermione, married now with children, dressed in their best robes to mark the occasion. His eyes darted back across the room to where Severus Snape stood chatting with Kingsley Shacklebolt. The man's eyes shifted over Shacklebolt's shoulder to meet his. The butterflies in Harry's stomach took flight.

Severus looked away, betraying nothing.

"I'm surprised he came," Ginny said, following Harry's line of sight. "He's never bothered before."

"Of course he came," Harry said. "He's one of the guests of honour." At least, that was the reasoning Harry had tried to use to persuade him. In the end, only a promise to pay some unnamed price at some moment in the future worked to convince the man to come to the Ministry Gala. It seemed pointless now, given that Harry was forced to keep his distance, lest the reporters begin speculating. To say nothing of his friends.

"Come on, Ron," Hermione said, standing. "Let's dance." Her expression bespoke fierce determination that was unmoved by Ron's pleading grimace. Ron turned to Harry for help, and Harry offered up an apologetic grin as the taller man was pulled from his seat.

"I don't suppose you want to dance," Ginny sighed, not looking very hopeful. She grunted when Harry shook his head. "You're a crap date, Potter."

"You didn't have to come with me," he pointed out.

She looked at him and pouted. "Come on, Harry. One dance, in memory of the couple we could have been. Please."

Harry groaned, but allowed himself to be pulled up and dragged toward the mass of swaying bodies.

"They're your toes," he said in a disgruntled tone as he placed his hand at her waist.

"I thought all gay men could dance."

"I thought all the Harpies were lesbians," Harry quipped back.

Ginny laughed and took the lead, urging Harry to rock back and forth, gently turning him in circles as the song wore on. Harry couldn't really see the appeal of dancing. He didn't mind watching others, but whenever he danced he got the impression that his feet were twice as long as normal, and he could never work out where to put his hands or how close he should stand to the other person.

Ginny snorted at his rigid posture and put her head on his shoulder, draping her arms about his neck, as she urged him into an inane rocking motion. Harry wondered if one song would be enough to appease his date. Over her shoulder, he spied Ron and Hermione in the middle of the crowd. Ron's reluctance had melted away. His head was bent forward, resting against Hermione's, as their bodies moved as one. Harry thought it funny how Ron never seemed so graceful as when he held Hermione in his arms.

"They're great together, aren't they?" Ginny said.

Harry grunted and then focussed on the woman in his own arms. "They're perfect," he agreed.

"What about you? You seeing anyone?"

Harry's eyes cast reflexively toward the periphery of the crowd to try and spot Severus. He couldn't see the man. "Sort of. Nothing serious," he said.

"Anyone I know?"

The corner of Harry's mouth curved upward at the thought of coming clean with the woman. He tried and failed to imagine the look on her face.

Intrigued by his smile, her eyes widened. "Who is it?"

Harry shook his head. "No one, really. Who are you seeing?"

"Apart from the lesbians?" she asked with a grin. "No one at the moment. Who has time to look?" she asked with a rueful smile.

Harry grinned. "Come on, Gin. I saw that calendar the Harpies did. I daresay there isn't a wizard in Britain who doesn't have it on his wall."

She snorted. "Well, maybe one," she chided. "All right. It's not so much finding the time to look as deciding which one to choose," she admitted with a grin.

The sight of a familiar, dark figure drew Harry's attention back to the crowd. Severus pressed close to a tall, blond man Harry didn't know. The man's purple robes were fitted over a lean, clearly fit form. His dark eyes closed, and his full mouth stretched into a smile as he leant in to whisper something against Severus' ear. Harry knew how sensitive those ears were and imagined he could see his lover shiver at the contact. Severus' deep, rich laughter rose above the sound of the music.

"Ouch," Harry hissed as Ginny's foot came forward to tread on his own.

"What?" She twisted around to determine what Harry was frowning at. She turned back to him with an amused smile. "Will wonders never cease. Snape is human after all," she laughed.

Harry grunted, reluctantly letting himself be moved by the insistent woman. "Who's he with?" he asked, eyeing the man who seemed to be trying to graft himself to the front of his dance partner.

"That's the French ambassador, isn't it?" she said.

Harry tried to keep the sneer from his lip. French. Just one more reason to hate him, Harry decided.

"Philippe … something. He was at the friendly between England and France. Gorgeous, isn't he?" she said with a grin. "Lemaître. Philippe Lemaître. I suppose it's true what they say. All the good ones are gay."

Harry clenched his jaw and grunted. He watched as the couple swayed around. His eyes focused on Severus' hand lying at the small of the bloke's back, long fingers splayed downward as though hinting where those fingers might go if they were somewhere private. He lifted his gaze to see Severus watching him with a perfectly blank expression. Harry's eyes narrowed, and Severus turned his attention back to his dance partner.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing," Harry muttered.

She snorted. "Clearly."

Harry felt his insides give a sickening twist as Severus favoured the man in his arms with one of his rare smiles. These two were not merely acquaintances, Harry knew with a nauseating certainty. The way their bodies pressed together spoke of former intimacy. The devilish smirk that Severus now wore betrayed his impure thoughts.

Ginny gasped, drawing Harry's attention. "Merlin's balls," she whispered, staring at him with disbelief. She stopped dancing. "Snape?" she hissed.

Harry blinked. "Hm?"

"I know that look, Harry Potter. You're jealous," she said quietly with a gleeful grin.

"What?" Harry said, his incredulous tone falling somewhat flat.

"If looks could kill," she teased, "I suspect Monsieur Lemaître would be up in flames at the moment."

Harry took a second to indulge in the tempting image. "Don't be daft," he denied irritably, forcing the woman to dance once again. "I don't even know him," he insisted, trying to concentrate on his own date. His eyes slid back to see blond man's fingertips graze the skin above Severus' collar. Harry's feet stopped once more, his body tense and ready to spring.

Ginny laughed delightfully. Severus' eyes turned to him. An eyebrow lifted quizzically.

Harry turned and left the dance floor. Ginny's heels clicked along the floor as she followed. When he reached the table, he drained his glass of wine and turned to see Ginny's mouth twisted with poorly suppressed amusement. "It's him, isn't it?"

"Shut up," Harry said. "I mean it, Gin. Don't say anything."

Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were glossy with tears of mirth.

"It's not funny," Harry said firmly.

She shook with the effort of restraining her hilarity. Harry glared at her, and it proved her undoing. She threw back her head and laughed loudly. Harry turned and walked determinedly toward the exit. A moment later, Ginny ran to catch up. "Sorry," she breathed. "It's just ... a surprise ..."

"I'm going," Harry said. "Just tell Ron and Hermione I wasn't feeling well," he said.

"Oh, gods. Ron! He's going to die."

Harry stopped to hold the woman firmly by the shoulders. "No one will know," he insisted. "We've just been ... fooling around. It's not serious," he said, trying to convince himself.

"I can tell," she said dryly. "Why aren't you here with him?"

Harry pressed his lips into a thin line. "It's nothing," he insisted. "I'm not going to make headlines for the sake of ..." Unbelievable sex. "... a fling." He leant in to kiss the woman on her cheek. "Good night."

"Oh, come on, Harry. You can't leave before midnight. Midnight's the whole point," she whined. "If you're so irritated, just go over and cut in. You might raise a few eyebrows, but no one's going to care about something as stupid as a dance," she argued. When Harry remained unswayed, she huffed, "Who's going to kiss me at midnight?"

Harry gave her a bland look. "I'm sure you'll find someone."

She glared. "Fine. Who's he going to kiss if you're not here?"

Harry didn't intend to stay to find out. "See you soon," he said and pushed the button to summon the lift.

"This isn't over. I'll see you tomorrow," she warned.

Harry sighed before conceding to the look of determination in her eyes. He was eager to escape and so, not inclined to argue about it just now. He nodded as the doors opened. "Happy New Year." The doors closed again to shut out her dismayed expression.

As the lift made its slow climb up to the Atrium of the Ministry, Harry tried to reason with the feral beast clawing at his insides. He and Severus had never discussed commitment. The man had every right to allow himself to be groped by sexy French twats. Those smiles and laughs, that smirk, did not belong to Harry.

The feral beast remained unconvinced, fed as it was with furious imaginings of the two men together. Of Severus' clever tongue sliding between those full lips as his fingers divested the man. Of those same lips stretching over Severus' cock. Of Severus' intense gaze as he speared into the man.

Harry could only feel vaguely glad that he'd insisted on keeping their affair secret and so he wouldn't have to wake up to another headline broadcasting yet another lover's betrayal.

A voice announced his arrival at the Atrium. Harry stepped out of the lift and froze to see Severus standing in front of it. "How did you ..." He realised he didn't care how the man had beat him upstairs. He told the stupid butterflies in his stomach that he was furious. The feral beast batted at them impotently.

The man stepped forward, pushing Harry against the wall separating two lifts. "Jealously becomes you, Mr Potter," the man purred, running his hooked nose along Harry's neck.

"I'm not – "

His protests were cut off by a firm bite to his neck. Harry's hands clenched over Severus' robes. "Why would – "

"Why, indeed." The low voice set fire to Harry's insides, adding a sizzle of excitement to the torrent of anger. In the fury of emotion that waged war in his brain, he spared a thought that someone might come up and see them at any moment.

Severus' tongue slid over the bitten skin. His hand travelled down Harry's chest to press at the front of his trousers. "After all, was it not you who laid out the rules of engagement," the man growled into his ear. "Was it not you who insisted that our affair remain casual and private?"

"Severus," Harry whined plaintively as the man slid his thumb along the swelling lump in Harry's trousers.

Severus captured Harry's mouth with his own. It was a brief, targeted attack. He pulled away just as quickly, leaving Harry to arch forward in a futile attempt to reengage. Some part of his brain reminded him that he was furious with the other man. Once the blood returned to his brain, he might recall why.

"So you tell me, Harry. Why would you be jealous if I choose to dance with an old friend?"

Now, he remembered. Harry batted the man's hand away from his crotch and glared hard. "An old friend?" he spat disbelievingly. "Bollocks. You can't tell me you've not fucked him, Severus."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "I don't recall saying I haven't fucked him," he said, his calm tone making a mockery of Harry's fiery indignation. "That's rather beside the point, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think!" Harry shouted.

"You were dancing with your ex-girlfriend," Severus pointed out.

"I was dancing with a girl," Harry growled. "I'm not fucking her, am I?"

"And I'm not fucking Philippe," Severus said. "As the man I am currently fucking was otherwise engaged, I saw little reason not to accept his invitation. I'll remind you I didn't even want to be here tonight. You persuaded me. Did you expect me to sit miserably at the sidelines while you pretended not to know me?"

"I wasn't pretending not to know you," Harry spat indignantly. "I certainly didn't expect you to rekindle old affairs!"

Severus' eyes narrowed. His upper lip curled up into a sneer. "You have said exactly seven words to me all evening for fear that your little group of friends might suspect something. This, despite the fact that I have devoted every second of my free time to you over the past four weeks. Exactly how long do you expect me to remain your dirty, little secret, Potter?"

Harry's fury was frozen by the chill in the man's voice. Real anger blazed through Severus' impassive mask. Harry's mouth dropped open momentarily. He shook his head mutely. He finally ripped his tongue from the roof of his mouth to form the words, "We had an agreement."

"No. You insisted on secrecy. I respected your desire for privacy."

"But you agreed," he insisted. "You didn't want everyone knowing. You didn't want it in the papers." Harry distinctly recalled the conversation. He remembered laying out his arguments as to why, at least initially, they should keep their affair secret. He clearly remembered Severus agreeing that it was for the best.

"Do you truly think I'm concerned about public opinion?" His tone suggested that if Harry did think it, he was a fool. To be fair, public opinion of Severus had never been kind, despite all the man had done. "The fact remains, you don't want your admirers to know that you're shagging a former Death Eater."

Harry stared at the man. "That's not true," he said quietly. But it was true. While he wasn't worried about the general public's reaction, and no one who counted really thought of Severus as a former Death Eater, Harry had worried about how he would go about telling his friends. He'd only wanted to be certain that this affair was going to turn into something more meaningful before giving Ron the shock of his life.

More than that, he was tired of having his failed attempts take the spotlight. He'd wanted to be certain of the strength of this new, strange development before subjecting it to public scrutiny. It just made good sense.

"It's not true?" Severus drawled, unconvinced. "Then, you'll have no problem returning to the party with me."

Harry's heart sped up at the thought. His stomach lodged itself in his throat. "You don't even want to be at the party," he said weakly.

Severus' sneer deepened. "As I expected. Good evening, Mr Potter." Severus turned and began walking toward the Floo stalls.

"Severus," Harry said in an appealing tone. The man ignored him and continued toward the exit at a determined pace. Harry's nervousness over exposing his relationship with Severus was nothing compared to the panic he felt at the thought of stopping things now. The two were compatible in strange and unexpected ways. They'd spent a month sorting through bad blood and coming to terms with the shock that all the fiery anger both held for the other over the years could be put to more constructive and pleasurable uses.

It had been two years since Harry felt anything deeper than simple sexual attraction for anyone, and it seemed absurd to stop now. Not like this. Harry gritted his teeth in frustration before shouting, "You're going the wrong way, you bastard!"

Severus stopped and spun around, raising his eyebrow. "Is calling into question my legitimacy supposed to endear you to me?"

Harry smiled a little. "Don't go," he said quietly.

Severus hesitated a moment before walking back deliberately slowly. His footsteps echoed against the marble floors. Harry lost patience and strode forward to meet the man. Severus crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Harry expectantly.

Harry took a deep breath. "This isn't exactly the way I wanted to tell them," he protested. As Severus' features hardened once more, Harry reached forward to take the man's hands. "If it bothered you, why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"It didn't bother me until you threw your temper tantrum," Severus said irritably.

"Were you trying to make me jealous, then?"

Severus raised his eyes to the ceiling. "I was dancing, Harry. It didn't occur to me you'd care."

Harry shook his head. "I care," he said firmly and then leant forward to kiss the man.

Severus pulled back and sneered. "Careful, Potter. Someone might see."

Harry scrubbed his hands over his face and took a calming breath. "Don't be an arse. You're not my 'dirty, little secret', Severus. It didn't occur to me that you would want your private life splattered all over the papers. If we go down there now, that's what's going to happen. Given that it's us, they'll be ruthless."

His statement was met with stony silence. Severus stared at him with an unreadable expression that betrayed nothing at all. Harry's heart clenched desperately. "Severus," he sighed, "I'm perfectly happy to go through all that again, as long as you're sure it's what you want." Fixing the man with a searching look, Harry said, "That I'm what you want."

A small twitch at the corner of Severus' mouth gave Harry some hope that he wasn't about to be blatantly rejected. Suddenly, he was tugged forward and kissed. All the tension seeped out of him in a low moan as his mouth opened to allow Severus' tongue entrance. Harry's arms curled around Severus' neck as the man wrapped his arms around him in silent reassurance.

Harry tensed reflexively at the sound of the lift doors opening. Severus tightened his hold and kissed the tension away.

"Bloody hell, that's Harry Potter and Severus Snape."

Harry grinned against his lover's mouth, a nervous chuckle rising up from his chest. "Come on," he said. "Let's go make headlines."

Harry's stomach swam with nervous anticipation as the lift made its slow descent. There was a giddy excitement to it, as well. He'd wanted to tell his friends since the first morning he'd woken up next to the man. The fear that kept him from doing so now seemed ridiculous. He was now almost looking forward to seeing the expression on Ron's face.

Almost.

"You're sure about this?" Harry said with a sideways grin.

"It's bound to happen sometime," Severus answered. "I find it best to rip the plaster off quickly."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, but you know what this means, right?" Harry took Severus' hand and squeezed. "Dinner at the Burrow with the whole Weasley family," he said in a grim tone.

Severus' eyes widened slightly. His lips parted. "Perhaps it would be wise to wait," he said quickly.

Harry laughed. A disembodied voice announced their arrival at the ballroom. "Too late," Harry said with a mad sort of glee.

No one paid them any mind as they stepped out of the lift together. Harry took Severus' elbow. He wiped the sweat from his other hand against his robes and kept his eyes forward, as he pulled a suddenly wary Severus toward the room. He spied Ginny across the room, talking to Dean Thomas. Her eyes met his. Her mouth dropped open. Ron and Hermione sat at the table, deep in conversation.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Harry asked uncertainly. "Shall I introduce you as my boyfriend?"

Severus stopped and gave him a baleful look.

"Second thoughts?" Harry asked with an amused smile.

Severus shook his head. "I propose we dance."

Great, Harry thought. As though the situation wasn't awkward enough. "You should know I'm a shit dancer."

"Follow my lead," Severus said. "In my experience, you can be compliant when you want to be."

Harry allowed himself to be led to the dance floor. He kept his eyes trained on Severus' face as the man pulled him close. His heart beat heavily against Severus' chest. Severus' hand pressed into the hollow of Harry's back. Harry willed himself to relax, arm resting over Severus' shoulder, fingers weaving into the man's hair. His other hand was held in Severus'.

He could hear the startled whispers growing in volume around the room. He concentrated on moving at Severus' subtle guidance. He focussed on Severus' face, on his eyes, which glittered with quiet defiance and, Harry thought, a fair amount of amusement. The man's lips curled up into a small smile. Harry beamed back at him.

"You didn't think I'd do it," Harry said.

"I admit, I rather counted on it," Severus responded. "I should have known better than to underestimate your impulsiveness."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You should have known better than to underestimate my unwillingness to give you up."

"You're a fool," Severus said fondly.

"Is calling into question my intelligence supposed to endear you to me?" he mocked.

"It's worked so far."

Harry laughed. His eyes shifted to see several pairs of eyes trained on him and his dance partner. He offered over a charming smile, which froze onto his face at the sight of Philippe watching the pair suspiciously. It made Harry want to do other impulsive things to officially lay claim on the man in his arms. Were it not for his friends, who might or might not be watching, he might have kissed Severus right there. As it was, he contented himself on glaring at the man before turning his head to whisper, "I think your old friend might be a bit disappointed."

He could feel Severus shiver against him as his lips brushed his ear. He suppressed the urge to scrape his teeth over his earlobe.

"I think Mr Weasley has finally noticed," Severus whispered back.

Harry groaned. "What's he look like?"

Severus thought for a moment before responding, "Like he's just walked in on Molly and Arthur doing unspeakable things with farm animals."

Harry buried his face in Severus' neck and laughed. Severus' laughter rumbled against his chest. Harry recognised Ginny's wicked cackle above the music. A bright flash told him that the moment had been immortalised. Harry sighed and pulled back to meet the man's eyes. "This had better last a long time," he said quite seriously.

Severus stopped dancing and laid his hand along Harry's jaw. For a terrifying moment, Harry thought the man would kiss him. "Go and talk to your friends. I'll get us something to drink," he offered.

Harry released a breath and wondered at the small twinge of disappointment. He nodded and steeled himself before turning to join the others at the table. He couldn't quite meet Ron's eyes as he walked over. Hermione looked at him with something between surprise and awe.

Ginny grinned impishly as he approached. "Feeling better?" she teased.

Harry shot her an awkward smile. "So ..."

"Please tell me it's not Snape you've been seeing," Ron said in a low voice.

"Er ..."

"Bloody hell," Hermione breathed. "Seriously?"

"What I want to know is how the hell does that happen?" Ginny said eagerly.

"We ran into each other one night in London," Harry explained.

Ginny's grin grew wider. "And then just kept running into each other, so to speak?"

Harry laughed. Ron grew a little paler. "I know it's mad," he said sympathetically.

"Mental," Ron insisted. "It's Snape!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione said irritably. "Harry, this is ..."

"Am I supposed to tell you every time I start seeing someone new?"

"You normally do," Hermione pointed out.

"It's Snape!" Ron said incredulously. "Merlin, Harry, it's not just anyone."

"Exactly," Ginny said before Harry could reply. "It's Snape. I'm with Harry. It's too big to announce without knowing if it was more than just a sex thing."

Ron's expression buckled in disgust. Harry shot Ginny an exasperated look. She knew better than to use the words Snape and sex in the same sentence. She'd done it deliberately to wind Ron up. Her delighted expression only proved Harry's theory.

"So ... it's more?" Hermione said, her expression softening.

Harry met her eyes and shrugged. "I like him enough not to want it to end," he said carefully. "It's been a long time."

They all knew the disaster that was his last relationship. In fact, there wasn't a person in Wizarding Britain who didn't know. Harry discovered Angus' betrayal along with everyone else when he read it in the Daily Prophet.

Hermione stood to pull him into a hug. "Well, it's weird. But if he makes you happy." To her credit, she managed to sound only slightly doubtful.

Harry met Ron's eyes and smiled uncertainly.

"But it's Snape," he said desperately, as though Harry hadn't quite caught on.

"Good evening, Mr Weasley." Severus handed Harry a glass of wine. "Mrs Granger-Weasley. Miss Weasley."

"Ginny," Ginny insisted, holding out her hand.

Severus' eyes flashed with what looked to be gratitude. He accepted her hand and offered a tight smile in return. "Ginny, then."

Hermione held out her own. "Evening, Prof – Mr-"

"Severus," Harry said, with a pleading look toward his lover not to make this harder than it had to be.

Severus visibly stiffened. Harry watched the muscle in his jaw clench briefly. "Severus," he conceded.

Hermione didn't look certain she could call the man Severus, but she offered an awkward smile anyway. "It's good to see you." She glanced at Harry with a hesitant look before laughing. "Surprising, under the circumstances, but good."

"Well, I hope you two are ready for the media circus," Ginny said with a wide grin. "This is going to be huge."

"It's possible that the photographer will find he's forgotten to load his camera," Severus said in an even tone. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Anything is possible," he said vaguely.

"I'd say you two are living proof of that," Ron said, casting Harry a befuddled look.

Severus laughed. "The many levels of truth to that statement are mind-boggling, Mr Weasley."

"Ron," Harry corrected with a grin. He slid his hand to rest on Severus' back.

"Ron," Severus repeated.

Ron looked at his former professor a long moment before shaking his head. "This is going to take some getting used to," he said. "But I suppose I'll give it a go."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's so gracious," she said apologetically.

"He's all right," Harry said sympathetically. He and Severus had had a month to come to terms with this new development. Sometimes, Harry's mind still reeled at the strangeness of it all. He knew for a fact that Severus still struggled as well. He felt that tonight's confession was an important step away from the past toward an obscure but hopeful future.

"Well, it's almost midnight. Since my date has left me for another man, I'm going to have to grab a new dance partner," Ginny said. She sighed dramatically before winking at Harry. "See you out there."

Hermione pulled Ron up and tugged him toward the dance floor. Severus and Harry joined them a moment later.

Harry felt as light as a feather as he allowed himself to be guided. It occurred to him that he didn't mind dancing so much when he wasn't supposed to be leading. He felt something less of a clod as he responded to Severus' gentle urgings, swaying along with the music. In fact, pressed up against Severus' body, he thought he might now understand the appeal of dancing. The heat and pressure of the man against him stole his attention away from the constant hiss of whispers and shocked stares of the crowd. Over Severus' shoulder, Harry could see Ron and Hermione, cheek to cheek, engaged in quiet discussion.

"How do you feel?" Severus asked.

Harry pulled his head back to see the man. "Relieved," Harry said with a smile. He laughed. "A bit terrified. It's all gone so well, I'm waiting for the punch line." Severus grunted. "What about you?"

Severus shook his head. "I didn't expect you to go through with it."

"And now that I have?"

Severus' eyes glinted with amusement. "I suppose I'm trapped."

"Oi!" Harry laughed.

"There are worse fates."

"Than Sunday dinner with the Weasley tribe?"

Severus gave him a horrified look and then groaned, dropping his head to Harry's shoulder. "I can handle the press, but I'm not sure you're worth that."

Harry turned his head to kiss the man's neck. "I'll have to convince you, then."

Severus lifted his head. "That will take some doing," he warned.

"I'm nothing if not persistent."

The two fell quiet as the music continued. Harry saw Ginny and Dean join them out of the corner of his eye. He settled a little closer to his dance partner and let himself be moved. As the song wore on, Harry grew increasingly eager to take the man home and celebrate the New Year in more pleasurable and private ways. He spied Severus' friend chatting to some Ministry worker that Harry only knew on sight.

"You really didn't think I'd care about seeing you with another man?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I don't see why you would."

"And you call me a fool," Harry said dryly.

"I am only a fool for taking you at your word," Severus said.

"I said I wanted to keep things out of the spotlight. Not that you could go around and fuck Frenchmen."

Severus smirked in the face of Harry's anger. "Do I need to explain the difference between fucking and dancing? I'll give you a hint, one is not routinely done with clothes on."

Harry grinned. "I seem to recall a few times when that wasn't true."

"I stress the word 'routinely.'"

"He wanted you. I could tell."

"Undoubtedly," Severus said smugly. "As you are aware, I'm an outstanding lover."

"Are you? I can't quite remember."

Severus gave a doubtful grunt. "Just so we're clear. Is it that he's French that you take issue with, or the fucking in general?"

"I'm pretty sure there are still dungeons somewhere downstairs from the good old days when we would torture criminals," Harry said in a menacing tone.

Severus pulled him a bit tighter against him. "Sounds promising," Severus purred against his ear. "Is this my recompense for dinner with the Weasleys?"

"I was thinking rather your punishment for being deliberately dense," Harry countered.

"Two birds, one stone," Severus retorted. Harry pulled back to meet the man's intense gaze. His insides liquefied and his heart seemed to swell to take up all the space in his chest, leaving him little room to breathe.

Harry leant forward to capture the man's mouth, completely oblivious to the voices counting down the seconds to midnight in chorus. Severus hesitated a brief moment before moaning, meeting the demanding kiss with equal urgency. Harry felt certain there were fireworks going off somewhere. Inside him. Outside him. All over the world.

"Happy New Year, Harry," Severus said, his quiet voice trumping the celebratory shouts around them.

Harry grinned and met the man's eyes. If 2008 finished as well as it began, Harry thought it would be a happy year, indeed.