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Death Eater Takes a Holiday	By : LeeLeePotter Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 42271 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 46
- 47
- 48
Chapter 48 Dinner with the Family

Harry sat lazily in a lawn chair at the burrow. He had eaten
a great lunch with Albus, and an hour later was still feeling full. He was now
using magic to launch garden gnomes over the hedge into the neighboring property.

"It should have been that easy when we were kids,"
laughed Ron as he levitated a table out on to the grass. They would be having
Harry's birthday dinner outside to accommodate seating for everyone. The whole family would be there for dinner,
with the exception of Percy. Back a while ago, Percy Weasley gave his entire
family an ultimatum. Making them chose between him, and associating with a
mentally challenged Harry Potter who would likely get them all killed. They
hadn't seen Percy since that day. Ron was pretty sure his Mum still sent him
Christmas jumpers, and birthday gifts each year, but no one else had had any
contact with him.

"Tell us about your birthday date," cooed
Hermione. She and Ginny were sitting out in the sun folding napkins to look
like various shapes. "I was here for dinner last night, and I thought Mrs.
Weasley was going to bust. Ron had told her if she wanted information she would
have to ask you herself, and vowed not to divulge private information,"
said Hermione holding up a napkin resembling a swan.

"Dad said Ron was being mature, but Charlie said he was
just showing off 'cause Ron just finished the part of training where you learn
interrogation," said Ginny, who looked angrily at her own napkin that
vaguely looked like a boat. "No fair, you're all using magic all the t
an
and I still have to wait �till September to dust off my wand," complained
Ginny.

Harry laughed. Hermione looked at Ginny
sympathetically. "I know how you
feel Ginny, these guys are constantly apparating places and I have to Floo and
catch up."

"Harry, you had a date last night?" asked Ginny,
realizing he had never answered Hermione. "The twins were freaking out
about something the other night, but as soon as they noticed me listening they
shut up again. Mum and Dad do the same," she grumbled about being kept in
the dark about everything.

"I had a very nice date last night," confessed
Harry. "He'll be here for dinner," Harry said before Ginny had a
chance to ask who his date was. "Were Fred and George really freaking
out?" he asked apprehensively. Ginny shrugged, not really knowing. Harry
thought he had better talk to them.

"Speak of the devils," muttered Hermione as the
twins apparated into the yard. Seeing Harry, Fred quickly hid what was in his
hand, and they hurried into the house. Harry had been distracted by the twin's
appearance and accidentally dropped the gnome he was levitating over the hedge.
The creature was making quite a racket as it had fallen through the bush,
getting tangled in the small prickly branches. Hermione tried to help it out by
levitating the gnome again, but only managed to get it scratched up more.

Deciding he should avoid being reprimanded by Hermione,
Harry went into the house to speak with the twins. But he didn't manage to make
it past the kitchen before Molly waylaid him.

"Just the young man I wanted to talk to," she
said, and he could tell she had a slew of questions ready for him. Harry sat
down as she put a glass of ice-cold water down for him. "You have a lovely
home, dear," she said kindly.

"Thanks, I'm sorry I didn't have you over before�"
he began, but she waved off his excuses.

"Don't think on it. I'm sure a young man like yourself
has other things on his mind than entertaining his friends� folks."

"You know you're not just my best friend�s Mum,"
he said with sly grin. She did know, and beamed at him.

"Then don�t you think it's about time you told me of
this relationship you're in?" she said reprovingly. "Severus seemed
very comfortable apparating into your home without announcement. Is it safe to
say that wasn't your first date?"

Harry tried to look properly cowed, and blushed. "We've
been together for a while. I guess since just after I finished Hogwarts."

"I should hope so, Albus would never allow such a
relationship between student and Professor."

"Albus," Harry said his name with emphasis.
"should have thought about that before he sent Severus on holiday as a
teen with no memory of who I was," said Harry, enjoying the stunned look
on Molly's face.

"W-wasn't that long before you finished school?"
she asked, doing some quick calculations in her head.

"Yeah, but it took me a while to wear him down after he
�returned� and realized he had been buddies with a couple of Gryffindors while
on holiday." Harry smirked.

"Severus has a lot of past behind him," she said
referring more to his experience and not his age. She wasn�t too hung up on the
age issue as her own parents had a fifteen-year span between them. Wizards
& witches live very long lives.

"Yes, he has," said Harry softly. "To a
lesser extent, so have I. We have a lot of things in common."

Molly frowned. She hated that Harry had had such a difficult
life. "Can you choose Severus after the history of hostility the two of
you have had?" she wasn�t trying to talk him out of the relationship, but
wanted to be sure he thought it through.

"We had the week together on holiday to get a chance to
know each other without the past hanging over our heads. We enjoy each other's
company," he explained.

"I have to say, the two of you looked very much at ease
with each other yesterday." She conceded.

"He makes me feel safe," he said, head tilted to
the side and supported by one hand as he leaned an elbow on the table.

"The same could be said for a father figure, the way
Sirius was for you," she pointed out. Harry decided it was wise not to
mention he�d had a crush on his Godfather.

"Severus makes me feel loved," he said dreamily.
Molly smiled, seeing Harry's faraway look as he thought of his lover.

"Then I'm happy for you
both," she said sincerely.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me," he said
genuinely, before swiping his finger into the icing on the cake she was
frosting. She smacked him on the hand with the spatula, and he ran out of the
kitchen before she started to yell at him. When he reached the top of the
stairs she was still yelling about men acting like children.

"What did we do now?" Fred asked George, hearing
his mum rant. Harry stood in the open doorway of the twin's room and chuckled.

"It's me she's yelling at," explained Harry,
licking the icing off his finger. "Strawberry," he hummed around his
finger.

George quickly hid what was on the desk where they were
sitting. It looked suspiciously like birthday candles. "Hey Harry,"
they said in unison. "How was your first liberated birthday?" asked
Fred.

"Great," he wanted to say it was great having sex
in every room with Severus, but left it at 'great'. "I'm sorry about the
other night, guys. I should have told you who I was." He nervously toed
the hardwood floor.

"What kind of pranksters would we be if we couldn't
take a prank dished out to us once in while?" George asked good-naturedly.

"It wasn�t a prank," he began softly. "I
didn't want you to see me in a dress and I was hoping to get out of it. Um, not
out of the dress," he sputtered quickly realizing what that sounded like,
and blushed. "I should have put a stop to things earlier, but I didn't. If
the shoe was on the other foot, and someone was coming on to Severus, I'd want
him to say he wasn't available."

To say that the twins were surprised was an understatement.
When Harry had began to apologize, they thought for sure he was going to say
sorry for pulling one over on them. Fred gave Harry a light shove. "S'ok
mate, we know we're irresistible," he teased.

"So, we�re OK?" he
said, making sure he hadn't damaged their friendship.

"I s�pose we're ok," Fred said with a sly grin.
"Any chance you can introduce us to the real Joanne?"

"You may be stepping on Kieran's toes there." Harry
laughed when they looked suitably frightened. They had only met Kieran for a
few minutes, but recognized that he was not a man to cross. Harry proceeded to
tell them about the barmaid that helped him out with his appearance. Then he
had to convince them, that 'no', the barmaid had not touched his breasts.

When Fred kept glancing over to the desk drawer, Harry asked
if he had interrupted something important.

"We were just finishing up on a few things. I can work
on it myself if you and George want to go help Ron bring out the chairs."
Fred gave George a look that clearly said 'Get Harry out of here'. Harry,
amused by Fred's obvious eye gestures, left quietly. He would certainly find
out whatever it was they were planning, especially if it involved candles that
would end up on his birthday cake.

As they neared the back door, Harry stopped, blocking
George�s exit. "When I asked if we're OK, you didn�t say anything,"
Harry said hesitantly to his friend.

"Fred said we're OK; we
are," George confirmed.

"I know, but just because everyone assumes when one
twin speaks he's speaking for both, doesn't mean you don't feel differently
from your brother."

George smiled. Very few people treated them as individuals.
For the most part, the twins liked being half of the other, but that didn�t
mean George didn't appreciate Harry considering his feelings personally. He looked to be debating on saying something
before he continued.

"One time when Fred was starting to date Angelina, she
came on to me. I had fallen asleep on Fred's bed. Well actually, I�d
accidentally set fire to my own bed�well that's another story. Anyway, when I
woke up I had a beautiful girl standing by the bed. She sat down; I guess she
said she wanted to talk about the quidditch schedule. I knew she thought I was
Fred, but it was kind of nice having her say sweet things. I wouldn't have let it go far."

"Did you tell her or did
she figure it out?"

"I had just started to tell her when Fred came in a
yelled at me for laying in his bed. She slapped me and walked out," he
said with a laugh. "What about Snape?" George suddenly remembered
that while on the sofa, Harry/Joanne had said he loved Severus. "You two
really�?"

"Yeah, we�re a
couple," Harry said with a nod.

"We knew he was making notes in our experiment log, but
we just thought he was there for your training or something," George shook
his head, trying to get around the fact that Snape was dating anyone, much less
Harry.

"I have to say, I didn't expect so many people to be so
good about it. Your mum and I talked and she pointed out a few things, but I
guess I expected somebody to freak out," Harry said when he realized it
had all been going very easily so far.

"To be honest, I don�t think our reaction to Snape
would have been so good at first if it wasn�t for Ron. He told us about the
holiday with the teachers, and then how Snape took a chance in front of Death
Eaters to keep you from falling." George didn't mention what had happened
when Ron was in captivity. It was still a touchy subject, but it was understood
Severus had taken a great risk to keep Ron safe. "Now, I think Ron may have told us all that stuff to warm us
up to the idea of you two together. At the time, we just thought Ron was going
mad." George chuckled, and went looking for Ron, now that they were
finally out in the yard.

When Harry arrived, the girls were also discussing his love
life. Harry was relieved to hear Hermione telling Ginny how important it was
not to tell anyone whom Harry was dating. The youngest Weasley understood that
whomever Harry dated would be a target, and it was best to keep it a secret.
She wouldn't fully understand the magnitude of that statement until she found
out it was Severus Snape. The conversation came to an abrupt halt as the sight
in front of them startled them.

Harry laughed when he saw Ron levitating a chair with George
sitting on top of it. The ruckus only continued when Fred came out and started
putting on the 'party hats'. Ginny swatted at him, yelling for him to get the
napkin off his head.

"You never made fancy napkins for my birthday,"
complained Fred with a mock pout. "I'm not special like
Harry," he continued while levitating one of Hermione's napkins, making
the 'swan' fly around.

"Yeah, Harry's reeaaal special," George said
comically, making his eye twitch. It was a dig at his mental stability. They
often teased him about his sanity since the Percy debacle. Harry was about to
defend his state of mind, but laughed instead as the flying napkin-swan flew
into George's head startling him so much he was knocked off the levitated
chair.

"You see, the boy's hysterical," Fred said when
Harry was laughing so hard tears were coming down his face. "Sad
really."

"Now I remember why I never bring a date to this
house," said Bill, who had just arrived. Several chairs were toppled on
the grass, George was half stuck in the one he�d fallen onto, still making a
stupid face, as his eye continued to twitch. Fred was playing tug of war for a
napkin against Ginny. Harry was beginning to recover from the fits of laughter.
Ron came around the corner levitating yet another chair. "What happened
Ron? When did you become the mature one?" asked Bill humorously.

"Maybe that's the reason, I'm the only one with a girl
here," retorted Ron, making a face at the twins who were yet to actually
help. Ignoring Ron, the twins greeted their oldest brother, as did the rest of
the group, though none as enthusiastically as Ginny, who practically launched
herself at Bill.

"Please tell me you're going to let me stay at your
place a few days before I go back to school," she begged. Harry assumed it
was getting hard to live with the twins, that and Bill was certainly the
coolest of big brothers, for sure. Harry then turned his attention to Hermione
once again. She had summoned the napkins back to her lap, and began folding
them into interesting things again after a quick cleaning spell.

"When did you become so
domestic?" Harry asked curiously.

"Don't start," she said in defense, thinking he
was teasing her. She apologized when she saw his expression said otherwise.
"Sorry, the boys have been giving me a lot of ribbing. Ron's mum has been
teaching me domestic spells," she said, handing Harry a swan to hold along
with the other napkins she'd refolded for dinner.

Harry chuckled. "She doesn't think you're going to sit
around being �happy homemaker�, does she?" asked Harry. Hermione handed
him another napkin. He didn't dare tell her he didn't know what that shape was.
It wasn't a swan; that was for sure.

"No, Molly knows I'm going to be working after
university, but as she says, 'Even if you don't plan on making clothes, it will
never hurt to know how to darn a sock.' My own mother loves it. The other night
I used a charm to peel the potatoes and you'd think I�d spun straw into gold
for as excited as she was. I guess I never thought about it, but since we
couldn't do magic in the summers, my Mum hasn't seen me do much magic
before." Hermione went on to tell Harry all about the night her parents
went to the Burrow for dinner.

_____________________

Severus picked up a hot cup of tea Albus had served a moment
earlier. "I see Harry was here today," Severus said casually as he
noted there were colorful scraps of wrapping papers scattered along the floor.
Albus smiled, and then looked surprised as if he didn't know the bright colors
littering the floor were still there. Though Harry was an adult, Albus
continued to wrap his gifts with magical paper that exploded into small strips,
and rained over the gift's recipient. It made a big mess, and was usually well
appreciated by the average five year old. Harry had never experienced the
typical childhood traditions from the wizarding world. So, when Albus was made
guardian, he took advantage of the few things he could still do. Harry had yet
to voice his being too mature for what in Albus' opinion was such a delightful
way to open a gift. The Headmaster made no indication that he'd heard the snort
of amusement that came from Severus.

"Harry and I had a lovely lunch together. I was rather
surprised when he mentioned you decided to not to give him his gift until
tonight." There was the twinkle. Severus sipped his tea before answering.

"Surprisingly enough, Ronald Weasley invited me to a
celebration for Harry tonight. I didn't want to show up without a gift. It was
hard enough to decide on one gift for him, much less two." Truth was
Severus saw loads of things he wanted to shower Harry with, but he decided to
stay sensible for now. Their relationship was still new. He would have many
more opportunities to give Harry gifts. Severus suddenly realized that he
assumed they would be together for a very long time. He wasn't used to thinking
about long term when it involved Harry. 'Merlin, I am in love', he
thought to himself.

Albus quietly sipped his tea; the damn twinkle seemed to be
intensifying. "Perfectly
understandable, but it's always nice to have something to open on the actual
day," said Albus nonchalantly.

'I seem to recall waking to him opening me', thought
Severus. "He'll manage," he said flatly, as he recalled the
pleasurable method Harry had used to wake him. It was almost as good as the sex
they�d had later, on the kitchen table after dinner. Had he created a
monster, letting Harry top? Thought Sev amusedly, feeling the heat that was
stirring within him. He absolutely refused to have an erection sitting across
from Albus. Seeing the darn twinkle was enough for his 'problem' to go away.
The twinkle didn�t usually mean anything good as far as he was concerned. He
wondered if during their lunch, Harry had told the elder wizard that Severus
had professed his love.

"I must say that I'm impressed you agreed to attend the
party. I thought since your last visit you had sworn off the Burrow for a
while." Albus bit into a biscuit, and a sprinkling of crumbs spread down
onto his beard.

"If I could consort with The Dark Lord for you, I can
certainly socialize with a horde of Weasleys for Harry," he said with a
smirk.

"Very impressive words coming from a wizard who drank
two celebratory bottles of wine the last day the twins attended school
here."

"Perhaps, but I no longer
fear the wrath of Molly Weasley."

"No?" asked a bemused
Albus.

"From what Harry tells me, she's so fed up with them,
she'd probably thank me if I were to turn them to something harmless for a few
days." He was going to say rabbits, but Albus had recently warned him
against making derogatory comments regarding the number of children the Weasley
family had. Severus picked up a biscuit, ignoring the delighted look Albus wore
when he helped himself to the treat.

"Harry's been good for
you," said Albus, quite pleased.

Severus sneered, making a noncommittal sound. He almost said
'Good for my bed,' but chose not to. Albus would easily see through it for what
it was.

"I think you are good for him too, Severus." Albus
waited for him to stop rolling his eyes. "I can't tell you how happy I am
the two of you had a chance to spend a fair amount of time together during the
summer break. I don't suspect you would've been able to come so far on the
weekends alone."

"We'll hardly have time together once classes begin. I
can't simply vanish every weekend, and his training will take up some of our
time together. Honestly Albus, I don�t know what he's going to do with himself
all week as it is." Severus was concerned for Harry's lack of employment.
By the time the weekend came he would most likely be starved for something to
do, and at times, Severus may not be there to entertain him.

"Harry didn't mention his
classes to you?" asked Albus curiously. Severus snorted.

"One class on Thursdays and that's supposed to be
enough to keep him busy? I never expected his class on Wizarding Culture to
even last this long."

Albus didn't reply, but sipped his tea, wondering why Harry
had not yet told Severus about the class he was taking now. Harry had planned
on spending his weeks building a house at Godric's Hollow while Severus taught
at Hogwarts. Perhaps he was saving such information as a surprise for Severus.
Harry had once mentioned that he liked to keep a little information to himself,
as Severus already knew almost everything about his life. Albus suspected it
was difficult growing up with most of the wizarding public knowing more about
his past than he did. His name hadn't stopped selling papers since he started
Hogwarts.

"Is Harry physically ready to begin training
again?" asked Albus. Harry hadn't trained since the week of the DE attack.
Severus noticed, but didn't comment on the change of subject.

"Yes, we don�t want to lose any time. Before you know,
the school will be filled with obnoxious brats again, leaving me little time to
work with Harry."

"Perhaps Kieran would still
train Harry a few days a week," suggested Albus.

Severus' eyes narrowed; his mask hid a frown that was threatening
to creep onto his face. He couldn't say why he didn't like the idea. It could
be a control issue that he wouldn't necessarily be calling the shots if he
weren't there for Harry. But then, he and Kieran had always worked well as a
team before, and followed the outline in the book they had developed together.
No, it wasn't a control issue. Perhaps possessiveness? Severus didn't want to
examine it too closely as he realized the options were either he was jealous of
Kieran spending time with his Harry, or that Harry would be spending
more time with Kieran, his friend.

Severus practically shook his head to rid the absurd
thoughts. Harry was his. Kieran liked women. And it didn't matter that
Kieran was his friend first.

The thought of it
being the other way around and Harry worrying about Ron being better friends
with Sev than him made him laugh. Ok, it wasn't a laugh, more like an amused
sort of sound. Whatever it was, Albus raised his eyes past his teacup, hoping
to find out what had amused his Potions Master and friend.

"Something funny you'd like to share?" inquired
Albus. Severus smirked and shook his head �no�.

"I had better go and get ready for dinner at the
Burrow." Severus replaced his teacup on the tray. "Thank you for tea,
Albus."

"Anytime, dear boy. I must be going myself, actually. I
promised Poppy I would bring Harry's file back to her. He filled out a
questionnaire for her while he was here for lunch. I think she's most eager to
take a look at it."

"Does she think something is wrong?" asked
Severus, concern in his voice. Albus paused before answering, causing Severus alarm.

"It's nothing to worry
about," Albus said soothingly, but Severus was having none of that.

"Albus," he warned, his voice starting quiet, but
rising steadily, "Tell me now, or I'll show up at the Burrow and demand
Harry tell me. We don't need to ruin his party if You Would Just TELL ME!"
he'd finished up rather loudly and calmed himself, waiting for an answer.

"He doesn't know. Now will you please calm down?"
Albus had a way of wording commands as if the person had a choice. Severus took
a deep breath to calm himself, but realized that Albus was breaking a pact he
and Harry had. Albus had promised not to keep important secrets from Harry. The
damn twinkle in the aging blue eyes was back. "I assure you there is
nothing that I'm keeping from Harry. Poppy was simply concerned that Harry had
been cursed during the attack. I explained to her that I was confident he was
fine, but she's taken this on as a pet project as she has little else to do
right now."

"Were you under the misimpression that what you just
said would help calm me down? You hardly explained a thing," stated an
annoyed Severus.

"A substance found on Harry had a magical residue.
Naturally, Poppy was concerned. Since I happened to be there when it was
discovered, I personally performed the spells to confirm he was fine. But you
know Poppy. She really should get a cat or something." As Albus trailed
from the topic at hand Severus fumed. Seeing his discomfort, the Headmaster
continued. "You see she probably would have let it go since Harry wasn't
around to examine, but she did have one of the tissues that contained residues
of the substance, giving her ample time to test it."

"Why in Merlin's name would Poppy have pieces of Harry
in her office?" It really was a disturbing thought.

"Whenever Harry is injured, we are very careful of how
any blood soaked materials or anything with any of his bodily tissues are
disposed. It would be dangerous if that were to fall into the wrong
hands."

As a potions brewer, Severus
knew that better than anyone.

�Harry's recent injuries alone left much to be cataloged
before I disposed of blood-soaked clothing, but since Harry had new skin grown,
it meant he had to lose a great of damaged skin first."

"He did mention that," said Severus, wishing he'd
been there for Harry during a very painful procedure.

"Well, as you can imagine, Poppy now had a sample to
work with. She was concerned when the magical signature on the substance showed
trace elements of dark magic, as it would if the witch or wizard bore the Dark
Mark." Albus paused, his smile intensified. "If you would like to
save her a lot of trouble and research, you could simply explain how Harry
would get a big letter "F" in red ink smeared on his stomach?"

Severus eyes widened for a moment before his mask was back
in place. He'd not imagined anyone would have seen his artistic handiwork, nor
had he remembered with all the commotion. "She can just keep on
researching without my help. Good day, Albus." Severus stormed out of the
office. Albus had kept him hanging, worried about Harry for nothing. He walked
briskly down to his dungeons. He was aggravated, but set it aside and changed
his focus to what he should wear to the party. He also thought about the day he
put that 'F' on Harry. The first and last day he'd seen Harry in the black
quidditch robes. He looked so hot in them. Severus was pleased with his choice
of getting Harry a replacement set.

_________________________

Severus apparated to an area not far from the Burrow. As he
walked up the drive, getting a glimpse of the many people out in the yard, he
was pleased with his choice of attire for the night. Admittedly, he didn't
often get invited to parties, and when he did, they were likely to be at
Malfoy's whenever the guest list included the Inner Circle of Death Eaters.
Those gatherings were often formal affairs. This night called for a more casual
attire.

Knocking on the door politely, Severus was greeted by one
cheerful Arthur Weasley. "Ah, Severus, so good to once again have you in
our home," he said cordially.

"Thank you. I'll admit Ron's invitation was unexpected,
but appreciated, nonetheless." Severus handed Molly a large bouquet of
fresh flowers as a hostess gift. She fussed over the lovely arrangement and
summoned a large vase from a nearby shelf. No sooner had the water been added,
than an exuberant Ginny came bounding into the room, looking to refill an empty
drink glass.

"Mum," she began, and then set eyes on Severus. To
everyone's surprise her bright face instantly scowled. Severus raised a brow in
question.

"Virginia," Molly used
her full name with a warning tone.

&n]>

"But Mum, it's a party. A family party,"
said Ginny indignantly. Arthur looked apologetically to Severus before turning
back to his daughter, the daughter who was dangerously close to spending the
party in her room.

"That is no way to act
toward Mr. Snape, young lady," Arthur reprimanded.

"But Dad," she whined. "You promised you
wouldn't have to do any work today during Harry's party. Not even Order
work." Ginny pouted. Molly visibly relaxed some. Severus� face remained
indifferent.

"Mr. Snape was invited into our home to help celebrate
Harry's birthday," her father stated calmly. His daughter�s mouth formed
an 'O' and remained open for several seconds. No one noticed when she closed
it, as by then she was bright red with embarrassment.

"That's not paperwork?" she asked, hesitantly
pointing to a large but plain looking package Severus carried. Molly escorted
the scarlet faced girl from the room on the premise they would go to put Mr.
Snape's gift with the other gifts. She called over her shoulder, asking her
husband to show Severus where the refreshments were.

"I'm sorry about that, Severus," said Arthur
apologetically. "I've been working a lot you see�"

"Quite all right," said Severus, effectively
cutting him off. He could hardly believe the young Weasley girl was only a year
younger than Harry; she seemed to be much younger. Admittedly, he did have a
hard time relating to teenage girls, always had. It was for that reason
Hermione Granger had surprised him, being as tolerable as she was on a personal
level. It was as close to a compliment as he cared to make, even it if was only
in his own thoughts.

Arthur and Severus stepped outside to the yard. Seeing his
Dad, George immediately stopped juggling the dinner plates. Ron and Hermione
were setting the table, while Bill, Harry, and Fred tossed a quaffle around,
aiming for an old tire hovering in mid air. Severus watched the three running
about the yard, stealing the quaffle from one another. Harry threw a long pass
only for it to be intercepted by Bill, who was instantly tackled by Fred. Harry
stood there laughing at his friends� antics. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans
and a tee with words printed on the front, but they were too small to read from
such a distance. Harry suddenly noticed Severus by the door with Mr. Weasley.
His eyes lit up to see his lover had arrived. Severus smirked when he saw Harry
checking him out. He wore a simple cream color button down shirt and a pair of
black slacks. The slacks were a comfort fit, not too tight, but the shirt was
fitted, showing Sev's well-defined pecks and shoulders. A pink tongue darted
out licking his lips, clearly showing Harry's approval of his choice of
clothes. Severus almost groaned at the sight of that tongue.

Get a grip Severus, it's not as if you didn't spend half
of yesterday shagging with the man. He told himself before taking a large
sip of his drink.

"Hello, Severus," greeted Hermione. His first name
still felt foreign on her tongue. At this point the others also noticed his
arrival and greeted him politely. Severus shook his head in disbelief now that
he was close enough to read Harry's tee. There in large black letters read: 'Fully
Trained Wizard', and just below, in smaller print: 'Want to see my
wand?'

"It was a gift from Ron," Harry said happily.
Severus looked at Ron with a raised brow. Ron's grin faded ever so slightly,
but recovered quickly when Harry laughed at him.

Harry and Severus never actually discussed it, but Severus
was thankful that Harry instinctively knew he wasn�t the type for physical
displays in front of others, at least not in a social setting such as this one.
He felt it very inconsiderate of couples to hang all over each other, as most
people don't want to watch such a thing. Unless of course, you were a hormonal
teen, he thought.

Severus smirked and watched his lover conversing with his
friends. Truth was, Harry was a hormonal teen with an insatiable sexual
appetite. But luckily for Severus, Harry was also a man who liked his privacy.
Too much unwanted time in the public's eye will do that to anyone. Despite all
that, Severus wondered if he should have greeted his lover a bit more
personally than he had the rest of the group. Harry didn't seem to care; he was
laughing with his friendsery ery so often he would catch Sev's eye, giving him
a bright smile. Harry was happy and that was all that mattered today.

He held up his empty drink glass in Harry's direction, in
question. Seeing a grateful nod, Severus went to the refreshment table to
refill his glass and get one for Harry, too. As he dropped a few ice cubes into
a glass, he was perusing the various pitchers, wondering what Harry might like
to drink, when a quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Professor?" the shy
voice of Ginny spoke.

Severus looked up to see the nervous girl. He gave a small
smile with the intent of making her feel more comfortable, but it didn't seem
to have the affect he was going for. The girl went from blushing to pale.

"I, uh, thought you were here to take my dad from the
party for some work, and I didn't think about how it would soundot; ot; She
shifted her feet as she nervously spoke. "When I said it was a family
party I didn't mean you shouldn't be here. Mum told me that you had been the
one training Harry all summer, and you were here for his birthday as a guest. I
er�" she trailed off, realizing she had said way more than she had
intended to, and had said it all in one breath. "Sorry," she said
quickly and took off with her face red once again.

Severus kept his mask of indifference up for the moment to
keep from laughing out loud. He was sure Molly had demanded the girl apologize
to him.

"Mm, thanks," hummed Harry taking a sip of the
drink Sev brought to him. "What's up with Ginny? You're here ten minutes
and my friends are running from you already," he teased.

"I assure you, I did nothing but show up." Severus
then explained what had happened. Harry shrugged.

"I guess you just have that effect on some
people," Harry said clinking his glass against Sev's.

"Brat."

Molly stuck her head out the kitchen window to announce
dinner would be ready momentarily. As people began to sit, Ginny remained
standing, looking at the back door, thinking Harry's date hadn't shown up yet.
It hadn't occurred to her that Professor Snape was his date.

Arthur sat at the head of
the table. To his right was a seat waiting for Molly and then Ron and Hermione,
then the twins on the end. Severus chose wisely, sitting in the seat furthest
from the twins and closest to Arthur and Molly. Bill sat at the end of the
table opposite his father, just as Charlie apparated into the yard.

"Hey everyone, sorry I'm late." Charlie stood by
Harry's side with a hand on his shoulder. His thumb and index finger were
slightly over the edge of Harry's tee, brushing against his neck. "Happy
Birthday, Harry," Charlie said cheerfully. He handed Harry a small wrapped
package, and then kissed him on the cheek. Severus held back the glare he wanted
to send Charlie. He knew from Order meetings that Charlie was a good man, and
Severus liked him. Until he was sure Charlie knew Harry was his, he'd
resist the urge to glare or perhaps stab him with a fork.

As dinner went on, they all talked between mouthfuls of
great food. Molly had outdone herself. Bill asked Ron and Harry about their
various training. Arthur opened a bottle of wine, pouring glasses for his wife,
Bill, Severus and the birthday boy. Charlie passed on the wine, as did the
others. Hermione asked Severus if he knew if Gwen Jennings had gotten her
apprenticeship or not. Ginny looked wide-eyed at Hermione, not expecting her to
be so comfortable engaging the professor in conversation, and using his first
name, too. It made sense if after all this time Harry had gotten closer to the
man with all the training and Order meetings, but not Hermione.

She was easily distracted from that thought as a basket of
hot rolls made its way around the table. Severus helped himself to a roll
passing the basket to Arthur. Glancing over at Harry, Severus discreetly
watched his lover spread butter on his roll. Harry was meticulously covering
both sides of the steaming bread. He was surprised Harry only took one roll. He
usually ate two or three at a meal, but was apparently being polite. Severus
wondered how it was Molly managed to feed such a large crew everyday. That
would explain Arthur working so much. As the twins excitedly explained a
product they had recently perfected, Severus subtly placed his roll on Harry's plate,
trading it off for Harry's untouched glass of wine.

When the cake came, it was almost unwelcome, as everyone had
eaten so much dinner. The key word of course was almost. It was a
magnificent three-layer cake complete with loads of icing and strawberries on
top. Severus watched as Harry nervously blew out the candles when the singing
had ended. Everyone cheered as all 18 (plus one to grow on) candles were blown
out. Harry looked relieved as nothing happened. He looked suspiciously at the
twins who were feigning innocence with upturned palms, and questioning looks as
to why Harry would distrust them.

"First choice always goes to the birthday boy,"
Molly said cheerfully holding up two slices. "Which one do you want,
dear?" she asked. Harry considered his choices. One had lots of frosting,
and the other had a large ripe strawberry on top.

"Mm," he reached for the slice with the berry
first, but said, "I'll take the one with the most frosting." Taking
that piece too. Harry placed the cake with the huge strawberry in front of
Severus and helped himself to the other. Had anyone been watching they would
have seen the horror on the twin�s faces as Harry took the first piece, but
then gave it to Snape. Instead, most had their attention on the opposite end of
the table where the first piece of cake had exploded in Severus' face.

At least it looked like the icing was on his face until he
took a step back and the icing stayed where it was seemingly in the air as
Severus had put up a shield. He had been checking the food all night as he
always had, and wasn't too surprised when he saw Harry looking nervously at the
cake. He had silently checked the cake for spells, and could have easily
disarmed the cake, but thought that he would wait to see what would happen. Especially
when the Fred and George both looked downright panicked when Harry passed on
the first slice. 'This should prove interesting', he thought to himself.

Harry had also been checking his food, but he hadn't checked
the whole cake, only the piece he was going to eat. He was, therefore, wearing
some of the icing from Sev's cake. Mr. Weasley was also splattered with the
strawberry cream. Arthur looked furious, wiped the cream from his face and took
a deep calming breath.

"I'm terribly sorry for my sons' behavior. We can
punish them of course, but as they are both adults, I will leave it up to you
if you wish to confront them as such." The twins looked shocked. Their
father, who had final say in the home, had all but given Severus permission to
do what he pleased. They were suddenly very concerned about the consequences of
their actions.

Severus took another step back allowing the icing to fall
from the air. He looked at the twins and back at Arthur. Molly looked like she
was about to explode with rage.

"Thank you Arthur," Severus said calmly and
decided to let Molly have at them. It was a childish act; let them be punished
as such. Molly had been seething, and Severus decided it best to throw them to
the lions (their mum) than to take his own revenge. It was, after all, the
first time he'd been in a social situation with Harry, and while he wasn't
accustomed to these things, Sev was sure hexing Harry's friends wasn't one of
the planned activities for the party.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised when Molly didn't blow sta stack; everyone that is, except the twins. Molly held her hand out, requesting
their wands, and handed them her apron in exchange. They were now playing
hosts, as she would relax for the duration of the party. They were required to clear
the table and clean the dishes and the entire kitchen, sans magic, in addition
to apologizing. Severus wondered how many redheads would apologize to him at
one party. The current count was five, Molly, Arthur, Ginny, and now Fred and
George.

Later that evening~

Bill, Harry and Ron were discussing he various techniques in
which they'd been trained. Ron especially liked fighting with a staff and had
challenged Harry to spar with him. As they danced around a bit, Ron was
disappointed Harry wasn't more of a challenge for him.

"I thought you said that you had finished training with
a staff?" asked Ron, trying not to make it sound as if Harry should be
better, but failed.

"I have, but I was trained with a different style than
you. I'm not built for using a staff as well as you are.&;

"That's ridiculous. Ginny could wield a staff, if
properly trained." Ron froze for a moment realizing he'd insulted Snape's
teaching style.

Severus looked up as if considering Ron's opinion.
"Tell me Ron, where is your staff when you�re not using it?"

"When I have on my full Auror robe, it attaches to my
back, and I can pull it out like this," said Ron demonstrating the move in
a fluid motion.

"I see." Severus put his hand out, and Ron handed
him the staff. He held the staff up behind Ron where it would be, and then
walked over to Harry where the staff seemed five inches longer as Harry was
nowhere near Ron's height. "As an Auror, you will be prepared for battle
with the proper dress and weapons. Harry may not have the convenience of
knowing in advance when he will be attacked. The chances of him having a staff
on him are slim. His training is adjusted accordingly."

"Then why did you train him to use a staff if you
weren't going to teach him how to use it well?" asked Ron sincerely. He
hoped Snape understood he wasn't being malicious.

"I didn't. Harry only used the staff goofing around
with Kieran, after sessions," said Severus with a smirk. Ron looked
confused. "If Harry is so inclined, he could show you what he learned."
Ron was still confused, but took his staff back and faced Harry.

"You wanna go again?"
Ron held his staff at the ready. Harry nodded with a big grin.

"You ready?" asked
Harry, looking both at Ron and Severus.

"Ready." Ron toed the ground slightly getting in
position. Harry threw his staff at Severus, never taking his eyes off of his
opponent.

"Now, I'm ready," said Harry in a slightly
crouched stance. Ron hesitated only for moment. He knew the look of
determination on Harry's face.

Harry leaped in the air avoiding the first attack, and
ducked the next. By the time Ron had lunged once again Harry had used Ron's
momentum to his own advantage, grabbing the staff, and flipping him over. Harry
landed on Ron's chest, with his wand drawn and prodding his neck.

"Now you go for he kill!" Fred yelled from the
kitchen window. "Do your worst, Harry," said George who was wearing a
flowered apron, carrying a tray of dirty dishes from the table.

Bill crouched down close the Harry and Ron's face. "Ok
Har, he's one of the bad guys and you want to hurt him bad, but you need to
take him into custody for questioning. What do you do?" Bill said
laughingly, explaining the situation of their mock battle. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well�"Harry said poking the wand at Ron's neck
some more. "I'd have to hit him with something that would have the
appropriate effect. It pays to know your enemy well. I'd have to pick something
that would have the greatest effect and still leave him coherent. I know!"
he said as if he'd had an epiphany. He removed his wand from Ron's neck, and
held it off to the side. As Ron kept his eyes on the holly wand, Harry leaned
in and kissed him full on the mouth, then jumped up and ran like hell. Laughter
ensued, and Harry continued to elude Ron for the next ten minutes.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Severus watched Molly and Arthur as they spoke to Ron and
Hermione. He guessed the two would be engaged by the end of the year.

"How long have you been a couple?" asked Charlie
casually. Severus had seen him approach, but hadn't let on.

"What gave us away?" he answered a question with a
question. Severus didn't think Molly�d had a chance to mention his dating Harry
to Charlie, since he'd arrived late for dinner.

"A few things, things I might not have noticed if it weren't
for the reaction to my kissing him hello."

"I don't recall reacting at all," Severus said
vaguely, remembering he hadn't glared, though he�d wanted to.

"I was referring to
Harry." Charlie paused to sip his drink. "He used to kiss me
back."

Severus appeared uninterested,
but inside he was pleased. "He mentioned you and he had a flirtatious
relationship." Severus looked at Charlie challengingly, wondering if he'd
deny it.

"That we do, but Harry
knows not to take me seriously."

"Yes, he mentioned that too." Severus didn't want
Charlie to think he was the jealous boyfriend, and he wasn't going to mess with
Harry's friendships. Harry had a limited number of friends he could trust
implicitly. He would need them all if he continued on as he had the last seven
years, surviving and hopefully defeating the Dark Lord. "Tell me,"
Severus paused and leaned close, speaking in a whisper. "Is it true,
you�re a man who can get fresh dragon scales?"

Charlie sipped his drink, but the cup didn't hide his grin.
"You know it's illegal to import some dragon parts. Fresh dragon
scales are so hard to come by one might have to resort to the black market to
acquire them."

"One might," agreed Severus. Some potion
ingredients were very hard to come by.
Harry glanced over to see Severus stepping closer to speak with Charlie.

"A decent connection with an experienced dragon handler
could prove useful." Charlie noticed Severus stealing glances at Harry,
and he continued to speak very quietly. "I can get you these items legally.
Is there any particular reason we�re being so discreet?" he had to ask
since Severus was obviously trying to keep their conversation from being
overheard.

"No, but if you knew the effect this conversation is
having on my lover, �" laughed Severus. Harry, as if on cue, was suddenly
coming over to see what was so fascinating on that side of the yard.

"Hi," Harry said innocently.

"Did you want something?" asked Severus as if
Harry had interrupted a vital meeting. Charlie kept from smiling as they continued
their banter.

"I wanted to make sure you weren�t flirting with
Charlie, since that's the way it looked from where I was standing." Harry
tried to look at them disapprovingly. "That would be my job," he said
with a smirk.

"That's comforting," said Severus dryly. "I
was beginning to think you'd never get a job." Severus slid his arm around
Harry's waist, possessively pulling him close to his side.

TBC

Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed. Luna_Kat04
~ Lady S ~ emel_raines ~ Maggie

LeeLeePotter@OptOnLine.Net
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Death Eater Takes a Holiday