SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 – Prince Hall

Harry sighed, rolling his shoulders as he left the kitchen at Prince Hall; Dobby, plus their two other house-elves Lolly and Swiffy, were putting the final touches on the dinner party that he and Severus were holding that evening. Hours earlier, they had sent off their oldest, Corvina, on her first-ever trip upon the Hogwarts Express, and she would likely be arriving at the castle right now, where Deputy Headmaster Neville Longbottom would meet her, as well as the other new students, and bring them inside the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, presided over by Headmaster Remus Lupin, who had taken over the headmastership seven years previously, when Minerva had decided to retire. Now, Dora was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, as well as Head of Hufflepuff House, while Neville was Deputy Headmaster, Head of Gryffindor House, and Herbology professor.

The letter from Corvina on which house she would be sorted into would likely arrive during the dinner party, and Harry was looking forward to it. He and Hermione, along with Ginny, believed that Corvina would sort Gryffindor, while Ron, Draco, and Severus were determined that she would sort into Slytherin, with Fred and George overseeing the bets. Harry smirked to himself as he headed outside into the unseasonably warm autumn evening, and looked out over the impressive property that Prince Hall had to offer. They were in the heart of Hatfield, and even though Harry had a great many properties to his name, he hadn't seen further use for them for the moment, and had, instead kept hold of them for emergency purposes, or holidays for his friends and other family members.

Ever since the Second Wizarding War had come to a close, Harry had consider what it was he wanted to do. However, he now had time to truly decide for himself, without anyone breathing down his neck and telling him that he wasn't allowed to do something, to have something, or to keep him from the people he loved. When Dumbledore had finally passed away two years after the final battle, Harry himself had spoken at the wake, telling everyone what Dumbledore would have wanted. That, despite the fact that the man was the best sorcerer in the world, he was still human, and humans were full of faults. So, while he was imperfect as they came, it did not mean that he meant badly, as he had tried to fix the things that he had broken, and although he attempted to fix things, not all things, once broken, could be so.

"I can sense your mind going a mile a minute, love."

Harry smiled, leaning back and into Severus's arms as the man wrapped his own arms around his waist, and Harry let out a small sigh. "Sorry. Just a bit tired, and anxious."

"Worried about Corvina?" Severus wanted to know.

"No," Harry replied; he didn't want to make their conversation a difficult one, but he also liked simply talking to the man he had given his heart to. "It wouldn't make sense to be worried about her, you know? She is a Potter-Snape, after all, too talented for her own good, and with a tongue and a mind like that, you know as well as I do how far she will get in the Wizarding World, in whichever field she chooses."

"You and I both know that, my love," he said softly. "But, I must know, are you much too tired for the dinner party tonight?" Severus asked, gently placing his hands upon Harry's swollen belly, which never ceased to make Harry's toes curl, no matter where his husband touched him, even after all these years of being together. "We can always reschedule, you know..."

Harry shook his head. "No," he said again, turning around to face his husband completely with a small smile. "Kayleigh and Kendrick are surprisingly behaving themselves today." Harry grimaced as one of them managed to elbow him right in the abdomen. "Oof. Seems as if I've spoken too soon..."

Severus smiled down at his husband. "I know you wanted them so badly, despite the fact that I told you that four children was already enough..."

"Not as if we can't afford it," Harry said, smirking up at him.

Severus nodded. "Of course. Between our combined fortunes, and my potions research, we have more money than we could ever hope to spend in a thousand lifetimes."

Harry bit his lower lip and stared up at him. "Perhaps, when the children are old enough, we can finally take the tours of all my inherited properties—a proper vacation."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "With or without the children, love?"

Harry grinned. "With them, of course. But we'll bring Dobby, Lolly, and Swiffy along for those moments that we want just to be the two of us."

Severus pulled his husband back into his arms. "How are you so insatiable, Harry James Potter-Snape?" he asked him.

Harry wrapped his arms around the man without a moment of hesitation. "Because, Severus, I happen to be in the arms of the man I've wanted since I was fifteen-years-old. Now, here I am, thirty-one, and I've still got him, right where I want him."

"Merlin save me from previously hormonal teenagers," Severus said in mock-horror.

"Don't pretend as if you don't love it," Harry replied, peeking up at him.

Severus led Harry back into the house and into the small parlor, where he sat down on the settee and pulled Harry into his lap, and then proceeded to gently rub at his husband's shoulders. "I suppose I'm just pleased that Ginny, in her infinite wisdom, volunteered to take care of the other children for the day," he said gently, and he smiled as Harry promptly leaned back and further into his arms.

"Hmmm," Harry said quietly, shutting his eyes at the notion that, after all these years, his husband always knew just what to do to calm him down. "Well, it's not as if she has her hands too terribly full with Scorpius, Asteria, Vulcan, or Cordelia," he mused, letting out a small sigh as Severus got a particularly bothersome knot out of his back. "Oh, love, right there..."

Severus chuckled lightly, pressing an open-mouthed kiss onto Harry's particularly sensitive neck, which directly caused his husband to moan in anticipation. "No matter how much I may want to ravish you, Harry my love, you know that Ron and Hermione are always quite punctual, and that Rose and Hugo inherited those traits from their mother... Of course, Rose won't be here tonight, just Hugo..."

"Well, this settee is very lucky," Harry said quietly, feeling Severus's cock growing with excitement as his own sprung to life. "After all, we conceived Lily here..."

Severus chuckled. "Only eighteen months after we had Thaddeus, up against the wall of the master bedroom suite, and thirty-six after we had Corvina, in Italy, because you were dead-set on having another baby..."

Harry smirked. "You're just pleased that Thaddeus is your little double, love, and that he's the next potions prodigy," he went on, giggling. "No wonder Minerva retired. She couldn't stand the notion of our little boy blowing up the lab in his excitement..."

"Thaddeus would never blow up the lab," Severus said, stopping his massage of Harry's back with a gruff front. "He doesn't have a drop of Longbottom blood in him."

Harry huffed, squirming slightly in Severus's arms and sighed with relief when the man continued his massage. "You really need to get over that, love," he said gently. "Are you worried you'll lose the bet when Corvina's letter arrives?"

"Not a chance," Severus informed him. "She'll sort Slytherin, I know it."

"Adolphus is a Ravenclaw," Harry mused, naming their fourth child, who had been conceived on the banquet table, around a year after Lily was born.

"Hmmm," Severus mused. "Thaddeus is one as well," he allowed, "and Lily is a Gryffindor through and through..."

"And the twins?" Harry asked, placing his husband's hand onto his belly. "What do you think they'll turn out to be?"

Severus scoffed. "Not a Hufflepuff like Teddy," he mused, rolling his eyes.

"Be nice to your godson," Harry reprimanded him gently. "And who knows? Hope could sort Gryffindor, too, along with Andi, and little Ralph," he continued, and sighed a bit wistfully at the thought of Remus and Dora's youngest child, the only one who had inherited Remus's curse from Greyback. "I cannot tell you how amazing your Wolfsbane is for little Ralph, love. He just sleeps through the entirety of the full moon, and never has to feel the pain of the transformation at all..."

"Yes, so you've said," Severus said softly; for all his bark, Severus hated the fact that some little children were still hurt in the world.

"Sirius and Gwen are coming tonight," Harry put in, wanting to change the subject to make his husband feel better.

"Oh? Back from Spain already?" he asked.

Harry smiled; it had been a shock when Sirius and Gwen had sold of Grimmauld, and Harry had given them the Potter property in Burgh Castle, which they adored, although they frequently went off traveling for months at a time. "Yes, and Posy, Lilac, and Basil will be joining us," he said quietly, smiling at the memory of Sirius informing him that Gwen was pregnant with triplets, the Christmas after the final battle at Hogwarts, who had been born in June of the following year.

"I wonder how old Walburga would react to the notion that Sirius did not continue the tradition of Sirius naming his children after constellations of some kind," Severus mused.

Harry smirked. "Likely the same way that was Narcissa's initial reaction to discovering that Draco and Ginny were engaged to be married," he said softly.

Severus pressed a kiss onto Harry's head. "And you know as well as I do that she and Molly are the best grandmothers that Scorpius, Asteria, Vulcan, and Cordelia could ever ask for in one lifetime, love..."

Harry nodded his head. "I know it," he assured his husband. "Just like you know that the Ministry of Magic has never been in better hands with Kingsley as Minister, Hermione as his Deputy, and Moody as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Severus grinned against Harry's head. "I am still waiting on the pensive memory of your reaction to finding them together in the kitchen at Grimmauld..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And as I've told you a thousand time, Severus, you will have to ask Moody or Kingsley for theirs, as only they saw my expression... Come to think of it, since Kingsley saw me first, it's likely he's the one who saw the first initial reaction..."

"Well, at least Callum sorted Ravenclaw," Severus said softly.

"You're just upset because you were made godfather of the oldest Shacklebolt-Moody child and he didn't sort Slytherin," Harry joked, giggling slightly at that, thinking that some things, thank Merlin, never changed, no matter how much time, and life, had somehow managed to slip effortlessly through their fingers.

"Naomi is a textbook Slytherin," Severus said, thinking that there was still hope for the Shacklebolt-Moody line.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, considering that she, and Rose, are best friends with Corvina, we'll likely find out this evening, won't we?"

Severus pulled Harry closer. "Yes, love. I suppose we will."

Dobby popped into the room shortly thereafter, and smiled indulgently at his masters. "Mistress Corvina's letter has come, Master Severus and Master Harry," he said, his ears flapping rather anxiously as he scurried over, and handed it over.

Harry, being closer, took it from Dobby. "Thank you, Dobby," he said genially to the house-elf with a smile. "Would you care to stay while I read it aloud, and then bring the news of the Sorting Ceremony to Lolly and Swiffy?"

Dobby grinned up at Harry. "Yes, please, Master Harry," he replied.

Harry nodded, slicing the letter open nonverbally and wandlessly, and opened it up, pleased to see the familiarity of his oldest daughter's handwriting.

Dear Daddy and Papa,

Naomi, Rose, and I had an entire compartment on the Hogwarts Express to ourselves, and it was quite fun ordering from the trolley together! My favorite thing had to be the Cauldron Cakes, while Rose preferred the Sugar Quills, and Naomi the Exploding Bon-Bons. The ride itself was a long one, and the three of us made three new friends on the journey. They are named Geoffrey Howard, a Muggleborn; Henry Markham, a Half-Blood; and Frederick Jones, who is actually Hestia Jones' brother, Archie's, oldest son. They go by Geoff, Harry, and Rick, and I think Naomi and Rose are smitten with Geoff and Henry already, and while I think the same feelings apply to Rick when it comes to me, I'm far too young to get involved in any romantic entanglements whatsoever.

Harry turned and regarded his husband. "Why am I under the impression that you had a discussion with Corvina before she got on the train?"

Severus huffed as if he was offended. "I just wanted her to understand that her education is the main priority..."

Harry pursed his lips. "Considering that she has already found her Animagus form, Severus Snape, I think she knows that," he replied, turning back to the letter, although he couldn't help but be filled with pride at the memory of his daughter effortlessly transforming into a lovely black fox just six months prior.

We changed into our robes on schedule, and a magnificent divider appeared within our compartment so as we didn't flash the boys—can you imagine? Once we were off the train, Hagrid escorted us over to the Black Lake and to the boats, just like you've told us he would for all these years. Uncle Neville met us inside the castle, although I remembered that I have to call him 'Deputy Headmaster Longbottom', 'Professor Longbottom', or 'Sir', how that he's to be one of my professors.

He led us into the Great Hall, and I waved to Teddy at the Hufflepuff table as we walked by, and Uncle Remus nodded at us when we got inside, along with Aunt Dora. Uncle Neville explained the rules of the Sorting Ceremony, and then it was off to the races! Geoff went first, and sorted Hufflepuff, and he grabbed the seat next to Teddy—I think the pair of them hit it off, because I saw them laughing together during the feast! It's nice to know that someone as nice as Geoff found someone as kind as Teddy to sit with.

Rick went next, and the blaggard was sorted Gryffindor; no surprise there. Then, Harry went and took his turn, and got Ravenclaw. Naomi went next and was sorted Slytherin. Then, Rose went and got Gryffindor, naturally.

"Why hasn't she told us where she was sorted?" Severus whispered from behind Harry, clearly growing impatient.

Harry laughed. "I'm sure she'll get there, love."

The funny thing about all this is, I never assumed that the colors scarlet and gold would look so wonderful on me—

"No!" Severus screamed in mock-anguish.

"Yes!" Harry crowed in victory.

—but, here we are. I know that Uncle Neville will be a wonderful Head of House, and, perhaps, one day, Rick will strengthen his maturity. In the meanwhile, I've told him that I'm an Animagus, and so is he—he is a Jaguarundi, and I was so embarrassed that I had no idea what that was, other than the fact that it was so obviously a cat. Rose, given that Aunt Hermione is her mother, whispered to me what it was, thank Merlin, so I didn't appear to be a prize idiot during our first civil conversation.

So, perhaps, being a member of Gryffindor House won't be so terrible after all. I am also sending an owl to Great-Aunt Minnie tonight to let her know. Hopefully, with Uncle Blaise as our potions master, he won't be convinced by Great-Uncle Horace to reinstate the odious Slug Club again. I heard some whisperings about a potential Fire League that he is in charge of, for dueling, but that is only for fourth-years and above.

I love you both very much!

Love, your daughter,

Corvina Amethyst Potter-Snape

Proud Gryffindor

Harry looked up at Dobby. "You may go and tell the others now, if you like, Dobby."

Dobby nodded his head. "Yes, Master Harry. Dobby will go and tell Lolly and Swiffy, and make sure that dinner is being prepared to your liking!" he replied, before popping out and away from the parlor.

Harry turned slowly and looked at Severus, who was doing his impression of the most miserable black raven he'd ever seen. "Cheer up, Severus," he said softly. "We've still got five other children, you know."

"Three, as of right now," Severus replied, palming Harry's belly possessively. "You know as well as I do that the twins aren't coming until November."

Harry shrugged. "True," he allowed. "But, remember, being on our toes tonight is a must. You know that Fred and Alicia are bringing Georgiana and Aiden, and George and Angelina are bringing little Fred and Roxanne."

"Thankfully Molly and Arthur will be here as well," he said quietly. "They always know how to keep those four in line. Not to mention Bill and Fleur's lot, Victoire, Dominique, and Louis with their impeccable French manners..."

"Perfectly tolerable as children go," Harry said, pressing a kiss onto Severus's cheek. "But you know as well as I do that Arthur and Molly can wrangle anyone worth wrangling."

Severus leaned back onto the comfortable cushions upon the settee, pulling Harry with him, his hands roving possessively along his belly, as well as the rest of his form. "I am no longer happily looking forward to dinner," he said softly.

Harry chuckled. "You're just upset because you lost the bet. Stop pouting like a little first-year and be the brilliant host I know you are."

Severus scoffed, but when the Floo flared in the living room, he grabbed Harry around the middle and carried him out, smiling as Ginny and Draco stepped into the room, with Thaddeus, Lily, Adolphus, Scorpius, Asteria, Vulcan, and Cordelia all running around them, a mixture of blond, red, and black hair intermingled with squeals of varying volume. "Glad you both could make it," Severus said, gently easing Harry down and greeting Draco with a clap on the back and a firm handshake, and Ginny a kiss on the cheek.

"No Narcissa tonight?" Harry asked, embracing them both.

"Giving her the night off," Ginny replied jokingly, "since she was so helpful with the brood throughout the day."

"Cerberus is taking her to her favorite bistro in Paris," Draco explained with a smile, mentioning Cerberus Langarm, his stepfather of ten years, who worked under Moody in the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic, whom they all thought very fondly of. "They're going to be gone the entire weekend, but they really deserve it."

"For their anniversary, then?" Severus asked.

Ginny nodded. "Yes. After all those time I had matches with the Harpies and needed them to watch the kids, it'll be nice for them to get away for a few days. Thank Merlin I retired when I did; I much prefer being a sports writer anyway," she said with a chuckle; Ginny had retired from the Harpies eight years previously, and now was the sports writer for The Daily Prophet, which was a much better newspaper, now that Lavender Brown was running it with Parvati and Padma Patil, and Rita Skeeter had been given the boot, after Hermione had informed Kingsley that she was an unregistered Animagus.

"Thank Merlin Hannah's on rotation tonight," Draco said as they meandered, with the children in tow, towards the kitchen. "I adore her, I really do, and I love Ernie for keeping her on her toes, but pediatric healing is exhausting enough on its own. Thankfully, me and Angelina got the night off to come here for dinner tonight."

"Also, thank Merlin for house-elves," Ginny said, flashing her husband a grin. "They love Ellie and Hector," she said, smiling at the notion of Hannah and Ernie Macmillan's twins.

"At the very least they're paid house-elves," said Hermione pointedly as she swept into the room, flashing a grin at her sister-in-law, before kissing her on the cheek. "Are you all right, Gin?"

"Yes, just a bit tired," Ginny assured her. "I'll be fine."

"Oi! You running my sister ragged, ferret?" Ron bellowed, stepping into the kitchen after Hermione, Hugo up on his shoulders, shouting for Ron to run all around the house as fast as he could go.

"She just said she's fine, weasel," Draco huffed at Ron.

Hermione pursed her lips as she turned to regard her husband. "Darling, must you carry him around like that? He's nearly nine-years-old, and getting very big. After all, he does take after your side of the family..."

"Oi!" Draco shouted.

Ginny shushed him with a kiss on the cheek. "Darling, everyone knows that I don't take after the Weasleys but the Blacks," she said, knowing just what to do to make her husband all riled up, even after so many years married. "We knew the risks, love, both being Purebloods and all, but our lot are fine, you know that."

Harry brandished the letter from Corvina, which made their company go silent, with the exception of Hugo and the rest of the children, who were babbling happily on the other side of the kitchen, given that Dobby had taken pity on them and given them some biscuits before their dinner. Normally, Harry and Severus would have been upset by this, but this was a special occasion after all, so, for the moment, they didn't mind as much.

"News from Hogwarts!" Harry cried.

Hermione bounced up and down, her curls billowing, causing Ron to look upon his wife in a moment of pure indulgence. "What does Corvina say? Is Rose all right?"

"Yes, your precious Rose Ginevra Granger-Weasley is absolutely fine, Hermione," Severus replied, rolling his eyes.

Harry scoffed. "Yes, thank you, Severus."

Ron looked at Draco in surprise. "He's huffy. Can't be good..."

"Was Naomi nervous?" Ginny queried.

Severus sighed. "Naomi Jade Shacklebolt-Moody does not get nervous," he told her, his impatience threatening to take over.

"That's enough of that, Severus," Harry said firmly.

Draco turned and gave a nod to his brother-in-law. "I concur," he informed him.

"Both Corvina and Rose were sorted Gryffindor earlier this evening," Harry said at last, and Hermione and Ginny promptly ran towards him, squealing with delight, and threw their arms around Harry, who just managed to keep his footing, while Ron and Draco commiserated with Severus in the background.

Severus promptly extracted Harry from both their grips, coming to his senses rather quickly, as they always did, whenever Harry was vulnerable, in danger, or something, be it person, place, or thing, would cause him hurt or pain. "As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, kindly don't topple over my husband while he is carrying our twins, thank you."

"Fred and George will have a field day when they get here," Ginny gushed, ignoring Severus and grinning at Hermione. "How many Galleons was it again?"

"Fifty," Ron said, crossing his arms.

"Thank Merlin I'm Lord Malfoy now," Draco said, annoyed.

"And, as your Deputy Minister of Magic," Hermione said, drawing herself up to her full height, which was the same as Ginny's, so she couldn't even attempt to tower over Draco, at six-feet-two, or Ron, at six-feet-four, "I can therefore order you to keep to the bet."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Merlin, 'Mione—"

"I mean it," Hermione told him firmly. "You're the one who's always saying that, despite your love for the Chudley Cannons, they have to exude good sportsmanship, even during their constant losing streaks. Right?"

Ron kicked at the ground slightly, as pessimistic as a first-year who just lost his chance at the House Cup by breaking curfew one too many times. "Yeah," he said.

Hermione clasped her hands together. "It's settled then," she said firmly to her husband. "You know, fair play and all that."

"Humph," Ron responded.

"Anyhow," said Draco, who clearly still appeared annoyed, but nevertheless turned to face Harry and Severus, determined to change the subject. "Have you and Severus decided on middle names for the twins yet?"

Harry grinned at Draco; the man was brilliant at evading conflict in any given situation by getting the topic of conversation changed entirely. "Well, as you know, we've already got Corvina Amethyst," he began.

"Thaddeus James," Severus continued; now that he and the portrait version of Harry's father were more than cordial, he had accepted it as a middle name for their oldest son.

"Lily Eileen," Hermione put in, still thinking it was beautiful that Harry and Severus had combined both their mother's names for their second daughter.

"Adolphus Rex," Ron said, still smirking at the notion that their second-eldest son's name literally meant 'wolf king'.

"And you've decided on Kayleigh and Kenderick for their first names," Ginny said, smiling, as she had been the one to suggest the letter 'K', and Severus and Harry had gone for it, rising to the occasion very well. "What have you considered, then?"

"I quite like the idea of Kayleigh Euphemia and Kenderick Fleamont," Severus put in, wanting to honor Harry's family.

"But I think that those names, no matter how much I may love and respect my grandparents, are too archaic in the wrong way," Harry put in.

Draco nodded his head. "Here, here," he replied.

"But I was reading up on the family background recently, in my ancestral section of the library here, and discovered that one of my great-grandmothers from the Peverell line, was named Iolanthe," Harry continued, and looked up at Severus with a small smile, knowing how to make the man weak at the knees. "It means that our youngest daughter's name would mean crown violet, which I think is quite lovely."

Severus inclined his head. "That is indeed very lovely, Harry." He hesitated for a moment before he continued, "I believe you also had an ancestor by the name of Hardwin."

Harry blinked. "That's right, I did."

Severus reached out and took ahold of Harry's hand in a gentle manner. "That means, if we so chose that name for our son, his name, Kendrick Hardwin Potter-Snape, would mean greatest champion and brave friend."

Harry smiled slowly at that. "Really? You'd want to use both names from my ancestors? What about yours, Severus?"

Severus sighed. "I honestly didn't know them, and while you yourself didn't know yours either, you have an anchor to them—James and Lily. Plus, they go excellently with Kayleigh and Kendrick, do you not think?" he asked, turning to look at Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Ginny, with a smile on his face.

Ron nodded. "Yeah. I like them."

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "So do I."

Draco grinned. "They sound like proper names to me."

Ginny reached out and took her husband's hand. "I agree as well."

Harry leaned back in Severus's arms. "So, it appears as if Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, and I are the proud winners of fifty Galleons each," he said, smirking. "Ron, Draco, Gwen, and Severus betted on Slytherin House, while Fred and Alicia said Hufflepuff, and George and Angelina said Ravenclaw..."

"And no one else would bet," Ginny sniffed.

"For good reason," Severus rumbled from behind Harry.

"Nevermind," Hermione said, shaking her head. "It means we get two hundred and fifty pounds each, which means that Ginny, Harry, and I, as soon as the twins are born and Harry feels safe leaving them with the house-elves for a few hours, we're going to Muggle London for some shopping and lunch."

Harry grinned; he wholeheartedly approved of this plan. "Sounds good to me," he replied, and turned to Ginny. "How about you?"

Ginny grinned. "I can give the details to Lavender, Parvati, and Padma, and they can make it into a story," she said, and giggled. "Shopping, unfortunately, despite the side-effect of burning calories, does not count as a sport."

The Floo flared again, with Sirius, Gwen, Posy, Lilac, and Basil all hurrying into the kitchen, with apologies for being late, while the triplets hurried over to the rest of the gathered children, and got their allotted before-dinner biscuits.

"Hey, Dad," Harry said warmly, breaking away from Sirius and throwing his arms around him happily.

"Not too tired?" Sirius asked, pulling back.

Harry shook his head. "Not too tired," he replied, turning to regard Gwen, remembering that day in Godric's Hollow, that Halloween, when he had come out to her, and told her about his feelings for Severus. "Hello, Gwen," he said, and embraced her.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked.

Harry smiled, pulling back. "Good, thank you. And you?"

Gwen smiled at him. "Fine, thank you," she said, turning to see Sirius and Severus interacting, with Severus saying something that made Sirius laugh, and Sirius, in turn, clutching at Severus's arm as they both doubled over. "You know, I never did tell him."

Harry blinked, turning to look at Gwen. "Tell who what?"

"Sirius," she said quietly. "I never told him that you told me that you had feelings for Severus, at the pub in Godric's Hollow."

Harry slowly smiled at her. "Oh, Gwen. You don't know what that means to me."

Gwen smiled, leaning in and kissing Harry on the cheek. "You'd lost so much," she said softly, patting him on the shoulder. "I didn't want more to be taken away from you."

Harry watched as Gwen walked over to speak to Ginny, before he turned around and regarded his husband, who had wrapped up his conversation with Sirius, and was now speaking to Ron and Draco. Harry walked over to the man he loved, his husband, and wrapped his arms around him, snuggling in.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Severus asked.

Harry looked up at the man and smiled. "No reason," he said quietly. "I mean, at the end of the day, I don't need a reason to hug my husband, do I?"

Severus chuckled. "No, I suppose you don't."

"Good," Harry replied, standing up on his toes. "And I don't suppose I need a reason to kiss my husband, do I?"

Severus's cheeks flushed pink just slightly. "No," he said quietly. "No... You don't need a reason to do that either."

Harry grinned, standing up further on his toes and kissing his husband with all the passion and love in the world. "Good," he said quietly, pulling back just enough so that Severus was looking into his eyes, and gently pressed his forehead into his. "Because I intend to kiss and hug you, Severus Snape, and keep doing it, for as long as you'll have me."

Severus wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, and promptly kissed him back. "How about always?" he whispered.

Harry smiled, tears coming into his eyes. "Always sounds perfect," he replied, wrapping his arms around the man's neck, and never wanting to let him go.

THE END