Silver and Gold 18/? DH Spoilers
SPOILERS FOR DH


Title: Silver and Gold 18/?
Author: Eriador117
Rating: NC-17, Snape/Harry
Spoilers up to and including Deathly Hallows
Summary: Things are never quite what they seem. Epilogue, what epilogue? ;)
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potterverse, I'm just playing in it.
Beta'd by Rakina, many thanks :)
Warnings: AU, Angst, Mpreg. There are some other things I am not warning for as it will give away the plot and I myself don't exactly know where the story is going yet.



Earlier Parts

Part Eighteen

Two weeks later Harry's back was completely healed and Severus finally got to take him to London. Harry was a little surprised that Professor McGonagall had let him go off alone with Severus; wouldn't she suspect something if the two of them were away for the weekend together? It seemed she hadn't even thought of it.

They Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron but Severus had booked them rooms in a Muggle hotel near Leicester Square. After stopping at Gringotts to exchange their money into Muggle currency; they walked down Charing Cross Road towards Leicester Square. Harry had been on Charing Cross Road a couple of times as it led to the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley, but he'd never been to the area around Leicester Square before.

There were restaurants, cinemas, theatres, and in a couple of side roads Harry saw signs for Licensed Sex Shops. "Severus, what are those? Are they brothels?" Harry asked in a whisper, his face flaming.

Severus grinned. "No, they sell books and videos, sex toys, things like that."

Harry nodded. "Oh, right," as if he knew exactly what Severus was talking about. What on Earth were sex toys? He felt he'd asked enough embarrassing questions for one day though and was happy when Severus stopped outside their hotel. The hotel was a brown, brick building taking up one corner and part of a side street leading off Leicester Square. It overlooked the small park in the middle of the square and there was a large cinema to one side of it.

"Let's get checked in; then I thought we could go out to dinner and catch a film this evening," said Severus, taking Harry's elbow and steering him towards the front steps of their hotel. Harry nodded, still gazing around him at the bright lights with awe. It was a cold, frosty evening, but with warming charms he and Severus had hardly felt the chill.

The hotel lobby had a cream and terracotta tiled floor, so highly polished that you could see your face in it. Crystal chandeliers adorned the ceiling as well as hidden spotlights. There was a long mahogany desk with five receptionists dressed in navy blue suits, the men wearing blue ties and shirts and the women wearing white blouses and blue scarves around their necks.

Severus wheeled his suitcase up to the nearest female receptionist; Harry followed suit.

"Good evening, sir, how may I help you?" she asked, her mouth full of teeth so white Harry was sure they couldn't be natural.

"Severus Snape and Harry Potter. We have reservations."

The receptionist typed something on a computer in front of her. "Of course, Mr. Snape. You have adjoining single rooms, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Very well, we just need a credit card imprint to take care of any extras such as phone calls or drinks."

Harry thought for sure that Severus would balk at that, but he was surprised when the man fished out a credit card from his jacket pocket. Severus Snape had a credit card? It was as if his world had turned upside down. Seeing Severus with a credit card was as surprising as if Harry had seen Aunt Petunia flying a broomstick.

Once everything at check-in was taken care of, the receptionist handed them each a small, plastic card. "You have rooms 304 and 305 on the third floor. The lift is just opposite. Do you need anyone to help you with your luggage?"

"No, thank you. We can manage," said Severus.

Harry almost giggled at that. Of course they could, both their suitcases had feather-light charms on them. A Muggle hotel porter would have been in for a shock if he'd tried to lift them. Harry followed Severus across the floor to the bank of lifts and luckily one was already on the ground floor waiting for them. Severus entered first, holding the door open so that Harry could get in and then pushed the button marked '3'.

It didn't take long, the lift juddered to a halt and Harry grinned across at Severus. He could hardly believe how excited he was. This was his first stay in a Muggle hotel, his first real holiday and his first date with Severus was only hours away. How could he not be excited?

"You seem very happy tonight, Harry," said Severus as they left the lift and walked down the corridor to their rooms.

"I am, Severus. I'm with you for the whole weekend. Thank you for this."

"You're very welcome. We've time to freshen up before dinner, how does seven o'clock sound?"

"Sounds brilliant," said Harry as they reached their doors. Harry watched as Severus slid the plastic key into the slot on the door and a green light came on. "See you soon," called Harry as he did the same with his own door and pushed it open.

Despite the receptionist saying they had two single rooms, Harry's bedroom was dominated by a large double bed. The walls were painted cream, brown curtains adorned the window and there was a brown leather headboard on the bed. Orange, brown and cream cushions and pillows were fluffed up in neat piles and there was a desk and brown leather armchair. A hospitality tray holding varieties of sugar, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, mineral water and shortbread biscuits along with cups and a kettle stood on a wide shelf.

There was a small wardrobe next to the bathroom but since they were only staying two nights Harry hadn't packed a lot of clothes so he didn't bother hanging anything up. He set his bag down on the bed and removed the clothes he would wear for their date: an emerald green shirt, black dress trousers and a pair of black leather boots.

The bathroom was fully tiled in grey marble with sparkling silver taps and Harry didn't linger too long over his shower, so keen was he to get on with their date. He felt a little dizzy and turned the water down so that it was warm rather than hot. Predictably as he washed himself with the hotel's own shower gel, his cock began to swell, but knowing that Severus was on the other side of the wall made him a bit anxious about masturbating here. It just didn't seem right, so Harry ignored his erection and continued washing until it had gone down.

The towels were plentiful and fluffy, not at all like the raggedy rough ones the Dursleys used to give him – when he was allowed a wash at all, that is. Harry sighed as he switched off the water and began drying himself. Sometimes he just couldn't forget the things they'd done to him; he looked away from the mirror and the reflection of his scarred chest. Irritated, he shook himself. No. He couldn't allow them to spoil the rest of his life. It was over. It was in the past. He had Severus now, he didn't need them. He had never needed them.

Harry finished dressing and tried to tame his hair, but as usual it was futile. It just wouldn't lay flat no matter what he did to it. Hagrid used to tease him about combing it, but combs and hairbrushes had no effect on Harry's unruly mop of hair. At ten to seven he took out his winter coat and draped it over his arm; it was too hot to put it on in the hotel.

At five to seven there was a knock on his bedroom door. Harry rushed to open it, a broad grin on his face.

Severus, too, was dressed like a Muggle today and Harry couldn't help staring. Severus wasn't wearing black; he had on a pair of grey woollen trousers, a royal blue shirt with white buttons and a matching grey waistcoat. The man looked good enough to eat, from his tied-back hair to his grey-clad legs. Harry swallowed as a frisson of desire ran up and down his spine. "You look fantastic!" exclaimed Harry, unable to keep it to himself any longer.

Severus coloured and inclined his head. "Thank you. You look very handsome yourself, Harry."

"Thanks. I wasn't sure what to wear. Is this dressy enough for dinner?"

"It's fine. Shall we go? I made reservations for quarter-past seven and we have to walk there yet."

"Is it far?"

"No, just a street on the other side of Leicester Square."

***

The walk wasn't far at all, Harry wished it had taken longer so that he could spend some more time with Severus just looking around and chatting about inconsequential things. There were street performers on the square who were gathering quite large crowds and Harry was glad of Severus' supporting arm as the older wizard manoeuvred them away from the mass of people.

"Here we are," said Severus as he stopped in front of a glass-fronted building with a wooden sign with gold lettering on the front. Guiseppe's.

"Oh! Italian! I've never had Italian before," said Harry as they entered the restaurant and were greeted by the Maitre d'.

"We have a reservation. Snape," said Severus. The Maitre d' skimmed down the list on the podium in front of him and clicked his fingers at a passing waiter who was dressed in a white shirt, black tie, black trousers and a long white apron.

"Carlo, please escort our guests to table five."

The waiter lifted some menus from a stack on the podium and showed them to their seats. All the tables were round and covered in red-and-white checked tablecloths. An empty wine bottle on their table held a candle and the neck of it was encrusted with old wax drippings. Once they'd settled themselves in the chairs, the waiter handed them each a menu.

Harry's education in food was limited to what they served at Hogwarts and Molly Weasley's dinners. There were a lot of dishes on the menu that Harry didn't recognise and he felt a bit out of his depth. When the waiter came back for their order, Harry just waited until Severus ordered first.

"The minestrone soup to start and then the lasagne. Harry?"

"I'll have the same," said Harry, hoping Severus didn't see through his ruse.

"And to drink?"

"Just water for me," said Harry.

"Make that two. Sparkling," said Severus, handing the menus back to the waiter.

"Very good, sir. It shouldn't be long."

Once he'd gone, Severus' gaze rested on Harry. "Harry, you're eighteen, you could have ordered something alcoholic if you wanted."

"Water's fine," said Harry. "I'm not used to anything stronger than butterbeer really and I didn't want to get drunk." He shuddered and Severus waited for Harry to continue.

"He … he was worse when he got drunk," Harry said softly. "My uncle."

Severus' face darkened. "I cursed them."

"What?"

"Your relatives. I cursed them a few weeks ago. They shouldn't have been allowed to get away with hurting you."

Harry gaped at him. "You cursed them? For me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry if that upsets you, but it had to be done."

"Upsets me? No, you didn't upset me, Severus. They had it coming."

"They did," agreed Severus.

Harry reached across the table and pressed his hands down on Severus'. "Thank you, Severus. Thank you."

TBC