Silver and Gold 20/? DH Spoilers
SPOILERS FOR DH


Title: Silver and Gold 20/?
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 Twenty

After a hearty cooked breakfast at their hotel on Saturday morning, Severus took Harry shopping on Oxford Street and Harry was hard pushed to decide where he wanted to shop first. The Muggle shopping street was a lot larger than Diagon Alley and was full of so many varieties of shops that Harry felt almost as out of place there as he'd felt the first time he visited Diagon Alley. They spent a few hours in clothes shops getting Harry lots of new Muggle clothes.

Severus chose nearly everything, leaving Harry to browse for underwear on his own. Harry couldn't help wondering what Severus would like to see him in, so he tended to tailor his choices to that. They bought sandwiches and sweets and had a small picnic lunch in St. James's Park, watching the ducks swimming by on the ponds.

In the afternoon, Severus took him to the National Gallery and in the evening they had dinner on a boat cruising the Thames. Until then, it had been a perfect day. The boat trip started out all right, but a few minutes after they boarded the winds got stronger and the water got a bit choppy. Harry didn't even manage the starter (melon and Parma ham) before he was heading to the nearest bathroom. He hadn't realised you could get seasick on a river.

When he emerged, Severus was waiting outside the door for him. Harry felt clammy and his stomach was still roiling with the waves. "I've asked the captain to let us off at the next pier, Harry."

"I'm sorry," said Harry. "I didn't mean to ruin it."

"Nonsense. You didn't ruin anything. We'll just get you back to the hotel so you can have a lie down."

Harry didn't protest; he was feeling so sick and upset that he just wanted to get off the boat as quickly as possible. He nodded, and then regretted it as the movement of his head brought back his nausea in full force. Harry dashed to the toilets again and threw up twice more before he felt well enough to go back out to the deck.

By that time, one of the crewmen was tying up the boat so they could get off. Harry heard a few of the passengers wondering what was going on, but he ignored them and gratefully leaned on Severus' shoulder as they walked down the gangplank and off. Even though they were now on dry land, Harry still felt as if things around him were swaying. Luckily, the walk to their hotel wasn't too far from the river. They were both silent as they made their way up in the lift.

Severus ushered Harry inside his bedroom. He helped Harry off with his coat and then pushed Harry down to sit on the bed while Severus also removed his shoes. Once that was done, Harry stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To brush my teeth and rinse my mouth, it tastes awful."

"Fine, but then you're straight into bed. No arguments."

"Okay," said Harry, feeling so glad that someone was here to take care of him. It was awful feeling ill when no one looked after you, which is what had always happened at the Dursleys'. Harry sometimes wondered what curses Severus had cast on them, but after remembering the things that Severus had done as a Death Eater, decided that maybe he was better off not knowing.

Harry brushed his teeth twice and rinsed out with mint mouthwash for good measure before having a pee and going back out to the bedroom again. Severus had turned off the overhead lights and switched on just one of the bedside lamps. He was engrossed in the hotel's guest information pack but looked up and set it aside on the desk when Harry came out.

"Were you sick again?" asked Severus, opening one of the bottles of mineral water and handing it to Harry.

"No, I'm feeling better now that I'm off the boat. Thanks," said Harry, taking the bottle and sipping some water.

"You're welcome. Just get some sleep; you'll probably feel a lot better in the morning. I'm just next door if you need anything."

"Severus, can you stay with me tonight?"

"Would you like me to?"

Harry nodded. How could he explain that just having Severus near him was helping?

"Very well, Harry. I'll just go back to my room and get changed for bed; I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Great. Thanks. Here, take this," Harry gave him the electronic key card. Severus kissed Harry's forehead before going back to his own room.

Harry undressed and put on one of his new t-shirts and a fresh pair of boxer shorts, both in black, as he knew how much Severus liked the colour. Once Harry had removed his glasses and set them on the bedside cabinet, he slid inside the cool sheets and waited for Severus to return. It was strange lying in bed waiting for Severus to join him. Even when he'd stayed at The Burrow, Harry had slept alone in a camp bed in Ron's room. He'd never shared a bed with anyone before and wondered how different it would feel to sleeping alone.
About ten minutes later; he heard the beep of the door as Severus used the card to come back in. Severus was dressed in one of the hotel's bathrobes and from the gap at the front, Harry could see Severus' naked chest. It was a lot hairier than Harry's own as well as broader. Severus locked and bolted the hotel room door before walking over to Harry's bed. Harry gaped when Severus slipped off the robe and Harry saw he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts. The tight t-shirts Severus had worn to their training sessions had accentuated his muscles, yes, but nothing could have prepared Harry for the naked sight of them and he felt a bit faint.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

"Oh. Yeah. Fine," said a dazed Harry as he moved over so Severus could climb in beside him. There were some rustling of blankets as they both got settled, each on their own side of the bed until Severus held his arm out. Harry needed no more prompting. He scooted over so that he could lean his head on Severus' shoulder. Harry draped on arm across Severus' chest and slid one leg between his.

"Okay?" asked Severus reaching for the light switch.

"Mmm," mumbled Harry, almost asleep already. He was more than okay; he was lying in the arms of the man he loved and there was nowhere on Earth he'd rather be.

***

After lunch on Monday, Hermione ushered Harry and Ron upstairs to Harry's bedroom. Despite being Head Girl with her own private room, boys still weren't allowed in it, which Ron had discovered a few days into the start of term. It had taken him three showers to get rid of the goo that had landed in his hair.

Hermione and Ron sat down on Harry's bed while Harry took the desk chair.

"Well… Spill," demanded Hermione. "How did it go?"

Harry smiled and blushed. "God, it was brilliant!"

"How did what go?" asked Ron with a confused look between the two of them.

"Harry's date of course!"

"But you were with Snape all weekend," said Ron, as if he was explaining things to particularly dense five year olds. "He wouldn't have let you go off on a date."

Hermione counted to three under her breath. "Snape?" spluttered Ron, finally getting the idea. "You had a date with Snape?"

"More than one actually," sighed Harry. He just couldn't seem to wipe the silly smile off his face.

"You and Snape? Eww! That's gross! He's so..."

"So what, Ron?" Harry asked dangerously.

"He's your teacher! It's against the rules! Hermione, tell him!"

"Actually, there are no rules specifically forbidding teacher and student liaisons as long as the student is of age."

"Liaisons? Is that some posh word for fucking?" Ron's face had turned almost as red as his hair. "I can't believe you, Harry! Fucking Snape, I really thought you had more taste!"

"Ron Weasley! What an awful thing to say!" said Hermione.

"Well, it's true! Who in their right mind would want to fuck Snape? That's it, isn't it? He's Confunded you or something!"

"I'm not Confunded! I love him and he loves me!"

"Love? Snape wouldn't know the meaning of the word!" Ron dived off the bed and toyed with one of Harry's crystal chess figures. "He gave you this, didn't he? He doesn't love you! He's just trying to buy you! You're nothing but his whore!"

"GET OUT!" Harry roared as the windows started to rattle in their frames. Wind rose up and ruffled the curtains and bedclothes as Harry fought to regain control of his magic. "Hermione, get him out of here! Now!"

"Ron, come on!" Hermione grabbed hold of Ron and pushed him out the door. It slammed behind them. Harry sank to his knees at the foot of the bed and leaned his head on the bedspread, breathing heavily. It had been a long time since he'd lost control of his magic like that, but Ron had just made him so angry.

He knew nothing about Severus, nothing! How dare he sit in judgement on who Harry should or shouldn't love! And as for fucking, well they hadn't done that yet, had they? Not that it was any of Ron's business anyway! Ron was the one who'd told him that the Courting meant it was serious, not some fling, and yet he'd called Harry a whore.

Harry hadn't deluded himself; he knew not everyone was going to approve of him going out with Severus. There was the age difference, Severus' past and all the rest of it, but he had thought that, of all people, Ron would have been supportive and not started ranting at how wrong Harry was for loving Severus.

It didn't feel wrong to Harry. Inside, where it counted, it felt more right than anything else in his life had ever been. No matter what happened; he wasn't going to allow Ron or anyone else to spoil it.

Harry's hands curled into fists. He loved Severus and no one, no one, was going to take that away from him.

TBC