A Motherly Intervention.

Title: Notice Me Not.
Author: pekeleke
Rating: T
Pairing(s): Severus Snape/Harry Potter.
Challenge: Prompt 18 (Picked from an online seasonal prompt list): Hot Cocoa
Word Count: 1382
Content: Chapter 18 of my Christmas Series: A Motherly Intervention.
Warnings: Getting Together. Enemies to friends to lovers. Mild Angst. Romance.
Disclaimer: The characters, setting, and the HP franchise are owned by JKR and not me. I make no profit from writing this piece of fanfiction.
A/N: Unbeated. Posting one chapter a day from December 1st to the 25th.
Summary: Notice-Me-Not spells rarely work on their caster's parental figures. That would require specific intention when weaving the charm, so Molly can clearly see her son but suspects poor Elspeth couldn't. 

Notice Me Not.

Molly's best friend since childhood, Elspeth Mullingspot, runs a needlework workshop in Hogsmeade. Molly keeps telling her to move the business down to London since most Hogwarts' students aren't interested in the craft she adores so much. Her friend has a cute cottage, six grumpy kneazles, and knows all her neighbors by name, so she isn't exactly keen on exchanging all those comforts for the 'grime and noise of London.' This means that Molly travels to Scotland on the third Saturday of the month just to see her, and Elspeth does the same with Ottery St Catchpole a week later.

This particular Saturday happens to be the last Hogsmeade weekend before the students go back home for the holidays. They've been out for about two hours, but the village's main street is so unpleasantly crowded that they've decided to wander off into the smaller side-alleys. The ones most of the children never find out about because entry to them is regulated by age-reading wards.

Molly and Elsphet explore a muggle curiosity store, where Molly is delighted to discover the most curious little plastic spoon with random holes in the middle. The shopkeeper explains it's supposed to be a yolk separator, and Molly decides that her Arthur would love it to bits, so she buys it for him. He'll be so chuffed on Christmas morning!

After the muggle nick-knack store, they move onto the neighboring bookshop, but there's nothing in there that might interest either Hermione or George, and she's not sure yet of what books Severus already owns on any given topic, so she walks out, empty-handed. They buy a couple of pretty silver earrings sets from a street vendor. Molly's for Ginny and Fleur, and Elspeth for her youngest daughter, Sophie.

By then, it's about quarter to twelve, and they decide it's time to relax and engage in a spot of gossip over a nice, hot cuppa. Elspeth leads them to the quaintest corner cafe Molly has ever seen and starts strolling down the narrow corridor that opens to the left of the front door, looking for a free table, only to stop abruptly not five steps into her stride, looking thoroughly confused. Molly grabs her by the arm, concerned that she might fall; neither of them is as young as they used to be, "What's the matter? Elspeth, are you alright?"

Elspeth nods distractedly and points out to a free table in the opposite direction, "We can sit over there instead. The window looks out onto the street."

Molly frowns. They'd decided on the quieter side of the shop because Molly's close relationship to the much-lauded Golden Trio often means she gets hounded by well-meaning folks looking for fresh gossip about their heroes. Molly has learned to bear such interruptions to her day with good grace, but Elspeth is a more retiring sort and doesn't much care for the extra attention.

As Elspeth tries to steer her to the other side of the cafe, Molly cranes her neck and peers around the potted plant that hides their intended spot from casual eyes. She catches sight of Harry and is about to step towards him with the intention of greeting him when she feels the pressure of his magic telling her to stay away.

Notice-Me-Not spells rarely work on their caster's parental figures. That would require specific intention when weaving the charm, so Molly can clearly see her son but suspects poor Elspeth couldn't. Curiosity gets the better of Molly, and she claims to need the restroom, encouraging her friend to secure their table. Then, Molly walks down the warded corridor, concentrating on ignoring Harry's magic until she gets past the Notice-Me-Not's boundaries.

When Molly catches sight of Harry properly, it feels as if the gloomy little corridor she's standing in has filled with bright sunshine. Harry is sitting at a small table for two. He's wonderfully animated and smiling a mile a minute as he tells his amused companion some story or other over a steaming cup of what Molly is almost sure is hot chocolate. A plate of half-eaten fruit scones stands between Harry and Severus, who sits opposite him, listening intently to the younger man's tale.

Molly suspects that her delighted grin must be as wide as the one on Harry's face. She pinches herself just to ensure she's not dreaming and thoroughly welcomes the slight pain that spells a veritable trove of beautiful possibilities for the future of her boys. Unwilling to disturb their cozy bubble, Molly turns back the way she came and joins her dear friend at their table on the other side of the cafe.

Molly listens to poor Elspeth with only half a mind from then on. She is too excited by the knowledge she now carries, like a newly formed pearl. Molly feels overjoyed. Hopeful enough to burst into song. She still can't believe that her boys are here, spending time on their own and looking for all the world like a couple in the making while they're at it.

Hogsmeade's back alleys aren't precisely Diagon. Harry must have brought them here seeking privacy. The likelihood of coming face to face with a nosy reporter is smaller up here, in Scotland. Molly wonders if the secrecy of the outing was Harry's idea or a stipulation from Severus. She can imagine the potioneer's reluctance to step into the obnoxious mess that is Harry's private life, especially if he sees their date as something closer to a friendly outing, like the one Molly and Elspeth are sharing in this very second.

Molly can also see Severus not caring one way or the other about whether they're seen together or not. He hadn't refused to accompany them to the tree farm or even Goyle's bistro, so Molly doesn't understand why he'd be worried about it now, especially if he hasn't realized the true extent of Harry's feelings for him yet.

Molly can understand, and even approves of, Harry's instinctive need to guard these precious first outings with Severus. Harry is deeply in love, so these moments mean something special to him, something different, riskier, and more meaningful altogether than anything he's ever attempted to share with any of his former partners. Thus it's likely that their need for secrecy comes from Harry. If that is the case, Molly completely understands Harry's desire to keep this date away from the intrusive eye of the public. Their insatiable curiosity about him has no right to poke at what lurks inside his heart. This is private, out of bonds.

Either way, Molly applauds their caution. Severus is such a reserved person. And Harry's sexual escapades have been so many, so shallow, and so very public— Severus doesn't deserve the label of Harry's latest fling. It's too soon to expose him to the crazy, ten-ring-circus that will result from the knowledge that The Boy Who Lived is actively courting him.

Molly hopes that they'll get there, eventually, but they haven't reached that type of understanding yet. That's the adventure that awaits them; the goal Harry is working toward. For right now, it's early days. This is the time to step forward oh-so-cautiously. A time to imply emotions that are so very hard to confess. A time to expose one's vulnerable heart to the judgment of another and hope to Merlin it's found worthy. It's hard enough to find that kind of courage in private; trying to do so in the eye of the public might be entirely impossible, especially for Severus.

Let them protect their privacy, then. Guard these moments ferociously. Now they are starting to share all the fragile first times that come with becoming a couple, and these first times are important because they build the foundations that hold every romantic relationship together. This is when the teasing at the heart of a couple's banter is born. When the dreams they'll come to share take shape. When all the most precious, private memories meant only for the two of them are gathered.

A couple's first times are sacred, magical in their own way, and as such, Harry is right to hide them from sight. Their first dates belong to them and should remain entirely private. Their first— everything should only ever be theirs to remember.