“Minerva,” Severus groaned. “You could have hired anyone. Anyone at all. And this is who you chose?”
He gestured to the grinning idiot seated next to him in the Headmistresses office.
Minerva, sodding traitor that she was, gave him a tight smile.
“You know Harry is more than qualified. In fact, I think we’re quite lucky that he consented to come here and teach.”
And Merlin, the pleased smile she gave Potter was nothing short of a doting grandmother looking at her favorite grandson.
He was truly alone with his disdain.
“Fine,” he sneered. “I shall see you and our infantile new Professor at the feast tonight.”
He swept from the room and made for the dungeons- if he had to deal with Potter at dinner he would need liquid fortification.
He was so close, so close, to his office when the man in question called out to him.
“Severus, hey! Wait up!”
He stopped, if only to yell at the insufferable man for daring to talk like they were friends.
He turned and saw Potter panting slightly, his glasses crooked, and that ridiculous smile still plastered on his face.
“What can I do for you Mister Potter?” He asked coolly.
Potter straightened his glasses and stuck his hand out, “Harry,” he said simply.
Severus curled his lip at the offered hand.
“Not a chance, Potter.”
And damn if the crestfallen look Potter gave him didn’t make it look as if Severus had kicked his owl.
***
“Hey, Severus!”
Severus groaned. All he had wanted to do was eat an early supper, retire to his rooms, and possibly find a book to read.
And instead now he had Harry bloody Potter sitting next to him at the Head Table giving him a beaming smile.
“What do you want, Potter?”
“Well I’ve been trying to catch you the last couple weeks but it seems like we never cross paths.” Potter gave a light laugh, “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were avoiding me.”
Severus raised his brows at him, apparently the fool wasn’t as oblivious as he’d given him credit for.
“I have been,” he said coolly, hoping to use his usual level of disdain to end the conversation.
Not that Potter had ever cooperated with anything in his life.
“Well I wanted to ask you something though.”
Severus watched as he rubbed the back of his neck in what seemed to be a nervous gesture.
“I was gonna see if maybe- if you aren’t busy- if you wanted to go get a drink with me?”
What the hell?
Severus looked at him incredulously, but Potter was steadfastly avoiding his gaze. His face was blushing and it was an absolutely ridiculous sight. Even if some people might find it charming.
He certainly didn’t.
“Why would I want to go get a drink with you, Potter?” He asked slowly, giving the man time to get his mind back.
He’d clearly lost it in any case.
Probably the two Avada Kedavra’s.
Potter mumbled something incomprehensible. Further adding evidence to his brain addled state.
“I cannot hope to understand you when you mumble to the table,” he drawled.
Potter picked his head up and looked right at Severus- an impressive show of bravado considering his face was still a startling shade of red.
“I said, you should call me Harry. And you should go get a drink with me because I’m not so bad when you get to know me,” he gave him a self-deprecating grin that Severus was sure usually worked very well for him.
On people who aren’t himself, of course.
He snorted in disbelief. He almost sounded as if-
“Like a date,” Potter clarified.
Severus gaped at him for a moment before catching himself and schooling his features.
“No,” he told him, turning his attention back to the meal he had lost his appetite for, effectively ending the conversation.
“Why?”
Severus slammed him fork down, ignoring the jumps of the startled students seated closest to the table.
“Why what?” he hissed.
Potter had his head cocked to the side with a curious look is his eyes.
“Why don’t you want to go out with me?” He clarified.
Severus would never admit to anything as undignified as sputtering, but he certainly had lost some of his usual eloquence when he replied.
“Because- well, because- I’m busy Potter.”
“Oh, okay,” Potter had the audacity to gaze sadly at his empty plate before abruptly jumping to his feet with an easy grin.
He gave a mental snort, clearly the man had gotten over his rejection quickly enough.
“Another time then.”
For Merlins sake that’s not what he meant. But before he could tell Potter that- the damn fool was gone.
He wondered if Minerva would allow him to retire only a month in to the school year.
***
Halloween. Severus had suffered through the usual loud and obnoxious feast with only a mild headache.
Interestingly, it seemed that Potter deemed it inappropriate to flirt with him, as has become his custom, on the anniversary of his parents death.
Severus would take a break from the shy smiles and pink stained cheeks where he could get one, but he hadn’t liked how downtrodden Potter had seemed.
The man was minimally more bearable when he was grinning and laughing.
After the feast Severus was relaxing in his quarters- pleased that he at least did not have rounds tonight.
Idly he wondered if Potter was alright, and very briefly considered sending his patronus to check on him.
He vetoed that idea, quickly.
Ridiculous.
As it turned out- he had no need to go check on Potter because Potter came to him.
Severus had just poured himself another glass of wine when there was a light knock on his door.
“S-Severus, open up, pleaseeee.”
Potter, knocking on his door at eleven pm, and giggling.
Christ almighty.
“What are y-“
Severus’ icy greeting was cut off by Potter stumbling past him and tripping over his own feet in a way that was neither cute nor endearing.
“Sev!” He cheered. “I came to break the curse!”
He peered at the man closely. His green eyes were glassy and he smelled like a distillery... and an ashtray.
Did Potter smoke?
“Are you drunk?”
The idiot just laughed, all breathy and definitely intoxicated.
“Maybe a little” he conceded. “But I need you to b-break the curse and I had a f-few drinks before I came.”
“What curse?”
Surely he didn’t mean the one on his position, that had broken the night the boy had saved his life and killed Voldemort.
“The curse on Halloween, duhhhh.”
Potter had an annoyingly earnest look in his eyes, one that was belied by his juvenile language and drunken laughs.
Severus sat back down on his sofa, then immediately regret it since Potter took it as an invitation to sit down next to him.
Much too closely.
Severus could feel the heat coming off his body and was uncomfortably aware of the fact that Potter wore nothing more than a simple white tshirt and slacks.
The younger man kept staring at him, his green eyes so wide it almost made him look like an owl. Which was an absurd comparison and did not make Severus’ pulse race a little quicker.
He tried to find a response to Potter’s insane belief that Halloween was a cursed date.
“Why do you believe that there is a curse on Halloween?”
Potter scoffed, as if it was unbelievable to think otherwise.
Arrogant.
“Think about it,” he slurred. “My parents died on Halloween, and a troll ‘bout killed Mione on Halloween, th-then the chamber was opened, and uh- uh Sirius broke in, ‘member that?”
As if Severus could forget.
“Then m-my name came out of the goblet and uh, I dunno what happened when I was fifteen but Umbiiiitch was here and that was bad enough, wasn’t it?” He laughed, presumably at his own ridiculous name for Umbridge. “And uh anyways, I figure it’s cursed so I thought, ‘hey Harry, you gotta uncurse this day’ and BOOM!” He clapped his hands together, “Here I am!”
He laughed again and bumped his shoulder against Severus’.
“Ssooo you wanna help me?”
“What do you believe that I can do to break an imagined curse on an entire date?” He asked.
He wouldn’t say that Potter’s cursed Halloween theory didn’t have merit, it certainly had enough evidence on its own. But it was more likely to be a series of unfortunate events rather than an actual curse. And even if it was a curse- wasn’t Potters pseudo-brother, William Weasley, a specialist in things like that?
“You gotta kiss me.”
It was such a ridiculous statement that Severus was completely caught off guard and began laughing.
Did Potter believe himself to be a princess in need of rescuing?
He took a deep drink of his wine and summoned a glass of water for Potter, which was ignored.
“I am not kissing you Potter,” he said eventually. He scrunched his nose, “Especially not when you are inebriated and smell like an ashtray. You have no reason to believe an alleged curse could be broken by a kiss.”
Potter didn’t even seem to be deterred by his refusal, he scooted closer to him, until their legs were side by side and smiled up at him.
Does he always smile so much when he’s drunk?
“No l-listen, I thought about it. If you kiss me then it’ll be the greatest thing to ever happen to me and you have a little bit more time to do it before Halloween’s over. Then I can’t say it’s c-cursed anymore cause how could it be? You kissed me.”
Potter had stumbled over his words quite a bit, but his enthusiasm at the idea was rather high.
Severus was glad for Potter’s inebriated state- surely he would never remember Severus blushing at his declaration that a kiss from him would be the ‘greatest thing to ever happen to him’.
“Potter I am sure there are just hoards of witches and wizards who would duel for a chance to kiss you. Go find someone more suitable to shower with your ridiculous attentions, yes?”
“Don’t want someone ‘more suitable’,” Potter muttered. “I want you, stupid.”
Severus’ lips twitched at Potter’s childish insult.
“Ah, but why would you want me when I’m apparently so ‘stupid’?”
He hoped Potter would never remember his teasing tone tomorrow.
Maybe he could obliviate him.
The crazy fool laid his messy head on Severus’ shoulder, shuffling around to apparently make himself right at home on the sofa.
“Cause you’re handsome,” he sighed. “And smart, and funny, and fuck you’re brave.”
Dear Lord had he drank an entire liquor cabinet?
“And fit too,” Potter murmured into his neck where he was nuzzling him.
Drunk and brain addled from his many brushes with death apparently.
“Would you get off me?” He gave him a half-hearted push.
Not because he didn’t want him off him, because he did. But he didn’t want to hurt him.
Apparently though, in his drunken state- even a slight push was enough to send him toppling to the floor.
Severus couldn’t even lie to himself at this point. Potter spread out on the floor, his legs crooked and his gaze bewildered, was a sight to see. He wondered if this is how he would look after sex.
Stop. That. Thought. Now.
“What’d ya do that for?” Potter asked, sounding positively affronted.
“You were- were nuzzling me Potter! It’s inappropriate!”
And difficult to ignore.
“I was hoping you’d kiss me, not push me down,” Potter pouted. “And you should call me Harry.”
Severus felt a tiny twinge of regret for knocking him to the floor and offered his hand in assistance in standing.
His regret vanished quickly when Potter, apparently stronger than he seemed, yanked him down off the couch.
Practically right on top of him.
“That’s better,” he laughed. “Now we’re both down here.” He waggled his eyebrows at him, “Can’t think of anywhere better for that kiss than the floor.”
Severus untangled himself from Potters limbs- a Herculean effort considering how dedicated Potter was to keeping Severus on top of him.
“You are drunk,” he sneered. “I will not kiss an intoxicated man on the floor of my sitting room.”
Potter sat up and shrugged. “I can fix that!”
And before Severus could stop him he pointed his wand at his own chest and said, “Reneverate!” then promptly fainted because he is an idiot.
Reneverate was not meant for clearing alcohol from your system.
Jesus. And Minerva thought he was overqualified to teach defense classes?
It’s a miracle he’s survived the last 22 years.
He tried to glare down at him but Merlin, he just looked so ridiculous. His black hair was messy and sticking up- even while he was flat on his back. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open, a little pink ‘O’ that sent a shiver down Severus’ spine.
“Potter,” he called, nudging him gently with his foot. “Come now, wake up.”
He was still firmly asleep. Another reneverate might wake him- but it also might send his heart in to a fatal arrhythmia.
He sighed, it looked as if he was hosting a guest for the night.
He considered just leaving him on the floor; it would serve him right for impulsively trying to clear his body of the booze he’d consumed, but ultimately decided it would be kinder to move him to a bed.
A one time kindness in repayment for the ridiculous affection the boy was dedicated to showing him. That’s all it was.
He bent down and pulled Potter in to a standing position before wrapping his arms and torso behind his own neck. He swept his legs up and held on to them to support him.
For a lithe man, Potter weighed more than one would assume.
Severus carefully did not consider the muscles that must contribute to the weight.
“You are a pain in my ass Harry Potter,” he muttered as he deposited him on to his guest bed. “An absolute whirlwind of chaos and foolishness.”
He wrestled him around until he could grasp the blankets and pull them over him- it was rather chilly in the dungeons.
“Mmm, Sev.”
Severus, who was about to exit the guest room, heard Potters light moan and felt as if it had went straight to his groin.
He was moaning his name in his sleep.
Fuck.
He gave one last glance towards Potter and sighed heavily.
Either the man needed to get over his fleeting crush on Severus, quickly, or he was going to cave spectacularly.
***
It was nearing Christmas break when Severus came to a startling realization- Potter had actually given up on him.
It had been weeks since the younger man had sought him, asked him to go get drinks, or winked and blushed at him.
How had he not noticed sooner?
He felt a rush of misplaced anger. How dare Potter try and win his affections only to give up when it didn’t immediately work out? Did he have no sense of perseverance?
Lazy.
Without even considering his actions, Severus allowed his anger to guide him towards the Defense Professors office. He rapped his knuckles sharply on the door, just once, before opening it.
Potter was seated behind his desk- his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his dark hair a tangled mess, and the end of a quill in his mouth.
“Severus?” he asked, surprised at his uncharacteristic appearance in his office. “What’s going on? What are you doing here?”
“I thought you had more determination than this, Potter,” he sneered at him. “But it seems that that you are indeed as lazy as I had believed you to be as a student.”
Potter’s mouth dropped open and his eyes flashed with anger.
“What- lazy? What the hell? I’m working just as hard with my students and grading and Head of House duties as you are!” he sputtered. “I’m not lazy!”
Severus scoffed, this had nothing to do with his career. Obviously.
“No?” He asked him. “Then would you mind telling me why I have not heard from you in weeks now? Was it not only Halloween night that you believed I, and I alone, could cure you of a curse with a single kiss?”
The younger man blushed, presumably embarrassed of the reminder of his drunken actions a couple of months ago.
“I told you I was sorry,” he muttered.
“I am not looking for an apology Potter, I am looking for an explanation.”
Potter furrowed his brows down in confusion.
“You want to know why I haven’t been pestering you to go out with me lately?” He asked slowly.
Since Severus had already said as much, he decided to not answer such an obtuse question.
“Er- well, you said no?” Potter shrugged. “I didn’t really fancy getting fired for harassing you so I thought you’d be happy if I just left you alone.”
Severus scoffed and waved his hand carelessly. “You have asked me, what, three times? And because I did not immediately cave to the whims of the great ‘Man-Who-Survived’ then suddenly you give up? I had not pegged you as a quitter.”
Potter gave him a shy and crooked grin.
“Er, it was eleven times, actually.”
That... that actually was quite a few times.
“Yes, well, perhaps we would be ill-suited if you are so easily dissuaded.”
Potter tilted his head to the side slightly, studying the older man. He leaned back in his chair, tilting the front chair legs off the floor, and grinned at him, his green eyes newly sparkling.
“Severus,” he said, “do you want to go get a drink with me tomorrow night?”
“No.”
Potter slammed the chair back down and gawked open-mouthed at him.
“What the hell?”
Severus rolled his eyes and walked over to his desk. He bent across it and grabbed Potter by the front of his robes.
“Let’s go now,” he murmured before abruptly crushing his mouth against Pot- Harry’s.