Fixing the Future

Hadrian waited until all but Poppy (who seemed to have permanently joined the Head of House meetings whenever she was available), Minerva, Filius, Pomona, and Slughorn left the staff room. Once it was just them, he carefully pulled out and unshrunk the small container of Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes and set it in the middle of the table. After a second’s pause, the five other staff members each quickly claimed a cupcake. Hadrian smirked at them and took the last cupcake for himself as hums of approval filled the room.

“How is it that each creation you bring in tastes better than the last?” Poppy half complained, half groaning in obvious approval.

Hadrian smirked, “Trade secret.”

“Is there a reason you brought some of your delightful desserts in today?” Filius asked him curiously.

“Not that he is complaining,” Minerva swiftly tacked on.

The Defense professor laughed at the Headmistress’s comment, but otherwise didn’t reply to her in favor answering the half-goblin, “Lucius took me strawberry picking as one of our dates and we had a bunch left over, so he and Severus convinced me to make something with them. Since I made plenty, I figured you would all appreciate them.”

“Mmm, very much so. Thank you, Hadrian,” Slughorn smiled at him.

Hadrian simply nodded, taking a bit of his own cupcake. He nearly choked in surprise when Pomona spoke up, looking at him curiously.

“So does Severus know you and Lucius are dating, then?”

“Yes,” he replied with a slight blush, remember how Severus had found out. So lost in his kiss with Lucius, he had completely forgotten where they were, “We told him last month, but apparently he has known since Yule and decided not to say anything until we were ready for him to know.”

Pomona smiled at him, “That is wonderful to hear. I am glad he is happy for you and Lucius.”

“Thank you, Pomona.”

“Hmm,” Poppy narrowed his eyes thought, “The two of you have been together a year now, then?”

Hadrian blushed again slightly, “Technically, yes, but due to the… circumstances of how we got together, we agreed to count our first date as our year mark.”

The young professor blushed harder when Poppy smirked at him for the reminder of how they got together. Hadrian took another bite of his cupcake in order to give him something else to focus on.

“Well, just so you are aware, despite how… close you may have gotten over the summer, Lucius cannot officially move in with you here at Hogwarts until you are married.”

The raven nearly choked on his dessert again. Why did they have to keep catching him off guard with these questions after he has taken a bite of his cupcake? He looked over at Minerva with his blush brighter than ever and saw that she was smirking at him with a knowing look in her eyes.

He knew he sounded slightly strangled when he replied awkwardly, “Thank you for the warning.”

Both Minerva’s and Poppy’s smirks widened. He internally cursed the two’s obvious enjoyment.

“Well,” Filius interrupted, “I do believe we should get to the real reason for our meeting now, shall we?”

Hadrian sent a grateful glance at the little professor, who looked at him in amusement.

Severus was in the library with Lily, Remus, and Regulus working on the small amount of homework they had acquired in the first week of term, when an unexpected voice interrupted them.

“Peverell.”

He looked up at the same time as his friends to see Black was standing next to him, looking rather uncomfortable at the attention on him. Rather than reply, he eyed him warily and raised an expectant eyebrow at the boy. Severus hadn’t had to deal with the other boy since the boy nearly got him killed  six months ago – Black had returned to the school from his suspension only just in time to take his exams so Severus hadn’t even had to worry about avoiding the other boy since they were all busy taking their OWLs.

“Can we talk?”

“I do believe that is what you are currently doing,” the Ravenclaw replied dryly.

There was a flash of irritation on Black’s face, “No, I mean can we talk in private.”

“What are you up to, Sirius?”

Severus glanced over to see Remus had spoken up and was looking at his friend with narrowed eyes. Glancing over at the other two, who had been quiet so far, he saw Lily was looking at Black with just much suspicion as Remus, while Regulus was looking at his brother impassively, though Severus could see both curiosity and wariness waring in the younger boy’s eyes.

“Nothing,” Black said slightly defensively. The boy made a frustrated noise, “Look, I’ll leave my wand with Remus if that will make you all feel better. It will take only a few minutes.”

The Ravenclaw scrutinized the Black heir for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on. Black and Potter seemed to have become as thick as thieves again at the welcoming feast and Potter was nowhere in sight, so the boy leaving his wand behind could be a trick. However, Potter hadn’t pranked him since last October, and had begun to be less humiliating in the pranks he did pull on other people since the boy had apologized to him. Severus also highly doubted that Potter would risk pranking him now that Lily had given him a chance in June. It was that thought and his curiosity that decided for him.

“Fine. Leave your wand,” Severus stood.

Black immediately nodded, passing it to Remus. Regulus nudged Severus and looked at him with a silent question in his eyes. He shook his head, knowing that the younger boy was asking if he wanted him to follow them, just in case. The Slytherin nodded to his response in understanding.

Lily, having watch his and Regulus’s interaction, looked at him worriedly, “Are you sure, Sev?”

Severus nodded. Lily accepted it but didn’t look any less worried. The Ravenclaw turned and led the way out of the library before stopping not to far from the doors and turning towards Black.

“What do you want, Black?” he demanded.

The boy fidgeted, “I wanted to say sorry.”

Severus couldn’t stop the incredulous look he sent to the Gryffindor, but the other boy ignored it and continued.

“I shouldn’t have sent you after Remus that night and put both your and one of my best friend’s lives at stake. I was an idiot and I am sorry.”

The Ravenclaw stared at Black, not having expected that. Did the boy think he would forgive that easily? Or believe his supposed sincerity for that matter? The Black heir had tortured him for a large part of the last five years. The only reason he had accepted Potter’s apology was because the Gryffindor had apologized for everything, told him that he wasn’t expecting forgiveness, and because Severus knew Lily had begun developing a crush on the less brash and slightly more humble James Potter that the boy had become after being punished last October. Black only apologized for the latest stunt, seemed to want forgiveness, and didn’t have the luxury of Severus’s loyalty to his friends influencing him (he knew Remus wouldn’t be upset with him for holding a grudge against Black after what happened in March).

Feeling a bit angry at Black selfishly expecting him to forgive such a pitiful excuse of an apology, Severus asked coldly, “Are you done?”

“Uh, yes?” Black frowned.

Severus turned around without another word, ready to walk back to the library.

“Wait, that’s it?”

The Ravenclaw whirled back around to angrily bite out, “Were you expecting forgiveness? After everything you have done to me, did you honestly believe I would grant that selfish desire?”

Black looked a bit horrified, “What? No! I don’t want your forgiveness! I know you won’t give it, so what’s the point? Besides, I wouldn’t forgive someone for nearly killing me either.”

Severus scrutinized the other boy. He was surprised by that response. When he didn’t say anything further, the Gryffindor spoke up again.

“Look, I regret what I did, so I apologized. James thinks I should apologize for the stuff before that, but you retaliated for most of it, and the times you didn’t, James and I were caught and punished, so I feel we are even. If you don’t agree, fine. But I am trying to at least somewhat smooth things over between us so that we aren’t at each other’s throats anymore. I don’t like you, but I don’t want to be the reason Remus is still pulled between friends, because I know he will choose you over me after what I did.”

It seemed the boy had grown a brain some. Severus didn’t agree with Black, but he would rather the this than some fake apology, especially since it seemed his dislike of the other boy was mutual. He considered the Gryffindor, wondering if this small change was going to last. Finally, he spoke up, “Leave me alone, and we won’t have a problem.”

Severus began to turn away, but Black stopped him again, which was beginning to irritate him, “Wait, I just want to know, why did you forgive James?”

“Because he apologized for everything but did not ask for forgiveness, and because I was willing to tolerate him for Lily, as I have always tolerated both of your friendships with Remus,” he sneered at the boy, “It’s about time you grow a brain and do the same.”  

The Gryffindor swallowed, “Look, I’m sorry–”

“Do not even try it,” he interrupted, “I don’t want your pitiful, insincere apologies. I don’t like you any more than you like me, so just leave me alone.”

Severus stalked off, heading back into the library. By the time he arrived at the table his friends were still sitting at, he felt calmer than before. The small amount of anger that had begun to fill him as the two of them talked, mostly fading away, though irritation at the attempted fake apology remained. Severus sat down at the table and saw all three of his friends were looking at him in concern.

“So, what did he want?” Remus asked him, glancing at the door, probably wondering if Black was going to come get his wand.

The Ravenclaw clenched his teeth for a moment, “He apologized for nearly getting me killed.”

Regulus tilted his head to study him, “But that’s not all. What irritated you?”

“He admitted that his apology was mostly to try and smooth things between us for Remus, but when I implied that he has been a bad friend for only now trying to do so, he tried to give me a fake apology when he had just admitted that he saw nothing wrong with the other ‘pranks’.”

“Ah,” Regulus nodded in understanding. Lily did the same.

Remus didn’t say anything, but he did look a bit thoughtful, “I better go return his wand. Thank you for hearing him out, Severus.”

Severus nodded and watched him leave, wondering what he was planning to say to the other boy. He knew the werewolf was happy that Black was willing to apologize and try to tolerate him, but he knew Remus would also be conflicted about Black’s views on the previous pranks.

Lily brought him out of his thoughts with a smirk, “So, do you want me to continue hexing him for his last ‘prank’?”

He and Regulus snorted, shooting each other knowing looks. They both knew the red head would no matter his answer. Severus thought she could probably convince Potter to join her if she decided to. Severus smirked at the thought, deciding that he felt like having a good wager with her.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Lucius began after they had separated from the greeting kiss – though snog would probably be more accurate, he admitted to himself. They had been kissing since he emerged from the floo now that his lover’s classes were done for the day, and he knew it had been at least a few minutes.

Hadrian smirked at him, not moving out of Lucius’s hold around his waist, “Mmm, dangerous.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” The blonde rolled his eyes while the raven chuckled some. When the man waited expectantly, Lucius continued, “It is our one-year anniversary and Severus knows about us now, so why don’t we go have dinner in Hogsmeade without worrying about who might see?”

“You mean like students do during Hogsmeade weekend?” the professor asked, clearly amused.

Lucius nodded anyways, “I know it’s not very original, but I also know you won’t want to go too far from the castle since it’s the middle of the week. Plus, you didn’t attend Hogwarts, so I can be the first – and hopefully last – one to take you there on a date.”

Hadrian laughed, “I would love to. Though, there is one flaw in your plan.”

The younger man looked at the professor in confusion; he could think of nothing he had forgotten.

The thirty-year-old smirked, “We have not yet informed your mother of our relationship.”

Lucius felt horror fill him. She was going to kill him. He had been dating Hadrian for a year, and in that time, hadn’t told her. To be fair, she probably suspected he was seeing someone with how often he wasn’t at the manor, but he knew she was probably just waiting for him to say something. The blonde ignored his lover laughing at him; Hadrian had nothing to worry about. He might get a light scolding, like he did after not visiting for a while, but Acacia was going to lecture her son like there was no tomorrow.

“Relax, Lucius,” the raven spoke up. Before he could protest, Hadrian smiled at him, “I already sent her a letter to inform her we would be by this weekend. We will tell her then so we can still go on our date.”

The Malfoy lord groaned and dropped his head on the professor’s shoulder, “She’s still going to kill me for not informing her sooner.”

He heard and felt the quiet chuckle from the other man, at the same time he felt gentle fingers begin to card through his hair, “She’s going to be too excited to be overly upset with you.”

Lucius didn’t reply other than to hum in appreciation, thoroughly distracted; he loved it when Hadrian played with his hair. After a few minutes of just standing like that, the Defense Professor stopped his fingers and tilted the blonde’s head up to give a chaste kiss.

“Come on, love, let’s go get dinner.”

The twenty-two-year-old, beamed at finally being able to take the older man out in the open in the wizarding world. He took Hadrian’s hand in his and led the way out of the man’s quarters. When Lucius was going to pull his hand away before they exited the rooms, his lover squeezed his hand to stop him. The younger man looked at the professor in question; Hadrian winked and opened the door. Lucius’s lips curled in satisfaction at the other man feeling comfortable enough to be open with their relationship.

They walked through Hogwarts’ halls in comfortable silence, neither of them paying the students and their curious looks any attention. Just as they got to the front doors of the castle, they saw McGonagall heading inside. As they got closer, Lucius could see when the woman smirk when she saw their joined hands. The blonde wondered if he should be worried about her reaction.

Hadrian greeted the older woman with a smile, “Good evening, Minerva.”

“To you as well, Hadrian, Lord Malfoy,” she responded without losing the smirk.

“Please, you were my professor and are a friend of Hadrian’s. Call me Lucius.”

“Minerva then,” the Headmistress responded with a nod to Lucius’s greeting, “Off to dinner?”

The Defense Professor narrowed his eyes at her, making the blonde believe that he should be worried about Minerva’s smirk, but Hadrian responded simply, “Indeed.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then,” the woman began to walk passed them to go inside, but casually added, “Just don’t forget what I said in the first staff meeting in August.”

Lucius looked at his lover in question, and saw the man was blushing. He rose an eyebrow at the older man, very interested in what Minerva could have meant, “Care to explain?”

Hadrian glanced over at him as they continued their walk to Hogsmeade and began to explain, “Like I told you before, she and a few other staff have known, due to my being late to the first staff meeting last year, that we’ve been dating for the past year.”

“Okay…”

His lover’s blush darkened, and Lucius smirked as he imagined Hadrian probably blushing just like he was now, whenever the start of their relationship came up in conversation. No wonder Minerva had come up with some way to embarrass him further, “At the first staff meeting this year, she made an… implication at what we would and have been up to by stating that you were not allowed to officially move into Hogwarts until we are married.”

The blonde blinked in surprise. He had ignored his desire for them to make that step since they had first said ‘I love you’s a few months ago because they still had to tell Severus (which he had purposely not brought up so as not to pressure Hadrian). After the boy caught them and informed them that he had already known, Lucius had been thinking about it often, but hadn’t said anything since Hadrian was to go back to Hogwarts. Not wanting to pass the opportunity this conversation presented, the Malfoy lord stopped his lover from walking further, causing the older man to look up at him in a mix of confusion and worry, his earlier blush receding.

Lucius asked, “What do you think about us living together* when you aren’t at Hogwarts?”

The raven’s eyes widened slightly, obviously not having expected the question. The younger man patiently waited for a response, giving Hadrian a chance to think about it. When a slow smile creeped its way onto his lover’s face, Lucius felt hope fill his chest.

“I think that I take my statement from before back. Your mother is going to kill you for not telling her sooner,” The blonde groaned at the thought, though he smiled brightly, warmth quickly filling his chest as he understood his lover was agreeing. Hadrian to laughed at him and continued, “Until then, I am sure we can get away with you unofficially moving into Hogwarts.”

Lucius smiled in excitement and leaned down to give his lover a chaste, happy kiss. After a moment, he pulled away to ask, “You think Minerva will mind?”

Hadrian shook his head, “No. She rather heavily implied that she figured you’d be here anyways.”

He nodded and they continued walking, once again holding hands, “Would you… would you consider moving to Malfoy Manor?”

“I’d rather not displace Severus from our home with him so close to graduating,” The older man, responded with a small frown. The Malfoy lord felt a small pang of disappointment with Hadrian not wanting to live in the manor (even if he did understand the man’s reasoning), but his lover continued slowly, “Perhaps we could move there after he finishes? It would enable me to give him the cottage as a surprise, should he want his own space after graduating.”

Lucius couldn’t stop his grin if he wanted to (which he didn’t), and swiftly turned and kissed his lover passionately, even more excitement than before. Hadrian let out a small sound of surprise, but eagerly returned the kiss. The blonde slowly pulled away, still beaming a smile.

“I love that plan.”

The raven smiled back, “I’m glad.”

The twenty-two-year-old didn’t say anything more but was unable to lose his smile. He began to lead them the rest of the way to Hogsmeade, feeling only exhiliration for the prospect of finally being able to live full-time with Hadrian – well, as long as they survived telling his mother anyways.

Hadrian flooed to Malfoy manor’s sitting room slightly nervously. The morning after his and Lucius’s date in Hogsmeade on Tuesday, some reporter speculated on his and his lover’s relationship in the Daily Prophet. While he no longer was hounded by the media as he was while ‘The Boy-Who-Lived’ or Voldemort’s Conqueror like he was during his original timeline, his anti-Dumbledore stance of the past 3 – nearly 4 – years, had unfortunately made him a popular person to report on.

The professor didn’t mind it so much when it focused on his work in the Wizengamot, but every now and then, the Prophet would reported his private life, which had been part of the reason Hadrian had asked Lucius for them to keep their relationship to themselves when they got together a year ago. However, now that Severus knew about their relationship and Acacia was to be informed on the weekend, Hadrian agreed to go on a date in Hogsmeade with Lucius; if he was being completely honest with himself, he had wanted to go out and just not worry about who might see them together as much as Lucius did.

Then the paper reported their date and his lover became slightly frantic at the fact that his mother was learning of their relationship through the paper rather than from the two of them. Hadrian had calmed the blonde, telling him that they would visit Acacia on Saturday rather than waiting for Sunday like they originally planned, then they would just need explain to the woman that they had already planned to tell her, and they would be fine. It didn’t completely comfort the younger man, but he at least wasn’t panicking over her reaction any longer.

It wasn’t until Hadrian had taken a pinch of floo powder in order to go to Malfoy Manor that Hadrian felt a small amount of nerves. He seriously hoped that what he told Lucius was true and stepped through the floo.

As he stepped out of the fireplace and into the sitting room, the professor paused, nerves skyrocketing when he realized Acacia had company. Which meant that they would probably have to explain in front of the other occupant of the room since Acacia had very little shame when it came to these matters.

“Hadrian! How good to see you!”

The raven shoved down his nerves and returned the Malfoy matriarch’s greeting hug, “And you as well, Acacia. I apologize for intruding; I can come back later.”

“Nonsense! You and Lucius have some explaining to do, and I was hoping to introduce the two of you, anyways,” the woman responded, eyes sparkling. Hadrian swallowed as the nerved returned in full force. Before he could say anything in response to defend him and his lover. Acacia lead him away from the floo and towards the now-standing woman who had light brown hair, pale skin, and familiar grey eyes and formally introduced them, “Lord Peverell, I introduce you to Lady Melania Black. Lady Black, this is Lord Hadrian Peverell.”

“It is a pleasure, Lady Black,” Hadrian kissed her hand in greeting, surprised to realize he was meeting Arcturus’s wife so unexpectedly.

The woman looked at him with curiosity, respect, and a bit of amusement in her eyes, “The pleasure is all mine, Lord Peverell. Arcturus speaks highly of you.”

Hadrian smiled, “Please, call me Hadrian. Arcturus is a good friend of mine and I think highly of him as well.”

“Melania, then,” she returned with her own smile.

Before anything more could be said, Lucius finally stepped through the floo after him, still looking rather nervous. Upon seeing that Melania was there, the blonde quickly hid his nerves as Acacia greeted him, “Lucius, darling, I was wondering where you were.”

“Hello, Mother,” he placed a kiss on the woman’s cheek before turning to the Black matriarch, “It is good to see you, as always, Melania.”

“And you as well, Lucius.”

“Well, now that everyone is here and introduced, let’s sit down for tea, shall we?”

Hadrian shared a slightly nervous look with his lover, but they sat down with the women. Both of them remained a little uneasy at Acacia not bringing up what the paper said – the older man slightly more so due to the Malfoy matriarch having hinted at them talking about it to him already – while Acacia ordered tea from a house elf. As soon as they were all settled in with tea, Melania looked amused as she began some small talk. As the four of them conversed for awhile about a range of topics – opinions on a few bills that have passed in the Wizengamot recently, Lucius’s work in the school board, Hadrian’s work as a professor, and so on – Hadrian relaxed, thinking he had been wrong, and Acacia would bring it up when it was just the three of them. Next to him, he felt his lover also relax.

Hadrian found that he rather enjoyed talking to his friend’s wife. The Black matriarch was opinionated and staunch in her beliefs, but was respectful, rather open-minded, and not unreasonable like he knew Walburga to be. He knew from a few conversations with Arcturus that the two of them had recently taken in Sirius, and between him and what he was seeing of Melania, it explained a lot of the changes Hadrian had seen and heard (from Severus) about Sirius’s attitude. No doubt Melania’s strong personality was a large influence on the Gryffindor boy, especially after Sirius’s experience with his harpy of a mother.

“Well, this has been very enjoyable, but I should be on my way,” Melania spoke up, breaking him out of his thought. The Black matriarch turned to Hadrian, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Hadrian. Perhaps, you could join Arcturus and I for tea the next time you have some free time.”

The professor smiled at the woman, “I look forward to it. I’ll be sure to send an owl.”

Melania nodded with a small smirk before turning back to the Malfoys, “It was lovely seeing you, Lucius, dear. Acacia, I’ll see you at the usual gathering with the other Ladies next week, yes?”

“Of course, Melania,” the other woman smiled at her friend. The Black woman nodded and quickly flooed away.

As soon as she was gone, the Malfoy matriarch turned to him and his lover with an expectant look on her face, “Now, I do believe the two of you are here for a reason, yes?”

The older man felt Lucius fidget slightly beside him, making Hadrian slightly amused by his lover, distracting him from his own nervousness, “You’ve seen the paper then?”

Acacia raised an eyebrow at her son while Hadrian snorted slightly at the younger man. Lucius would ask such an inane question in his nervousness. Unfortunately, the raven’s reaction drew the Malfoy matriarch’s attention from a slightly blushing Lucius and onto Hadrian.

He swallowed nervously and tried to explain, “We had planned on telling you this weekend…”

“And how long have you been dating that the two of you were unable to keep it out of the paper for four more days?”

He blushed but admitted, “A year.”

Acacia narrowed her eyes and turned her sights back onto Lucius, “If I hadn’t already suspected your relationship, you would be doing some serious explaining, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.”

Hadrian stared at the woman in shock. Lucius, however, winced slightly, “Apologies, Mother. We were being discreet until we were sure, due to your friendship with Hadrian, and my own friendship with Severus.”

“Hmph. Promise not to hide your engagement, and I will accept your apology.”

He and Hadrian blushed. They hadn’t exactly discussed that, despite the professor having found Abraxas’s gift (not that Lucius knew about that yet). He had begun to think about addressing their future further when Lucius unofficially moved into his quarters in Hogwarts while he was teaching after their date, but he had yet to actually bring it up. A smirk spread across the Malfoy matriarch’s face, at their reactions, and she gave Hadrian a knowing look. He swallowed, wondering if the woman knew what her husband had done before he died.

“I take it, you are okay with our relationship, then?” the older man asked, trying to change the subject slightly. He wasn’t overly worried about her not approving (especially given her reaction up until now), but he did feel the need to make sure.

“Of course, I am. Abraxas and I have considered you family since we began our monthly dinners** a few years ago. This just makes it a bit more official,” the woman waved him off. She did pause and turn to Lucius and softly told him, “Your father would be just as happy as I am about it.”

Hadrian watched as his lover swallowed roughly before hugging his mother. He saw him whisper something in her ear that caused the matriarch to smile and hug her son just a little tighter. The scene made him feel a little guilty for not telling the blonde about the vault Abraxas had left him, but they had not yet talked about their future so he was hesitant to do so; he also wanted to follow his late friend’s directions regarding the letter to Lucius, so he kept it a secret. Hadrian shook the thoughts off, resolving to at least talk to the blonde about their what they saw in their future, as his lover pulled away from his mother. Lucius smiled at him in happiness, and he hadn’t realized he had smiled back until he looked away and saw Acacia was smiling at the two of them. Hadrian cleared his throat slightly in embarrassment at being caught staring at each other.

“So, are we that obvious to everyone?” the older man asked, trying to change the subject slightly, “Severus also figured out we were together before we could tell him, and Narcissa confronted Lucius about our relationship earlier this year***.”

The woman chuckled slightly, “To family, at least, you are. Just by the looks you throw each other, it was not that difficult to see, though Lucius hardly being home confirmed it for me.”

He huffed slightly. Why was it that they were both very good at keeping their emotions hidden, but for some reason, neither of them could fool people in regard to their relationship?

“Well, now that I have officially been told, I demand the story of how the two of you got together.”

With his face burning from a blush, Hadrian glanced over at Lucius to see his lover was blushing just as hard as he was sure he was. When he looked back at the Malfoy matriarch, she saw the woman was looking at them with her eyebrows raised in surprise at their reaction, but a determinedly curious gleam was in her eye. Hadrian sighed and realized that she was looking at them with the same determination as Minerva and Poppy when they demanded to know who he had celebrated with the morning after he got together with Lucius. Knowing they were not going to be able to get away without telling her, Hadrian began to explain, ignoring Lucius’s attempts to stop him and Acacia’s amusement at their antics as she listened with rapt attention to his story.  

Severus was avoiding Lily and Potter. The two were being disgustingly sweet with each other, and he had no desire to witness it. As much as he loved the red head like a sister, until she and Potter were enough out of their ‘honeymoon’ phase that they didn’t look at each other with heart eyes all the time – honestly, Severus felt like it was a repeat of when his dad and Lucius first got together, except worse since these two weren’t trying to be subtle (not that Hadrian and the blonde had been very successful in their attempts) – Severus would steer clear. He was happy that Lily was happy, but he really didn’t need to see what came after the heart eyes; the Ravenclaw shuddered when he remembered catching the two snogging very… enthusiastically a few weeks ago.

So, Severus had begun to spend majority of his time with Regulus. He and the younger boy already spent a lot of time together, however, between Lily and Potter off being disgustingly sappy and Remus off who knows where with Black now that the two were all… chummy again, they were able to spend even more time together, just the two of them. It made Severus realize how much he thoroughly enjoyed being with the Slytherin – he enjoyed spending time with Lily and Remus too, but there was just something about Regulus that he found… comforting. He had noticed when Regulus was the only one who was able to calm his nerves when preparing to let Lily and Remus in on his secret, but he hadn’t really considered it further until now – not that trying to figure out why was going anywhere.

The Ravenclaw snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a sound coming from around a corner up ahead. Not sure what he had heard, Severus took out his wand and quietly moved forward. There was another sound, this time sounding like a small scuffle, as he drew closer. Severus carefully peaked around the corner, his eyes widening in shock at what he was seeing.

Remus had Black pushed up against the wall and was thoroughly kissing the other boy. He swallowed and couldn’t help but think that this explained where Remus disappeared off to all the time. A small moan came from the two, echoing around the corridor and Severus blushed when he felt his cock harden at such a debauched sound. Embarrassed and slightly confused, he quickly but quietly moved passed the hallway.

As he was fleeing the area, he desperately began trying to think something – anything – to will his surprising half-arousal away. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working very well, so he decided to focus on his reaction to what he had seen. Severus was no stranger to being aroused – he was a sixteen-year-old boy, for Merlin’s sake – however, aside from the typical arousing thoughts, overheard conversations by other boys, and… gratifying himself with his hand, he hadn’t really reacted to seeing others. He had seen couples kissing before, so what made this instance different?

Severus paused when a thought occurred to him. Other than catching his dad and Lucius kissing, this was the first time he had seen two boys at it. All the other times he had seen couples together, it had been straight couples, or even the one very shocking experience of accidentally catching two girls mid-act. He swallowed. Perhaps he was gay? But if he was, how he hadn’t noticed it before. How was he so oblivious to his own feelings, especially considering his own guardian was gay?

At that thought, suddenly, he felt very grateful that the sight of his dad and his boyfriend hadn’t given him this same reaction. He had luckily only felt happy that his dad was happy, and a little sickened at seeing the snog session since he hadn’t wanted to see the two of them like that any more than he cared to see Lily and Potter in a similar position. He also felt a bit sickened at seeing Black of all people in such a position with his friend – even if he could grudgingly admit that he and Remus were objectively attractive – though, he figured his body reacted purely to the very provoking picture the two made – one pushing the other against the wall with a devouring kiss, both grinding wantonly into one another flashed through his mind – rather than who it was. Severus inwardly cursed his once-again half-hard cock and decided to try and think of other things.

He would have plenty of time to consider his sexuality further when he was not on his way to meet Regulus, who he resolutely did not want to think about when his cock seemed to be focused on one thing at the moment.

Lucius walked through the familiar halls of the many Black house in Yorkshire. He had no trouble finding his way around the home as he had known it well since he was a child. The young lord had open invitation by Cygnus and Druella – the current owners of the Black home – ever since he and Narcissa had become very close friends a few years before they were to attend Hogwarts. Now that they were out of Hogwarts, he and Narcissa made sure to have tea at least once a month, both knowing how hectic life could be, which was why he was visiting that day.

The Malfoy lord easily found his way to the sitting room, knowing without a doubt that’s where is friend would be. He walked into the room, and, as expected, found Narcissa sitting on her favorite couch in the room, reading a book as she waited for him. She looked up as he approached, and smiled at him, setting the book aside as she stood.

“Lucius. No Hadrian?”

“What, I am not enough for you?” He asked her sarcastically, “I’m hurt. My best friend is trying to replace me with for my lover.”

“Oh, fine, you dramatic peacock.” She rolled her eyes before fluttering her lashes at him, and saying in a sickly-sweet tone, “Lucius, darling, how good to see you. It has been much too long since I have been graced with your presence. You’ve been well? Yes? Great, now answer my question.”

Lucius laughed at her little performance, “It is good to see you, Cissa. Hadrian sends his best; he wanted to join us, but he had homework to grade and said he couldn’t push it off, even if he admitted that he’d rather be having tea with us.”

She smiled and nodded in understanding, pulling him into a greeting hug. They sat down – Narcissa back in her favorite couch, and Lucius is his usual chair next to her – as she ordered tea from a house elf. After the tea was served the woman turned to him.

“So, I take it from the paper that you’ve officially taken your relationship public then?”

“We hadn’t intended to make the papers, but yes. I told you Severus informed us that he had known when he caught us this summer, and we had plans to tell Mother the weekend the paper was released. She was a bit upset that we couldn’t keep it out of the papers long enough to tell her as we had planned, but she revealed that, like you and Severus, she had known about our relationship before we could tell her. He was a bit put out by that.”

Narcissa smirked knowingly, “You mean you both were a bit put out at your inability to be subtle.”

He huffed, not wanting to admit that she was correct, causing his friend to laugh.

She took a sip of tea and asked curiously, “Why weren’t you able to keep it out of the papers?”

“It was our one-year anniversary, and I asked him to let me take him to dinner,” Lucius admitted.

The Malfoy Lord narrowed his eyes at the Black scion when a gleam appeared in her eye. He knew from experience that when she got such a look in her eye, it usually meant she was going to start planning something. Seeing his scrutiny, she sent him an innocent look that he definitely didn’t believe.

“What are you planning?” he asked her suspiciously.

“Me? Oh, nothing,” she waved away, making him even more suspicious. Before he could demand an explanation, she asked him, “When do you plan on asking him to bond with you?”

Lucius spluttered slightly, as he had just taken a sip of tea, “What?”

Narcissa rolled her eyes, “You heard me. You’ve been together a year, so it’s only proper to begin thinking about your future.”

“I want to,” the Malfoy Lord admitted slowly, “But I am not sure if Hadrian is ready for that. We hid our relationship for nearly a year, and only just agreed to live together two months ago.”

“You will only know, if you ask him.” she pointed out.

He internally conceded her point, but he was still hesitant to bring it up. The twenty-two-year-old was afraid that bringing it up so soon after agreeing to live together would make Hadrian feel like he was pressuring him.

“Lucius,” the man looked up at Narcissa, “Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Then, if you feel ready to, ask him. With the way he looks at you, the worst that he will do is ask you for more time. But I have a feeling, that you don’t have to worry about that.”

Lucius nodded, knowing she was right. He knew Hadrian loved him. Resolved, he smirked and asked, “Care to help me pick out a ring?”

Narcissa squealed – not that she would admit to making such an undignified sound – in excitement and near-tackled him in a hug. Lucius listened as she began tossing out ideas for how he could propose, excitement swiftly filling his chest.

Hadrian was in his quarters, comfortably sprawled out on his couch while grading the essays he had assigned. Sometimes he really wished that he didn’t need to assign the homework, but essays were the only way for him to find out whether or not his students understood the theoretical side of what he was teaching. While not nearly as exciting as the practical lessons, the theory was still important. He sighed in exasperation as he marked down the essay he was reading; he finally was beginning to understand why Professor Snape had thought most of his students were ‘dunderheads’. Honestly, some of their essays were horrible.

The thirty-year-old glanced up when he heard his door to his quarters open, “Hey, Sev.”

“Dad, can we talk?”

Hearing the slight nervousness in his son’s voice, Hadrian frowned and looked up in concern. The boy had walked further into his rooms but was standing next to the couch looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, sitting up.

Severus nodded, “Yeah, I just… I wanted to ask you something.”

Hadrian nodded in agreement and set the uncorrected homework aside. Seeing that his son still hadn’t sat down, he patted the spot next to him on the couch. Severus swallowed and sat down, his hands fidgeting with his robes like he knew his son did when he was nervous. Hadrian watched the Ravenclaw, patiently waiting for the boy to begin talking.

“How did you know you were gay?”

The Defense Professor blinked a little, not having expected the question. He had always assumed Severus would be straight since Professor Snape had loved his mum. Though with his son being as accepting of Lily dating James as he was, he had begun to be more and more convinced that his old Potions Professor loved the girl like a sister. Hadrian shook himself out of his thoughts, knowing that he needed to answer the question before his silence made his son nervous.

“Well, I noticed that when my friends were talking about girls, I didn’t feel the same way they were describing. Then, one day I caught myself… admiring another boy and realized why I didn’t feel the same. I wanted to make sure I understood my feelings correctly, so I asked a friends of mine who I knew was gay to kiss me and he was kind enough to oblige,” Hadrian smiled lightly remembering the experience. Seamus had been more than happy to fulfill his request, even offering a few… lessons; those had been the more enjoyable parts of his sixth year. He refocused and saw his son in thought, so he told him, “I was about your age when I figured it out.”

Severus glanced at him and hesitated for a moment before quietly saying, “I think… I think I might be too.”

“Alright,” Hadrian nodded at his son, “You know I accept you either way, right?”

“Yes.”

Despite the boy’s answer, the professor saw his son still relax slightly at him saying so. Obviously, there had been at least some small part of him that was nervous about it, even if only slightly. Hadrian was just extremely glad that his son was comfortable enough to talk to him, not terrified like he had been (he ended up only telling Neville before he traveled back due to his fear).

Hadrian shook the thought away, not wanting to dwell in his past, and refocused on his son. He smirked, deciding he would tease his son a bit, “So did a boy catch your fancy, then?”

Severus blushed furiously, “No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

His smirk widened, “Will you tell me why you think you are gay, then?”

Severus’s blush darkened and he mumbled something.

“What?”

The Ravenclaw cleared his throat in obvious embarrassment but spoke louder, “I said, I caught Remus and Black kissing and I… reacted.”

Hadrian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, not having expected that, “Well, I did not see that coming.”

“I know, right?” Severus remarked, obviously thankful his dad wasn’t embarrassing him any longer.

He nodded in agreement. Hadrian had no clue that the two like each other. Then again, in his timeline he hadn’t had much time with either of them, his godfather had been severely affected by Azkaban, and Remus had fallen in love with Tonks. He shook the thoughts off again.

He looked at his son again and sobered slightly when a thought occurred to him, “Well, now that we know which gender you are attracted to, I feel the need to remind you that, you liking boys does not mean you can disregard practicing safe sex.”

Severus’s blush quickly returned, but Hadrian ignored the mortified protection.

“Like I told you when I gave you The Talk when you turned thirteen, not only do you need to protect yourself from disease, magic allows some men the ability to bear children****, should you be inclined that way. You are magically powerful, so I wouldn’t be surprised if your magic allowed you the ability. As much as I would love to have grandchildren, I would rather you wait at least until you graduated. Got it?”

“Yes, Dad,” Severus quickly replied and practically begged, “Now can we please stop talking about this?”

Hadrian laughed at his son’s embarrassment but nodded, asking the boy how his classes were going. He watched in amusement as relief spread across the Ravenclaw’s face before he answered his question.

Knowing Hadrian and Severus were due to appear in the cottage for Yule Break at any moment, Lucius had apparated there after the Board of Governors meeting. He was laying on the sofa, reading a book as he waited for the two to appear. He and Hadrian had yet to tell Severus that Lucius was moving in now that they were on break, but they planned to at dinner that night. The blonde wasn’t too worried since Severus had been nothing but accepting of their relationship.

Lucius continued reading the rest of his page when he heard the front door. He had just reached for his place marker when Hadrian appeared in the doorway. The older man smiled at him and moved to kiss him in greeting. The blonde smirked and pulled Hadrian down into his lap, causing the man to yelp slightly in surprise, before joining their lips.

He would have been content to just snog his lover, but he let Hadrian pull away, knowing Severus was probably nearby. Lucius wasn’t, however, planning to let the older man out of his lap anytime soon; Thankfully, Hadrian didn’t seem inclined to try.

“How did the board meeting go?” The professor asked him as he shifted so he was lying against Lucius’s chest.

“Good. The apprenticeship program has officially been reinstated. The board hadn’t realized Dumbledore had disbanded it, so it was fairly easy to do so. Apparently, they were under the impression that there just hadn’t been any students applying to apprentice under the current staff.”

Hadrian snorted, “Let me guess, they took Dumbledore’s word for it.”

Lucius didn’t respond seeing as how his lover had guessed correctly. Why none of them had reconsidered Dumbledore’s word since he was ousted, he had no idea. Thankfully, he had come across the problem and asked Minerva about it when he was going through some paperwork.

The silence settled over them, but neither felt the need to break it. They were content just to lay there with one another until they needed to get up. Perhaps, Lucius could convince Hadrian and Severus to allow one of the Malfoy house elves to cook for them, he thought rather lazily.

A snort drew the blonde out of his thoughts. Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw Severus joining them in the sitting room, sitting in the chair next to the couch.

“You know, Lucius, with how often you are here, I don’t know why you don’t just move in.”

Lucius rolled his eyes as his lover laughed, “Honestly, Severus, it seems you have a knack for ruining our announcements.”

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding what he was saying.

Hadrian was still chuckling as he put in, “We were going to tell you at dinner tonight that Lucius was going to move in, Sev.”

Severus snorted again, obviously amused, “It’s not my fault you two have absolutely no subtlety when it comes to your relationship.”

The blonde scoffed, still unable to believe that they were obvious. His lover shook his head at him.

“I don’t like it anymore than you do but you might as well just accept it, Luc,” Hadrian then smirked at him, “Just think of it as we love each other too much to hide it.”

Lucius chuckled and rolled his eyes at the older man’s sappiness, “Whatever you say, love.”

When his lover smiled at him, he leaned in and kissed the man.

“Ugh, I really don’t need to see that”, Severus complained.

Lucius smiled when he heard Hadrian laugh as he pulled away. He listened to his lover tease his son, more than content.