Soul Mates

Everyone knew Harry Potter and Severus Snape were in a relationship. It was not against school rules because they were soul mates and bonds like that overrode propriety. If the universe put them together, who could argue that it was wrong?

Still, Harry was a student and Severus was a professor, at least for another month, and Harry couldn’t call Severus “Pet” in class, the same way that Severus could not call Harry “Sir” in class. So things continued the same way they had for the last six years, except Severus ignored Harry in class mostly, instead of picking on him. The seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins had taken the news quite well. The Gryffindors would not insult Snape out of respect for their friend and the Slytherins would not insult Harry out of respect for their Head of House.

“Mr. Potter?”

“Mr. Potter,” called Severus softly.

It was still odd for the class to hear their snarky professor speak so nicely, and even odder to hear him call Harry’s name without malice.

“Mr. Potter,” called Severus a third time, again something unheard of before Harry and Severus’s new relationship.

“Hm? Oh, sorry, Professor.” Harry had to be careful of how he addressed Severus. He had settled on Professor because it was the least unnerving to his sub.

“That’s quite alright. Class has ended, Mr. Potter, please bottle your potion and set it on my desk.”

Harry had impressed upon Severus that no matter where, whether in their rooms or in the classroom, Severus was to be polite to Harry and his friends. The latter was harder for Severus because… well one was a muggle born, and the other was a Weasley! Severus was a Slytherin! It went against his nature to be nice to a muggle born and a Weasley! Still, Harry had insisted…

Just then, the dinner bell rang.

“Harry, oi! You coming, mate?” asked Ron.

Hermione elbowed him and walked to the front of the classroom, where Harry stood next to Severus.

“Hello, Professor!” she said brightly.

Severus nodded his head.

“Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley.”

“You can call me Hermione, Professor. We’re family- or we will be, once Ron finally has the guts to propose.”

“ ’Mione!” gasped Ron.

“Oh hush, you.”

“Anyway, I was thinking we could get together next Hogsmeade weekend and go out to dinner, sort of a get to know each other, double date- that kind of rot.”

“I—” Severus looked at Harry.

“Oh, no I’m not asking Harry, Sir, I’m asking you. He has to come, but it’s your choice.”

Harry chuckled quietly.

“That sounds acceptable, H- Hermione.”

“Lovely! Well, we’re off to dinner now. Are you two coming?” asked Hermione, this time directing the question towards Harry.

“Nah, I think we’ll stay in. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Right,” said Hermione. “Well, goodnight, Professor. Good night, Harry.”

Severus stuttered out his good-nights and Harry called good night to his rude best friend, Ron.

“Night, Harry…. Night, Sir,” he added belatedly, as the couple walked out.

Harry turned to Severus with a devious smile on his face, then turned and walked into their private rooms. Severus followed meekly, already descending into subspace.

Harry sat down on the couch and called for a house elf to bring them supper, as Severus kneeled quietly and listened, adding a “Thank you” at the end when he felt Harry’s eyes on him.

As soon as the house elf left, Harry leaned down and kissed Severus hungrily.

“You’ve been such a good boy, following my orders like that. You don’t know how it made me feel, seeing you treat Hermione politely and even tolerating Ron just because I told you to.”

Harry kissed Severus again and was surprised to look up and see the food sitting on the table in the kitchen, complete with candles and flowers.

“Those sneaky elves, they don’t have to make that sound when they apparate; they just do it to announce their presence. Did you know that Severus?”

“Yes, Master. I had assumed you did too. Their magic is not so different from our own.”

“Hm, I guess so,” mused Harry, standing to go to the table. “Come Severus,” he said. “On your knees, little one.”

Severus felt himself harden. He crawled after Harry, stopping by the table and looking at the second chair questioningly.

“Not tonight, Severus. I want you next to me the whole time. Good boy,” he said as Severus shifted to kneel next to his dom. “Put your hands on your thighs, yes, just like that, Pet. Perfect.”

Severus stayed kneeling while Harry broke a piece of bread for the two of them and Harry flashed him a bright smile. They didn’t need cuffs or other toys to show Harry’s ownership of him. It meant so much more to see Severus sit there, happily not reaching for anything because he knew Harry would take care of him. It was so much hotter to see Severus sit there, resisting the urge to move just because Harry told him to. No, they didn’t need cuffs for that.

-------------------------

“It’s so nice to see you two so happy,” said Hermione, over lunch at Madam Pudifoot’s. It was the only place in town Harry could go without being swarmed. “You really deserved each other.”

Lunch was going pretty well. Hermione and Snape got along quite well, both of them naturally curious and interested in learning. Ron had kept quiet, which was probably for the better, until Harry and Hermione got up to use the toilet, and Severus addressed him directly.

“I would love to play a game of chess with you sometime, Mr. Weasley. I hear you’re quite the player.”

“And why would I want to play with you. You probably cheat, like all other Slytherins.”

“Slytherins do not cheat, Mr. Weasley. They just play the game to their advantage. They may lie and trick you, but they do not cheat. Honor means everything to them.”

“Yeah, like you’ve never cheated before, you greasy git!”

A look of hurt passed over Severus’s face, before it quickly turned to anger.

“I have tried, Mr. Weasley, to be nice to you, because you are friends with my dom and it would upset him to see you hurt, but you just can’t let go of the past, can you, you idiot child!”

“SEVERUS!” barked Harry, returning from the toilet with Hermione behind him to hear the end of Severus’s sentence. “I told you to be polite and the minute I leave, I come back to you screaming at him?”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” said Severus, eyes cast downward.

“Do not apologize to me. Apologize to Ron.”

“I- I apologize for my actions, Mr. Weasley.”

“Well, apology not accepted, you git. Harry was my friend first.”

Severus said nothing.

They all sat down again and after a few minutes, they decided to order dessert.

“What do you want, Sev?”

“Nothing, Sir.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Harry, concerned. Severus had a sweet tooth the size of Malfoy’s ego. He never passed up a chance to have something sugary.

“I- he never apologized, Sir.”

“That’s just Ron, Sev. He gets like that sometimes.”

“So, he means more to you than I do? Why- why is it fair that- that I have to be p-polite, when… he is not?” Severus looked down fearfully, regretting his question but not able to stop himself. “Is he more important that I have to just take it and never reciprocate? Why do you hold him in higher regard? Why do you try to fix me but not him? Am I that broken?”

“No, no Sev, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it, but I should have known. He said something to you before, didn’t he? Gods, no Sev, you’re not broken. Don’t you see I care about you more? If I cared for Ron the same way I care for you, I would try to get him to change his attitude, to be nicer to people. You, I can change, but not because you’re broken, and never for the worse. Don’t you see that I think more of you- that you can change and be a nicer person? I just wanted you all to get along.......

.....Come on Severus, let’s go home.”

Harry left a few coins on the table. “This is not the end of things,” said Harry, facing Ron.

The dark haired couple walked out of the shop, smiling all the way to the apparation point as they heard Hermione’s voice reprimanding Ron.

“HOW COULD YOU, RONALD?! HE IS HARRY’S SOUL MATE! YES, HARRY- THE MAN YOU CALL YOUR BEST FRIEND! WHY DO…..”