"'lo, Neville," Harry greeted.
Neville looked up and grinned, his blue eyes still as deep and sparkling as they'd been in school. "Harry, good to see you! Come in!"
They exchanged the usual pleasantries for the next ten minutes.
Harry was grateful that Neville didn't ask after either Ron or Hermione. Neville was a real friend and close enough to him to have been fully aware of the terrible nature of their split.
"You're not just here for a visit, I take it," Neville said at last.
"No, you're right. I actually came to consult you in your area of expertise," Harry admitted.
"For a case?" Neville asked excitedly.
"Sorry, no. It's personal. I'm, er, seeing someone who works with potions. He's not really the romantic sort, and I was wondering if you could maybe suggest a rare plant with a flower that he could eventually use as a potion ingredient?" Harry asked. Fortunately, Neville was one of the few of their old friends who hadn't passed judgement on his sexuality when Harry had finally had to admit the truth to everyone. Neville had managed to stay friends with both Ron and him, which was no easy task.
"You're seeing someone who isn't romantically inclined?" Neville questioned, understandably confused.
Harry sighed. "Well, he's not sentimental. I wanted to get him something that was practical as well as beautiful."
"Well, there's the Night Blooming Arcadium," Neville said. "It's used in dozens of medicines and potions. It's got brilliant, deep blue blossoms that open up at night. It's rare, very rare. I expect a Night Blooming Arcadium would even please a miserable bugger like Snape."
Harry tried to hide the start he gave at Neville's very natural comment, but, of course, it was noticed.
"You all right, Harry? What's wrong?" Neville asked worriedly, his freckled face scrunching up exactly as it had in school.
Harry shifted uncomfortably and met Neville's eyes. "Do you really think this Night Blooming Arcadium would please Snape?"
"Er, yes. Why . . . . " The penny obviously dropped and Neville paled. "Harry you're not saying that you're seeing . . . ?"
"Yeah, I am. Is that going to be a problem between us?" Harry asked. Due to Hogwarts' demanding schedule and his own weird hours, he didn't see Neville very often, but he'd hate to lose the man's friendship.
"You're seriously seeing Severus Snape?" Neville stuttered.
"Yes. I, er, guess you'd say we're living together more or less," Harry said. He'd given this a lot of thought over the last six weeks and decided he was going to be up front with all his closest friends about his relationship with Severus.
"I'd say you were joking, but – " Neville faltered.
"No joke. I know it's strange, but . . . . " Harry couldn't even begin to explain how he'd ended up with Severus. Neville might support his life choices, but he knew his old friend really didn't want details.
"Is he good to you?" Neville shocked him by asking.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, he is. I, er, wouldn't have believed it myself, but we get on quite well."
"Then I guess that's all that really matters," Neville said with a shy smile.
Relief sweeping through him, Harry patted Neville's arm and said, "Thanks, mate. About this Arcadium plant – "
Neville grinned. "I don't have any here in the greenhouse, but I know a supplier who will sell you one. Let me write you up a letter of introduction. Now," Neville said as he wiped the soil off his hands and moved to a battered-looking desk in the corner of the greenhouse to pull out parchment and quill, "tell me how you met up with Snape after all these years."
Four hours later, Harry Apparated into Severus' kitchen, plant in hand. The Night Blooming Arcadium was magnificent, with large, velvety leaves and delicate sapphire and white blossoms.
Fortunately, Severus was still down in his lab, so Harry was able to sneak the plant onto the dinner table. He'd gone home this morning to ask Dobby to prepare them the roast pork dinner that was Severus' favourite, so that should be arriving soon. All in all, he was quite pleased with how things were progressing.
"Master Harry?" Dobby's high-pitched voice enquired from behind him as Harry was bending into the icebox for a beer.
"Hello, Dobby!" Harry said, grinning at his friend. "Thank you so much for helping me with this."
"I am always wanting to help Master Harry. Is this where you've been staying when you haven't been coming home for me to look after you?" Dobby asked, looking around the kitchen.
Feeling strangely self-conscious for all but abandoning Dobby in his empty apartment these last six weeks, Harry said, "Yes."
"There aren't any house elves here," Dobby said with a huff.
"No, there aren't," Harry replied.
"How can you be staying in a place with no house elves to look after you? It's not right," Dobby scolded in a very maternal manner.
"I like it here, Dobby," Harry said. "Do you remember Professor Snape from Hogwarts?"
"Professor Snape that was always cruel to Harry Potter? I remember him well," Dobby said.
Never having imagined that this would be this difficult, Harry said, "Well, this is his house. And, he isn't cruel to me anymore."
"Well, I should hope not," a familiar, droll voice said from behind him, where the cellar door opened into the kitchen. "I suppose it would be too much to ask what's going on here?"
"Oh, Dobby is ruining Harry Potter's surprise!" Dobby wailed and banged his head against the sink.
"What the devil – " Severus exclaimed, staring at the house elf as though Dobby were insane.
"Dobby, stop!" Harry commanded, catching the elf before he could bang his little head against the edge of the white porcelain sink again. "Nothing's ruined. Why don't you go home and bring the surprise by in about ten minutes. All right?"
"Nothing is ruined? You promise?" Dobby asked, his long-fingered hand rubbing at a bump growing on his forehead.
"Yes, I promise. Now, just . . . go. All right?" Harry pleaded, frazzled by how totally wrong this was going.
Dobby's huge green eyes hardened as they turned in Severus' direction. "I will be knowing if you are unkind to Harry Potter."
Severus' glare would have quelled armies of Death Eaters. It didn't seem to faze the loyal little house elf in the slightest.
"I'm shaking in my boots," Severus sneered.
"I remember you of old from my former master's house, Severus Snape. Even my former master learned it was unwise to harm Harry Potter in my presence," Dobby said, watching Severus as though he were dirt.
Before this could progress any further, Harry got between the two potential combatants. "Dobby, Master Snape isn't going to harm me. He's my . . . friend now. Everything is all right. If you'd just bring the surprise like we discussed . . . ."
"Yes, of course. Dobby is sorry for upsetting Harry Potter. I will – "
"No," Harry cried out, intervening before Dobby could do himself any more harm. "Just go home and get the you know what, all right?"
"Yes, Harry Potter," Dobby agreed and Apparated away with a loud pop.
"Well, that was lovely," Severus said with his characteristic sarcasm. "Hello, by the way."
Harry sighed as Severus moved closer to him. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around his lover and gave Severus a kiss. It still sometimes felt strange to him how . . . non-combative Severus was with him. Though occasionally short-tempered, Severus was incredibly accommodating.
When they pulled back, Severus said, "You're home early. Do I want to know what the surprise is?"
"Er . . . you're early yourself, aren't you? You don't usually come up from the basement till six," Harry tried to keep the accusation out of his voice.
Severus shrugged. "I felt the house elf cross my security wards. I was curious to see what it was up to. And that evasion of my question was not the least bit subtle."
"You have security wards?" Harry blundered out before realizing how stupid a question it was. What wizard with Severus' chequered past wouldn't have security wards? "Forget I asked that. Why haven't they stopped me? I've been coming and going freely since . . . well, since our first night."
Severus was silent for a moment. Finally, he met Harry's gaze and softly answered. "After that first night I added you to the total access list."
"How many are on that list?" Harry asked. As far as he knew, Severus hadn't had a single visitor in the last six weeks.
"You, and myself," Severus replied with obvious reluctance.
"So how did Dobby get past them? Or don't the wards work on house elves?" Harry asked, taking a strange pleasure at Severus having added him to his wards that early in their relationship.
"Of course they work on house elves," Severus replied a mite peevishly. "Shortly after you . . . started staying over, I added Harry Potter's guests to the wards."
"My guests?" Harry echoed, bewildered. "But I've never had anyone over."
Truth was, he would never have taken that liberty with his privacy-loving lover.
"Nevertheless, the possibility existed. You are very friendly with young Marstan. It seemed a reasonable precaution," Severus said.
Touched, Harry moved back into Severus' personal space. "Thank you, Severus."
When they emerged from the resulting kiss, Severus asked, "The surprise?"
"You'll see in a few moments," Harry said, glad that he'd told Dobby ten minutes. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer than that, especially if Severus chose to fight dirty, and, realistically, when did Severus ever chose to do anything but?
"So you've taken on Malfoy's old house elf, hmm?" Severus commented. "I'd wondered where he'd gotten to."
"Dobby lives with me. He . . . well, I pay him," Harry added defensively.
But Severus wasn't Hermione. He didn't have to justify everything to him.
"I assure you, I've no interest in your domestic arrangements with that psychotic house elf," Severus said.
"He's not psychotic," Harry protested, defensive again. "I, er, think he's jealous of you."
"Jealous?" Severus repeated, his eyes widening in something like horror. "Please, Potter, disperse the horribly unnatural images playing through my mind."
"You have a filthy mind," Harry said, forcing his face to remain serious. "I can't believe you'd even suggest that I'd . . . with a house elf!"
"Stranger things have happened," Severus said with a shrug.
"Yes. I suppose they have. Just for the record, there is no unnatural relationship there. Dobby's just jealous because I've been here so much lately."
"I see," Severus said. He glanced over at the stove and added, "It occurred to me that we could be in some trouble regarding dinner. I didn't notice the date until this afternoon, and by then it was too late to make reservations. I was at a delicate point in my experiment and – "
Another pop sounded from the dining room outside the kitchen door.
"What was that?" Severus asked. His eyes closed, and Harry knew he was checking his wards. "The house elf is back."
"The surprise is ready," Dobby announced, sticking his head into the kitchen around the doorjamb.
"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said.
He and Severus turned towards the dining room. They both froze at the sight that awaited them there.
Harry blinked in surprise. He'd arranged this and asked Dobby for everything, but his small friend had really outdone himself.
The table was set for a king, or possibly a Malfoy. The lit candelabras looked like they were made of solid gold. The table cloth was laced silk. The plates fine china, with crystal wine glasses. The fragrant gold platter in the centre of the table beside the Night Blooming Arcadium was immense. There were fully a dozen smaller covered serving plates grouped around it. Everything sparkled and glowed as though it had a charm on it.
Severus blinked, turning to him in confusion, "What . . . that's . . . that's Night Blooming Arcadium. It's almost extinct. Wherever did you find it?"
Severus rushed to the table, reaching out to touch the plant's velvety leaves with obvious reverence. Neville hadn't mentioned the extinct bit, Harry thought. Severus' open delight made Harry think he owed Neville a dinner at the very least.
Once Severus had finished examining the Arcadium plant, he moved it off the table to the sideboard against the wall.
"The heat from the platter could damage it," Severus explained.
"You like it then?" Harry checked.
"Like it? I'm . . . astonished, if a little bewildered. What are the plant and this dinner in aid of – oh," Severus paused, visibly awkward, "Today's date?"
Harry gave a hesitant nod, unsure how Severus felt about his gesture, which he now realized might be deemed as over the top. "I, er, knew you wouldn't care for a box of candy or a necklace that says 'Petal' . . . ." Realizing he was blabbering, Harry promptly shut his mouth.
"Did you say 'Petal'?" Severus asked.
"That's what Robbie got his girl," Harry explained, feeling like a fool. "I, er, wanted to get you something, but the traditional things didn't seem . . . appropriate."
"Well, certainly not a necklace that says 'Petal'," Severus said with a true smile. "This is far better. That is roast pork that I'm smelling, isn't it?"
Harry nodded again. He was almost limp with relief. He knew how badly this could have gone, especially with Dobby's aggressive behaviour, but once again Severus surprised him.
