Author: kira-nerys
Title: Holiday Sneer
Feedback: kardasi@kardasi.com
Rating: PG
Fandom: Harry Potter Universe.
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Summary: Snape isn’t quite as brooding as he would like Harry to think. Not today.
Disclaimer. Harry, Snape, Hogwarts and everything in there belong to JKR. I envy her, but I don’t make money off of this.
Note: Written for the Slash Advent Calendar of 2002. You can find it at: http://www.kardasi.com/Advent

HOLIDAY SNEER

“You’re never truly happy, are you, Severus?” Harry asked curiously.

They’d been sitting in front of the fire for almost an hour, not talking much, but it had been a companionable silence, although Snape’s mood seemed unpredictable to say the least. It was as though he was actively *trying* very hard to be surly, and not quite succeeding the way he would like. If not for this pretence, they would have been very comfortable, Harry decided. In fact, they were anyway.

“What is there to be happy about?” Severus Snape muttered and took another sip of his mulled wine. He sat sprawled in the chair, with his long legs crossed at the ankles. Harry had seldom seen him so relaxed. The tone of his voice didn’t quite mesh with his appearance, however.

“There are no students at Hogwarts to annoy you at the moment?”

Snape shot him a poignant look, which told Harry that although he was no longer a student at Hogwarts, he was plenty annoying, thank you very much.

“You’re inside Hogwarts although there’s a howling blizzard wreaking havoc with the trees in the Forbidden Forest?” Snape shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but Harry wouldn’t let it bother him, and he kept talking. “You’re sipping an absolutely wonderful mulled wine provided to me by Mrs. Weasley? Do I have to list more reasons?” Harry couldn’t quite keep the amusement out of his voice, and he thought that made the Potions master have even more trouble keeping his bad mood appearance going. He looked like a contented cat, and Harry was expecting him to stretch and yawn widely before falling asleep in front of the fire. It was amusing to se how Snape fought hard to keep the usual sneer on his face

“Please spare me,” Snape muttered as though even less happy about the fact that Professor Harry Potter had actually managed to name a few good things in his life. “Hogwarts is a drafty old building, giving precious little shelter against the wind.” Snape pulled his robes tighter around his slim body as though he were cold. Harry doubted it though. The flames in the fire were still burning bright, giving off rather pleasant warmth, and the mulled wine spread a comfortable heat through Harry’s body – not to mention the warmth his present company was causing, but maybe Snape didn’t feel that way? That was what Harry was determined to find out this fine Christmas evening.

“The mulled wine is too spicy – and you’re still here,” Snape added as an afterthought. The sting in his voice wasn’t really there, and again Harry suspected that Snape was just trying to keep up a front, and that he was in fact quite comfortable.

That was good, Harry thought, and the flutters in his stomach became more apparent.

“If you can’t think of anything worse, you’ll forgive me if I don’t feel sorry for you, Snape,” he teased.

Snape hadn’t mentioned Voldemort, and that was another reason why Harry suspected that Snape was truly enjoying himself. If he really wanted to ruin the mood, he could have mentioned the Dark Lord and made both of them tense and uncomfortable.

Snape hadn’t said a word about anything that could ruin their comfortable Christmas evening. Not really.

“I never asked for your pity, Harry,” Snape replied archly. “Now, if you don’t mind. I shall leave you. It is late.”

He started folding his body together, blinking at the warm hearth, as though he really didn’t want to move from the spot, but felt as though he had to, just to keep appearances.

“Oh, come on, Severus. It’s Christmas Eve and it’s just you and me here. Can’t you at least pretend to be enjoying my company for another couple of hours? “

“I wasn’t aware I was pretending to enjoy your company before, so why should I begin now?” Snape rose from his chair finally, but Harry got up as well and put his hand on Snape’s arm. Surprisingly enough, the older man froze, but didn’t seem inclined to shrug Harry’s hand away. Snape’s uncharacteristic manner gave Harry hope that this would work.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Harry said and looked at his former teacher under long lashes. Snape’s sinewy muscles moved under his hand. Harry could feel them tensing under the skin, like tightropes. “Indulge me?”

“You’re spoiled enough as it is, Harry Potter,” Snape pointed out, slowly, as though not really aware of what he was saying. Harry licked his lips and another smile crossed his lips when he saw Snape’s eyes darken. “Why should I add to that?”

“Because you like me?”

A short bark of a laugh escaped Severus Snape, then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What makes you think I like you?”

“Because you are here at all,” Harry pointed out. “If you hated me as much as you like to pretend, you wouldn’t have bothered coming here in the first place. You would have stayed in your dungeons through the holidays, and I wouldn’t have seen you at all for the entire two weeks.”

Snape didn’t answer for a while, but then he said. “I knew there was a reason I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Because of the way you look at me when you think I won’t notice,” Harry continued as though Snape hadn’t said a word. 

“And what way do I look at you, Harry Potter?” Snape asked, his voice low and silky. Was he trying to sound dangerous? If that was it, he wasn’t succeeding very well. Snape sounded more dazed, even preoccupied.

“The way you look at me right now, Severus,” Harry whispered. “As if you want to kiss me.”

“Kiss you?”

“Yes, like this,” Harry said and pushed his fingers into Snape’s long, black hair. It was softer than it looked, but still coarser than Harry’s own hair. Not unpleasant to the touch at all. Snape said nothing, as Harry drew his head down. Although Harry had gained a few inches on Snape, the Potions master was still taller than Harry – taller and probably stronger – but the older man did not resist, but lowered his head indulgently until their lips met.

Warmth and softness. A moan escaped Harry, but he couldn’t have cared less when Snape’s arms circled around him tightly.

Harry sighed as they kissed. It was sweeter than he’d expected. From the way Snape conducted himself in every day life, Harry had expected the kiss to be harsh, and less tender than it was, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Snape pulled away a little and looked into Harry’s eyes.

“What gave me away?” he wondered, his voice softer than Harry had ever heard it.

“There’s no hatred in your eyes anymore,” Harry said. “There hasn’t been for a very long time.”

“No,” Snape admitted. “I would imagine there hasn’t been.”

With a smile on his usually stern lips, Snape bent down to kiss Harry again.

Harry decided that spending Christmas at Hogwarts with Severus Snape was the best thing he'd ever done.

END