Prompt 17 Entry: A Smile (Harry Potter, Severus/Harry)

[alafaye]

Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Severus/Harry
Title: A Smile
Author: alafaye
Beta: None
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 583
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. Rights belong to the respective creators who included, but are not limited to JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Scholastic Books.
Notes: Written for prompt #17 at dove_drabbles. Also written for Round 2 of cottoncandy_bingo. My card is here, this prompt is 'secret'. Finally, written for alisanne. I hope this makes you smile, dear!
Summary: Sometimes one smile means more than a dozen roses.

Cross posted to AO3, IJ, and DW.



Harry was...humming. Ron frowned, leaning back in his chair and tapping a quill against his leg. Harry had arrived at the same time as always, unlike everyone else in the Department with a lover, and more than that, Harry hadn't received any gifts. There weren't even any flowers on Harry's desk.

So why was Harry humming?

Ron penned a quick note and sent it, balled up, to Draco Malfoy, Harry's partner in the Department. Draco frowned and glared at Ron. Ron mimed reading the note--thankful that Harry for once was distracted--and Draco rolled his eyes. But he did read the note and he smirked. He wrote a reply back and threw it at Ron.

Ron frowned at the message:

I know perfectly well why Harry is in a good mood, but I only know because I found out by accident. Try asking him.

He balled up the letter and threw it into the trash bin. Harry sighed. "If you two are done gossiping, I need both your reports from the arrests you each made on Monday. Kingsley says both wizards are involved in the potions ring I was just handed this morning."

Ron flushed and Draco smirked. "If you stop being so secretive about it, Potter, we wouldn't be gossiping."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I think you know perfectly well that it would generate more gossip."

Draco scoffed. "You even sound like him. That's just...disgusting."

Harry shrugged. "Back to work. Reports, now. Please."

Ron sighed and shared a look with Draco who shook his head. One day, Ron knew, he would find out who Harry's secret lover was.

~~~

"Evening," Severus called to Harry.

Harry smiled. "Evening." He hung up his cloak and set his bag by the door. He lined his shoes up with Severus' and smiled at the two pairs. One slightly larger than the other, but they somehow fit together.

"Was it difficult?" Severus asked from behind his newspaper.

Harry crossed the room and pulled the paper from Severus' hands. Severus frowned. "That bad?" He sighed and shifted to allow Harry room to sit on his lap. As he wrapped an arm around Harry's waist, he murmured, "Teasing about your lack of presents? No dozen roses? No one asking you who sent something to?"

Harry kissed Severus' nose and caressed Severus' lips with his thumb. "It wasn't bad--they were gossiping about who I was spending my nights with, but that's normal."

Severus licked his lips. "You weren't upset then? To not get something?"

Harry smiled. "Sometimes one smile means more than a dozen roses." When Severus frowned, Harry shook his head. "Your smile when I woke up this morning was worth a decade's worth of roses. It was a smile I've never seen before and it was the same smile you gave me after we made love today."

Severus swallowed hard. "And what kind of smile do you think it was?"

Harry leaned in to whisper in Severus' ear. "It was a smile that told me you loved me."

Severus breathed out, a shuddering and scared breath. "I didn't think you--"

"I love you, too," Harry whispered.

Severus' other arm wound around Harry's waist and he pulled his lover close for a reassuring hug. "It's been so long--Harry, I..."

"Hush," Harry told him, wrapping his arms around Severus' neck. "We've a lifetime to get used to it. Yes?"

"Gods, yes," Severus groaned into Harry's neck.

Brilliant, Harry thought. A lifetime would do just fine.