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The Hogwarts courtyard was busy between classes, full of chatter and students pretending not to stare. Harry spotted Severus the moment he stepped out of the dungeon entrance, black robes sweeping behind him like always.
His whole face lit up.
Without hesitation, Harry abandoned the Aurors he’d been talking to and jogged straight across the courtyard, cloak flapping, messy hair bouncing.
“Severus!” he called, loud enough that several heads turned.
He skidded to a stop right in front of him, grinning like he’d just won the Quidditch Cup.
“You’ll never guess what happened in training this morning,” Harry said at once, words tumbling out in a rush. “I beat the new curse-reversal drill in under thirty seconds. Thirty! And then Robards tried to say it didn’t count because Dawlish had already weakened the dummy, but that’s nonsense, so I proved him wrong and may have accidentally set part of the curtain on fire, only a little bit, and then Harper tried to hex me from the side and I…”
“Potter,” Snape said, dry as dust, “must you announce your victories to the entire courtyard like an overexcited house-elf?”
Harry laughed, still bouncing on his toes. “You love it. You were waiting for me.”
“I was walking.”
“Toward the courtyard. Where I was.”
“A tragic coincidence.”
Harry reached out and tugged playfully at the sleeve of Snape’s robe, cheeks pink from the run and pure delight. “Come on, walk with me. I’ve got the afternoon off and I want to tell you everything. You’re going to be impressed, I swear.”
Snape stared down at him. Harry was vibrating with energy, talking too fast, gesturing wildly, tugging at his sleeve like he couldn’t stand still. It was ridiculous. It was also far too public.
Severus should have told him to behave with some dignity.
Instead, he stepped forward, slid one hand behind Harry’s neck, and kissed him firmly on the forehead.
Right over the scar.
The effect was immediate.
Harry’s words cut off mid-sentence. Every bit of restless energy drained out of him at once. His shoulders dropped, his hands stilled, and a soft, helpless sound escaped him. His eyes fluttered shut as he swayed forward and melted completely into Severus’s chest.
Within seconds he had both arms wrapped around Snape’s waist beneath the heavy robes, face buried against him like he had no intention of ever moving again.
Snape’s arm came around him without hesitation, holding him steady. His thumb brushed once over the scar at the back of Harry’s neck.
“Done?” he murmured.
Harry nodded against his chest, voice muffled and slightly dazed. “Mhm. Done. You cheated.”
Around them, the courtyard had gone strangely quiet. A second-year dropped their books. A group of sixth-years were openly gawking. One of the visiting Aurors looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
Snape ignored them all.
He kept his arm around Harry as they started walking toward the castle. Harry stayed tucked against his side, quiet now, fingers curled loosely into the back of Severus’s robes.
They made it halfway across the courtyard before Harry spoke again, voice small and content.
“You could carry me the rest of the way.”
Snape glanced down at him. “Absolutely not.”
Harry lifted his head just enough to give him a hopeful look. “Why not?”
“Because you are the Head Auror of Britain, not a sack of potatoes.”
“You’d look very dignified carrying me.”
“I would look ridiculous.”
Harry smiled, soft and sleepy. “Please?”
Snape stopped walking.
He looked at Harry for a long moment, the flushed cheeks, the trusting eyes, the way he was already half-melted and clinging like he belonged there.
Then he sighed, the long-suffering sound of a man who had long since accepted defeat.
“Insufferable brat,” he muttered.
In one smooth motion, he bent and scooped Harry up into his arms.
Harry made a delighted little noise and immediately wrapped both arms around Snape’s neck, legs hooked over one arm, face tucked happily against his shoulder. He was completely boneless now, all that earlier chaos reduced to warm, trusting weight.
Snape carried him the rest of the way across the courtyard without another word, robes billowing dramatically around them both. Students parted like the Red Sea. Whispers followed in their wake.
Snape didn’t care.
He carried Harry through the main doors, up the stairs, and all the way to the Headmaster’s office without putting him down once. Only when the gargoyle had moved aside and they were safely inside the circular room did he finally set Harry on his feet again.
Harry didn’t let go.
He stayed pressed against Severus, arms still looped around his neck, smiling up at him with that soft, dazed expression that only ever appeared after one of those kisses.
“See?” Harry said quietly. “That wasn’t so bad.”
Snape looked down at him, one hand still resting at the small of Harry’s back.
“You are a menace.”
Harry’s smile widened. “Your menace.”
Severus didn’t argue.
Instead, he bent and kissed Harry again, this time on the mouth, slow and unhurried, with no audience and no need to quiet him. Harry melted all over again, sighing into the kiss, fingers sliding into Severus’s hair.
When they finally parted, Harry stayed close, forehead resting against Snape’s.
“Hi,” he whispered.
Snape’s mouth twitched. “You have been speaking at me for several minutes.”
“I know.” Harry’s voice was warm and content. “But I didn’t say hi properly.”
Severus looked at him for a long moment, the impossible man who still ran to him across courtyards, who melted at the smallest show of affection, who trusted him enough to be carried through the school like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Then he sighed again, softer this time, and pulled Harry back into his arms.
“Insufferable,” he murmured against Harry’s hair.
Harry just smiled and held on tighter.
Outside, the gossip was already spreading like wildfire.
Inside, Harry Potter was quiet, warm, and exactly where he wanted to be.