the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 58 - The Meaning of Things

Harry tried to calm his racing heart as he moved through the corridors of Hogwarts. Severus had kissed him! Granted it wasn't the first time he'd kissed him, but for some reason this time felt different. This time it had seemed more . . . meaningful?

But what had he meant - 'before I forget myself?' There were a dozen different ways Harry could interpret that, and he wasn't at all certain which was the most likely, or which he most wanted. He wasn't certain at all what he wanted.

Severus wasn't going to see Andre - that was a good thing. That was one thing he could point to and say, yes, he wanted that. But after that all bets were off.

Fidelity - that was a good thing too, he decided. But what precisely did it mean? It had almost sounded as if Severus' opinion on that subject might have changed - like he hadn't expected fidelity at one point, but now he did. But that didn't seem right either - after all he'd certainly come after him quickly enough when he'd foolishly wandered off with Julius that one time. He'd shown signs of possessiveness early on in their marriage.

What did it all mean? What did he want it to mean? He liked being part of a family. He liked his home - and Severus was certainly a big part of that home. He definitely liked the way his body tingled in unexpected places when Severus kissed him! But was he really becoming involved in a romantic relationship with his Potions Master? Slytherins didn't do romance - what if it didn't mean the same thing to Severus? What if he wanted it to mean one thing, and Severus wanted it to mean something else? Harry knew for certain that he wasn't the sort of person to meet someone at a Potions Conference and have a brief affair with him, only to never see him again. But apparent Severus was. How could the two of them possibly be on the same page here?

There were days he despaired of ever figuring things out - why on earth did life have to be so complicated? It was bad enough his situation with the Ministry and Voldemort sent his life regularly into turmoil, but did his private life have to be so confusing as well?

Reaching the open doors to the Great Hall he paused before carefully peeking around the corner to see who was already present. He knew that the Prophet had already been delivered to the castle - Sirius had confirmed that. But he had no idea what sort of reaction to expect from his friends. He was only grateful that the rest of the students were not currently in residence. They would all be returning soon, but perhaps by then the initial reaction to that photo would have blown over.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were seated on one side of Gryffindor table. Across from them were Draco and Charlie, all five of them deep in conversation. There were several newspapers in front of them and Harry sighed nervously.

He knew that Dumbledore had requested members of the Order to rotate in and out of Hogwarts while the Quidditch Pitch was being modified, and it wasn't surprising that Charlie had volunteered for one of the first rotations - any excuse to spend more time with Draco. But the addition of Draco to their little group left Harry unsettled. He could almost predict his friends' reaction to the photo - but Malfoy was an unknown.

Knowing he had little hope of avoiding the situation, he squared his shoulders and strode into the Hall, intent on simply pretending nothing was unusual. He'd managed Sirius after all - how hard could his friends be?

All of them looked up as he approached the table, their expressions - actually he had no idea how to read their expressions. Ron looked like he wanted to shout, but was forcibly restraining himself. Ginny was smirking. Charlie was. . .smirking too. Draco was. . .bloody hell! Also smirking. And Hermione - Harry frowned. Hermione merely looked pensive.

Unsurprisingly it was Draco who spoke up first, waving the paper in front of his face as he sat down. "My goodness, Potter, looks like you-"

Harry pointed a finger at the blond, glaring firmly at him as he cut off whatever it was he was going to say. "I will hit you again," he warned, reminding the Slytherin of his reaction that first day after his marriage.