A Lucky Man (Snarry)

Was he my home, then, my homecoming?

"What lies ahead is going to be very difficult. Fear not. It will come. At least I hope it does. And when you least expect it. Nature has its cunning way of finding our weakest spot."
― André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

"Severus!", Draco exclaimed, his face breaking into a real smile, a rare thing, only reserved for his family and Luna at the sight of his Godfather.

Harry stared at him as he tried to breathe evenly, his head spinning. It wasn't possible. He couldn't be here. Not now.

Why now?

Everyone slowly stood up, Draco the first to do so, running around the table to hug Severus, before others stepped in to welcome him back.

Harry stood as well, forcing his face to some semblance of indifference as he finally looked up, all of his efforts for nothing once his eyes connected with Severus's.

The man was standing a few feet away, watching him over Draco's shoulder, his gaze so intent that Harry's heart stopped.

He stared stunned at the man, and if it wasn't for that voice and those eyes, he would have thought they were all mistaken. Severus looked nothing like the man Harry had last seen two years ago.

He was no longer close to starved, his body filled up, and strong. His skin was tanned, a healthy shine to it, saying that man no longer spent his days cooped up in the dungeons. But the thing that took the cake was his hair. It was gone.

In place of his long, oily locks that Severus was so famous for was now a short, stylish cut.

He looked more than a decade younger and Harry could do nothing but stare.

Hot; that was the word.

Fuck.

"You didn't tell me you were coming back!", Draco said, glaring at his Godfather but not for long, a small smile breaking out after a moment.

"Minerva thought that it would be better if we kept it under wraps; a surprise if you may.", Severus said, finally looking away from Harry, making it easier to breathe.

Harry turned his back to the crowd, pretending to tidy up his papers seeing as they wouldn't be working after all, while tried to take back some semblance of control. His hands were shaking, and he stopped what he was doing, squeezing them into fists while cursing himself.

He was better than this.

He took a big breath, raising his Occlumency shields, something he had finally mastered after the end of the war, before turning around only to end up face to face with the cause of his temporary insanity.

"Hello, Harry.", Severus said, his voice a quiet purr, setting Harry's nerves on fire.

Harry.

He had never called him that. Harry had long ago come to terms that he would forever be Mr. Potter in Severus's eyes, and that was good. It meant distance, and distance was something Harry needed in order to make his peace with the impossibility that was Severus Snape.

But that seemed to be gone now, Severus was changing the rules of the game, yet again, and Harry found himself floundering around, unsure how to react.

"Headmaster; welcome back.", he said in the end, because that's what Snape was. His new boss, a colleague, nothing more.

He wouldn't call him by his name, he couldn't. Severus was the man on the couch, the fingers that brought fire to his skin, the voice setting him aflame, a fantasy.