Sorcerer's Sweets

Chapter Two: Ahead of the Game

Harry had had to keep his head on straight the moment Severus had proposed; he couldn't let the man realize that it was he he'd wanted since his discovery of the Half-Blood Prince's book! It was a welcome distraction indeed to go to his weekly supper at Ron and Hermione's, and he was mightily pleased to see Severus debate potions ingredients with Hermione, tactics that Ron could use for Auror Academy, as well as permitting Crookshanks into his lap. It was a lovely evening, with Severus staying for dinner, pudding, and a snifter of brandy, before he Floo'd home to a cottage he'd inherited from Dumbledore in the wake of his pardon.

Harry agreed with Hermione that the whole Marriage Law business was terrible, although he wasn't a bit surprised to see an elegant ruby engagement ring upon her finger. Harry had known that Ron had wanted to propose, but not until they'd both finished training as an Auror and as an Unspeakable respectively. As soon as the ring was on Hermione's finger, they'd sent out their engagement paperwork to the Ministry of Magic, and were looking into their weekend schedules to book a time for their bonding in the registry office.

"No, it's not what I wanted, Harry," Hermione said wistfully, stroking Crookshanks in an effort to calm her nerves, "but my hands, like Kingsley's, are tied."

"Mine too, mate," Ron put in, shifting in his seat, his beer bottle hanging in his hand. "Who do you suppose Kingsley getting bonded to, anyway?"

Harry leaned back further in one of the armchairs; Ron sat opposite him in the other, while Hermione and Crookshanks took the couch between them, the lovely fire crackling directly beside Harry and Ron. "He's been hanging around Tonks Cottage for a while," he admitted, and both Ron and Hermione stared at him, gobsmacked. "Dromeda says he comes over quite frequently, whenever I go over to see Teddy on Sunday afternoons."

Hermione looked unsure. "They were both members of the Order, and Kingsley was friends with both Ted and Andromeda," she said softly.

"I've seen them snogging," Harry said.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Mate, you kidding?" he demanded.

Harry shook his head. "I assure you, I'm not."

Hermione grimaced. "She was so distraught after losing Ted, according to Dora," she said, and winced, for the mention of either Remus or Dora was still raw. "Well, I for one think that they're old enough and intelligent enough to know what they both want..."

"But what about the growing of the population?" Ron asked. "Surely, Dromeda's at least in her late-forties..."

"Witches and wizards, especially if they're Omega's, have a slightly longer childbearing age than that of a Squib or Muggle woman," Hermione answered primly. "Plus, Kingsley mentioned that anyone is permitted to consult a healer or a potions master. Maybe he was alluding to the fact that he and Dromeda were to be bonded..."

"I know that Severus likely will have a plethora of orders to fill," Harry said, altogether beaming at the prospect of such a powerful Alpha wanting to bond with him.

"Did you tell him, mate?" Ron asked, looking concerned.

"No," Harry responded, shaking his head.

Hermione looked more than a little concerned at Harry's attitude towards the entire situation. "You know as well as I do that he's very intelligent, Harry. He's bound to find out..."

Harry sighed. "I know," he answered, lifting up his own bottle of beer and sipping it.

Harry and Severus met with the official Potter goblin at Gringotts the following afternoon, and took a look at the properties left to Harry in the aftermath of James and Lily's deaths. The two of them ultimately decided upon a lovely country house in the village of Winterbourne, which was located in Berkshire. It had a lovely basement area for Severus's thriving potions business, a stunning kitchen for Harry to create all kinds of bistro delights and sweet treats, and plenty of bedrooms for a growing family.