This story is the continuation of the recently finished fanfiction: The Mystery of Suitor Number Five. It would be best if you read that first. It's finished, it's happy and it has a butler. This one too has the butler, and the Prince and the Minister will show up too, and many others will come to bring you entertainment for boring evenings. The chapters shall be short, a thousand words or so, just so you can read this anywhere you like, anytime you like. But those shall not be boring thousand words; I promise you smiles and laughter, cute stuff and awkwardness and fluff of course and friendship. And then some.

"What tale do you like best to hear?"
"Oh, I have not much choice! They generally run on the same theme - courtship; and promise to end in the same catastrophe - marriage."

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

~ Chapter One: Court Me ~

The dinner went splendid. Harry couldn't believe how splendid in fact. Lady Cora didn't want to kill him for deterring his one and only grandson from marrying a Malfoy, and that was splendid indeed. Then Carlson brought in the tea and dessert, and things started going downhill from then.

Harry was quietly forking the treacle tart into his mouth, thinking to himself how lucky he was, truly lucky this time. Imagining, how nice it would be to go home tonight, either to Snape's or to his place, and have dessert once again. Sweet, lovely, hot dessert. He pondered how nice it felt to have been chosen instead of a Malfoy – a rich, Pureblood Malfoy. Chewing on his tart, eyes on his intended, he mulled over scenarios of the past and a hopeful future about the two of them: intimate scenes played out in his minds, followed by cozy cuddling that lead to more intimate scenes. It was lovely in his head right now.

"So how do you imagine this courtship, Lord Harry?"

The question stopped all the moving pictures of Snape and him in his mind and forced Harry back to reality. He gulped down his cake as his eyes wandered from Snape to Cora then back to the Head Auror silently begging for help. But Snape wasn't paying attention to him. He was staring at his grandmother with wide eyes.

Harry cleared his throat.

"This what, Lady Cora?"

A sound came out from Carlson, might have been a cough, but was more likely a snort of laughter.

"The courtship, of course."

"The courtship is off." Snape stated and Harry gave thanks to many Deities he could suddenly think of that the man didn't go all numb and silent. "No one is courting me. I'm with Potter. We've agreed on that."

It was one thing that they had agreed on that and quite another to hear Severus Snape say that. I'm with Potter was such a simple sentence, it could mean a thousand things – I'm partnered with him, I think he's right, I came here with Potter, and many more, but this time it was meant as I belong with Potter and it was said so easily, so clearly without a single hesitation in Snape's voice, it made Harry sure they made the right decision. Heart flattering, he spoke too to support his partner. "Yes, we're together now."

He wished, cheesy it might be, to reach out now and take Snape's hand in his but they were sitting on the other side of the table that was large enough that there was no way they could actually touch. Instead they shared a glance which was worth a million times more. There was love in Snape' dark eyes and Harry smiled at him, happily.

Cora looked at them both, slowly, as if wondering whether they were pulling her leg or not. She, then, proceeded to place her fork elegantly down next to her plate. Carlson was there immediately, to clear away the remains. This couldn't have taken more than a minute yet to Harry it felt like a millennia and judging by Snape's worried expression, he must have felt the same.

"Lord Potter," started Cora and Harry's heart stopped. All evening he was Lord Harry, being Potter again did not mean anything good. "Carlson would love to show you the other Drawing Room. If you would follow him."

"I don't think I want to see the other Drawing room, Lady Cora. I think I want to stay here instead. With Severus." Harry said with a confident smile. It was the first time, he realized that he mentioned the man by his given name. It was nice. A bit alien on his tongue still, but he knew he will get used to it with some late-night practice.

"And I think you want to go to the other Drawing room and look at some nice paintings, Lord Potter." The Lady stated eyes on Snape and not on Harry. "Moreover, I also think you want to do what I tell you to do right now, because you are a clever man who listens to someone who is more older and wiser than yourself."

Harry stood, looked at Cora beaming then said, "You left out prettier," with a tiny bow of his head. He grinned at Severus and the outraged Cora too, then left the Dining room with Carlson.

Once the door closed behind them, he immediately turned to the butler. "Tell me, Carlson, are we in trouble?"

"Not just yet, My Lord."

"We will be in trouble?" Harry groaned. "But why? I thought we agreed! I thought it was all good. The courtship is off, Snape and I are an item now, Snape stays as grandson. I thought that was the deal."

Carlson sniffed. "This is my Lady's life you are talking about not a transaction, Lord Potter."

"Oh don't you start with the Lord Potter thing, too. You know what I mean, Carlson. Severus came here this morning and told everyone the courtship is off because he's in love with me."

Carlson looked at him as if he would be seeing a child. "You really are no Lord, are you?" He said without any malice, just stating it as a fact.

Harry nodded in agreement. "I keep telling her that. Not that she listens."

"There are certain traditions that one needs to keep when… one intends to join a certain high ranking, noble family."

"Such as?" Harry asked nervously now, his palms sweating.

Before Carlson could answer, the door opened and, upset, Snape walked out ordering Carlson back into the Dining room with only a flash of his eyes. He was getting better at it, Harry thought, ordering the help around.

"What did she say?" He asked taking Snape's hand. He wasn't sure which one of them he wanted to calm, but if it worked on any of them, he would be a happy man.

"This is a traditional house, is what she's saying." Said Snape.

"What does that mean? We can't be together?"

There was something in Harry, something that knew that wouldn't be happening. He was willing to fight for Snape with teeth and nail and if he had to fight an old lady, so be it. But he won't let Cora get between them.

"Oh no, it's trickier than that." Snape grimaced. Then he lowered himself on half-knee. He looked up with an unusual uncertainty in his eyes, that was so open and honest and made him so vulnerable, Harry was ready to agree to whatever he needed to. And he had a rather good inkling about what was about to come.

"Harry James Potter," Snape started in his most serious voice as if taking a vow. Harry's heart hammered in his chest. "Will you court me?"

"Yes!" Harry said, happily, then the actual question got to his mind. "Wait, what?"