A/N: I have no idea where this one came from, possibly another attack of the plot bunnies. Not sure. anyways, I had fun typing it. The Harry Potter bunnies have been attacking me a lot lately, as evidenced by my notebooks filled with started chapter stories that aren't quite finished yet. Anyways, enjoy my oddball story.

Warnings: Slash fic!!! and mentions of MPREG!!! Dun like, then shoo man. Seriously. I don't remember any naughty words, but they might be in there, so be aware of that possibility.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or his world, but my plot bunnies like to cosplay as him and give me ideas for stories we can borrow him to make. ^_^ Enjoy!

Completely idiotic and full of himself, that's what he was. Why was he a moronic ibicile? Because he could swear that every day for a couple of months now, dark eyes would be trained on him. Whose eyes you ask? Oh, only the eyes of everyone's most beloved (amused snort) potions professor, Severus Snape. Can you see now why he thought he was going completely nutters and becoming a self-centered git?

It was Feburary now, and Harry would love nothing more than to flee to his dorm, transfigure his bed into a bomb shelter, and lock himself inside until the morrow. But, that would be a bit too Slytherin of the Gryffindor golden boy, so he refrained from following his instincts just this once. Whether it proved beneficial or not in the end, only time would tell. All he could do was pray that Valentine's Day ended as soon as humanly possible. Maybe there was a charm somewhere in the library that made it possible to hide within walls? It was a very promising thought.

They're flying into the Great Hall now, the owls laden with gifts and cards and such nonsense. Merlin but he absolutely HATED this holiday! He can feel them now, those dark eyes, the weight of them on his back, daring him to turn around and meet them with the Gryffindor bravery that he so recklessly uses. This time though, he will disappoint Snape by trusting in his Slytherin side and ignoring him, even as something in his heart whispers and urges him to turn around.

Curious though, how he doesn't notice the school owls, and the other owls that drop him his usual pile of gifts, no he notices a beautiful, gorgeous eagle owl with soft black feathers. He is a graceful bird who did not drop his burden as the others had. He landed imperiously in front of Harry and held out his foot. Harry, curiousity peaked, releases the owl of his burden and gestures to his breakfast plate.

"Please, feel free to help yourself to my plate. I'm quite finished."

The owl bobs his head once and attacks a piece of sausage happily, liking this nice man-child that his master told him to watch over for the day. Hedwig was right to love her human as much as she did, he was such a nice owlet. Cepheus, yes that was what his human called him, hoped that his owlet's gift worked in courting this young man.

Harry smiles and gently strokes the beautiful bird's feathers, smile softening when the bird shivers in pleasure. looking at the small present and the letter in his hand, Harry opens the letter first, wondering who sent him this and why their owl stayed with him. His brow furrowes in thought and his lips curve slightly as he reads the spidery writing.

Harry,

I know this may seem odd to you, but you have my word that this is not a joke, nor is it a prank. Of what you know of me, if anything, you should know that I am not a man who would play with the feelings of others, nor could I fake any feelings that I have. I have noticed, within the past two years, that you are far from your father's son.

You take more after your mother in a great many things, but you are still you and unique. You are selfless, so much so that I find myself wanting you to be selfish sometimes just to see what you would do to get what you want. I know I don't deserve forgiveness for my past atrocities, for the things I've said against you and the things I've done, but I am selfish enough to ask for that forgiveness.

I am also selfish enough to ask that you think about my next request very carefully. I find myself wanting nothing more than to be with you. To be your friend, your confidant, your rock, your protector, and your love. I want to hold you in my arms and know that no one else could ever hold your heart because it's mine and always will be. I want to grow old and grouchy with you, to have a family with you, and to share years full of love and happiness with you after this war is over.

I want to stand by your side and be there with you, for you, as you stand strong against the enemy. I've seen how the expectations of this world burden you, and I would like to share that burden, to give you a moment's rest to just be yourself.

I'm afraid that I've fallen in love with you Harry, and I ask only that you give me a chance.

I hope that you enjoy your gift, and Cepheus will stay with you until he deems it time to return to me. He is quite the character and protective of his 'owlets'. Much like your Hedwig who likes to come stay with Cepheus in my rooms often. I believe that they may have a romance between them.

Yours,

Severus

P.S. If asked, I shall deny this letter's existance.

Blinking at the unexpected letter, Harry finds his eyes drawn to the Head table where they meet and hold the dark eyes that have, indeed, been watching him closely. Of course the man would deny having written the letter, he was much to private a person to want such sentimental things associated with him. It would ruin his reputation after all. He raises a brow slowly at first, then allows his expression to ease into a soft one to give the man hope, and turns to the gift after folding the letter and putting it away in his robe pocket.

Severus, watching Harry closely, releases a soft, relieved sigh. So there was hope, Harry would consider giving him a chance. There had been forgiveness and... something else in his eyes. He'd not analyze it now, but he would watch a while longer to see what Harry thought of his gift. The teen's expression is priceless and makes Severus smile before he covers it with a satisfied smirk. Oh yeah, he was just that good...

Harry carefully unties the binding on the thin, flat box and allows the plain black paper to fall from around the gift. Taking a deep, calming breath, he lifts the lid and gapes, in wide-eyed awe at the gift that lays in the box. He touches it, this gorgeous piece of jewelry that Snape had given him. He absolutely loved it! The chain of the necklace laid amid the black velvet interior of the box was white gold and braided into an intricate design that was almost as beautiful as the pendant. The pendant itself was crafted out of 24 carat pink and yellow gold, and was a hibiscus fliower. The petals are crafted of the pink gold, and the stamen of the flower is crafted in the yellow.

It was, an overall, beautiful work of art. It also showed how much Severus knew about the man beneath the facade of the boy-who-lived. The hibiscus was, after all, his favorite flower, and as Remus was like a father to him, gold was perfect because silver was a no-no around Remy. Hermione, beside him gasps and babbles about the beauty of the gift.

"It's such a beautiful gift, even if it does look like it was made for a woman. Harry, if you're not going to keep it, may I have it?"

Her hand reaches for it and Harry, quite literally snaps, almost biting her, then lets out a soft growl. "Mine."

Severus, amused, hides his smile by taking a drink for his goblet. Who knew Harry'd love the gift so much? He was already so possessive over it. Severus looked forward to seeing how often it was worn, if at all.

Harry, seeming to realize what he'd just done, grins apologetically at his friend and speaks gently. "I apologize 'Mione. What I mean to say is that this gift happens to be special to me. Should there be anything at all that you want from the pile, please take it. Those gifts mean nothing to me, but this one is different from those. That's all."

Hermione eyes him thoughtfully, wondering who could've given him something he'd love so much, before smiling. "Alright Harry. I apologize as well, it was rude of me to assume that you would not want the one gift you opened. You usually never open Valentines, so I should have known that this one would be special to you. Would you like me to get the rest of these out of your way then?"

Harry smiles. "Please."

He watches as she and Ron and everyone else at the table dig into his usual pile as he always allows them to every years and gazes at the necklace. He really did love it, so no harm would come in showing that. After all, he had never kept a gift before on this stupid day, so why not show that the boy-who-lived had finally chosen some one? Readying himself, Harry gently takes the necklace from its box and attaches it around his neck.

He feels the weight of those eyes on him again and concentrates on the necklace, feeling the magic of the one who gifted it. It was layered with protection charms and seemed to be an emergency portkey. Most of all, he felt the overall feeling of a love that was deep, strong, and true weaved into the magic of the charms the flower and its chain bore with grace. He knew then that he would be a fool to let this man slip through his fingers, for soon he would hold everything he'd ever dreamed of in his hands.

Yes, this man would be his reason for fighting, the love that stood strong and conquuered the evil that threatened to flood the land and infect it so that nothing good was left behind. He would be selfish, just this once, and take it as his own. It would stay in his heart and grow, bloom, like a precious flower that never dies, but always stays timelessly beautiful.

It was more for himself than anyone else because he'd never truly hated Severus. He'd simply denied that he'd been in love with him for years. So, taking up his Gryffindor courage, Harry turns once more to Severus, and graces the man with a tender smile so full of love that a blind man could see it, and a man with a heart of stone could feel it warm his cold, cold heart.

Severus, faced with such a loving look, can do nothing more than return the smile. He knew that he'd love his Harry forever, in this life and the next.

Gavin Alexandre Snape stood, with his wife and children, before the graves of his parents, and younger brother, Lysander Kylen Snape, who'd died in birth. It was because of that, that he'd been an only child. Lysander's birth had destroyed any chances his papa had of birthing another child, let alone concieving one.

His parents were happy together, so in love and so strong in that love that even the tragic death of their newborn son could not tear apart what they had together. His father, Severus, was, at home, a man who smiled and laughed easily. He was also the one did not let Gavin get away with anything. His papa, Harry, was loving and sweet, but had a temper to be wary of. Gavin had seen his father cower in the face of that temper now and then. It wasn't often, but he had seen the feared potions professor cower in the face of his husband's temper.

But he'd always known that he was loved. Their house had been full of the tender emotion, and now his own was the same. They'd given him that, and taught him how to see the light even through the darkest times. Love was without bounds, and never stopped growing.

As he stares at their headstones, he smiles with a happy kind of sadness. yes, father had passed on first and nobody had wanted it to happen, but everyone prayed for papa to pass on. He'd wanted so badly to join his beloved husband. Oh, he loved his family, and adored them all, but he was ready to leave. It broke his heart to live without his husband by his side as the man always had been. He was happy to be with them, but half of himself was already gone and there was always a sadness in his smiles that broke the heart.

Gavin would miss them both dearly, but he could be happy because he knew that they were reunited and together once more. It was the circle of life, and he knew that someday he would join him, as would his wife and his precious children. Maybe, when his time came, he would even get to meet Lysander. He and his little brother would have a lot of catching up to do.

Placing a gentle hand on his papa's headstone, he murmurs in his silky smooth voice, "Be at peace papa, you're home now with father, just as you wanted."

With a smile, he takes his papa's most prized possession and kneels before his youngest child, his son, Kylen. The child missed his Grandpa, but with the death of his precious Grandpi, he'd been nigh on inconsolable. "Because you've always treasured it as much as he did, your Grandpi wished for you to have this. Keep it, take care of it, and treasure it always Kylen."

Kylen's bright emerald eyes shine with tears as Gavin places the necklace, worn every day by his Grandpi, around his neck. his small hand touches it gently, because he always had, and always would treasure it as his Grandpi had. With a sob, he throws his ten-year-old body into his father's strong arms and cries, mourning the loss of one of his most favorite and loved people in the world.

Gavin stands, holding his sobbing baby boy securely and drops a kiss on his precious little head. Yes, he'd been the mirror image of his father in everything but nose, but this child was the nigh on carbon copy of his papa from tousled black locks, to the bright emerald eyes. It warmed his heart to think that someday, this child who looked so much like his beloved grandpi, would find a love like the one his parents had shared.

It was a great and wonderful gift, that love, and Gavin wanted nothing less for his own children. As they walk away from the resting place of Harry and Severus Snape, Gavin smiles at his wife as she herds their eldest two towards the train station. They'd given him the world by showing him what mattered most in life and he would do his best to honor their memories by teaching the same things to his children, and hoped that his would do the same with theirs and so forth.

A little bit of love can bring light into even the darkest world. the proof of that, the two men who were laid to rest in the family plot behind them.

A/N: Hope you liked it, tha sappy piece of work it was. Leave a thought if you care to, or do whatever. As long as this was enjoyed, I'm a happy camper.