Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for;

The Patronus Quest - F6 - Slash.

AN - Also written because I've missed writing about my OTP! I feel like it's been far too long since I wrote anything for this pairing, so I hope you enjoy, and please review :)

A Year In The Life

January

Harry groaned against the light assaulting his eyes and raised a heavy arm to cover them. He'd known that drinking so much firewhiskey would come back and bite him on the ass. Shifting slowly onto his side, being careful not to jostle himself too much, less he upset his stomach before he wanted to leave the warmth of the covers, he startled when he came into contact with another body. His eyes still closed, he froze, forcing his protesting mind to cast back to the night before.

Unfortunately, the blackness did not deteriorate to give him a pleasant memory. In fact, the blackness didn't deteriorate at all, leaving him with no idea who he was actually sharing a bed with.

"Stop thinking, Potter, you're worsening my hangover with the noise of the cogs turning."

Harry's eyes opened without his consent, bringing himself face to face with Severus Snape.

"Um... hi?"

Snape snorted, turning gingerly to his back to reach out to his bedside table. Harry took the room in slowly, wondering how it was that he was only now realising that he wasn't actually in his own flat. The bedroom was nice, a calming colour scheme of tan, cream and brown, and absolutely nothing like what Harry would expect for the man he was currently sharing a bed with.

Apprehension crept over him as Snape's hand reappeared holding his wand, but Snape muttered out an "accio", raising his other hand to catch a potion, before repeating the process.

"Here. Drink and sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up."

Recognising the hangover remedy, Harry mumbled his appreciation before downing it in one and sighing with relief. "Thank you."

"Hmm. Sleep, Potter. I'll make breakfast later and we can enjoy the tragedy of a morning after conversation."

Smiling despite himself, Harry rolled over onto his other side and snuggled his face into the pillow. A few seconds later, an arm slipped around his waist and a torso pressed against his back. Harry was asleep in minutes.

February

"I cannot wait to get home and forget that on February fourteenth, at least eighty percent of humanity loose their freaking minds," Harry grumbled, tossing the paperwork he'd just finished into the 'done' tray.

Ron chuckled, finishing his own paperwork with a flourish of his quill. "Hermione has a restaurant booked for nine. When I asked why, she told me that she knew if she booked it any earlier, there was no way would I be home in time. I thought she was exaggerating."

"Nope. Clearly Valentines day makes even the most mature of people insane. I don't understand... surely it isn't necessary to have one day that proves you love someone? Surely you should be doing that everyday?"

Shrugging, Ron stood up, and replied, "I dunno, mate. Still, I'm glad I don't have the night shift. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

Harry nodded. "I'll be here. Have a good night with Hermione."

Apparating home, Harry hung up his robes as he debated which takeaway to call. He really wasn't in the mood for cooking and honestly, the idea of going out and braving a restaurant was horrifying. He entered the living room and paused, raising his eyebrow.

"What are you doing here? I thought we weren't seeing each other until tomorrow?"

Severus shrugged, nodding at the contents of the table. "I thought you might have had a bad day."

Slumping down beside him on the sofa, Harry sighed. "You have no idea. One poor bastard forgot to buy his wife a card for when she woke up. He's currently in Saint Mungo's with the body of a stuffed toy and roses where his hair used to be."

Severus snorted, wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulders. "Amnityville Horror, or Freddy Kruger?"

His eyes taking in the Chinese takeaway keeping warm under a statis charm and the stacks of chocolate and crisp, Harry grinned. "You're the best boyfriend ever."

March

Harry let himself into Severus' flat, a container of soup and a potion under his arm. Locking the door behind him, he put the soup on the kitchen table and walked through to the bedroom where Severus lay prone in the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and casting a temperature spell in the same movement.

"Like I fell foul of a herd of Hippogriffs."

"Here. The potion you asked for," Harry murmured, helping Severus sit up enough to drink the potion. "How long will it take to work?"

"I should be better by morning," Severus replied quietly, slumping back into the pillows. "Was the shop okay?"

"Fine. Blaise dealt with most of the potion inquiries, and I cleaned and served customers without a problem. I'm pretty sure Blaise is hoping you'll be back tomorrow though. He kept trying to tell me about the potion he was making but... well. You know what I'm like with them."

Severus chuckled, his eyes lighting slightly with amusement. "Thank you for taking care of it for me."

"Of course. Are you hungry? I fetched some soup from that little cafe you took me to last month."

Nodding, Severus pushed himself up slightly. "Please. Can you have a look and see if there's any green tea in the cupboard as well."

"I got some while I was out," Harry assured him, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple before he got up and left the room. Severus watched him go with a warm feeling in his chest. Nobody had ever taken care of him while he was sick before. It was a nice feeling.

April

The sound of laughter washed over the garden and Harry grinned as he watched the kids running back and forth, brightly covered Easter eggs held in their baskets.

"You're not actually planning on letting them eat all that chocolate today, right?" he asked Bill with a chuckle. The stricken look on the curse breakers face was enough to turn his chuckle into a full on belly laugh.

"You're lucky you can hand your monster off at the end of the day," Bill grumbled, nodding to Teddy who was chasing Victoire through the garden. "Andromeda is going to be so mad at you though."

"Nope," Harry disagreed. "I'll let him have one egg while he's with me and then hand them off to Andie to do with as she will. When he complains, he can complain to her. Win-win for me."

"Yeah, yeah. Thought Severus was coming with you today?"

Harry shrugged. "He had to work. He offered to come by after, but I'll be leaving within half an hour of him arriving so there's little point."

"How's it going between you two? You seem... happy."

"I am happy. He's... We bicker and argue but he knows me in a way nobody ever has before. He knows when I need to rant about work, or if I just wanna chill out or if I want to go out and do something. He's great."

Bill smiled. "S'the way it's supposed to be.

Harry dropped Teddy off with Andromeda with a smile, hugging the older woman briefly as the excited child talked none stop about his afternoon at the Burrow. He apparated straight to Severus' flat, grinning as the smell of hot cross buns assaulted his nostrils.

"You've been busy," he greeted, pressing a kiss to Severus' shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

"Quite. I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?"

Turning around to face Harry, Severus tilted his head to the side so Harry could see a small egg on his shoulder.

"What is that?"

"Chocolate egg," Severus whispered against Harry's lips. "I thought you'd enjoy your own Easter egg hunt."

"You mean these are all over -"

"Everywhere."

"Happy Easter to me."

May

"Uncle Harry, Uncle Harry, lookit!" Teddy shouted, pointing at the unicorn foal.

Harry grinned. "I can see it, Ted. You like it?"

"Yup. Can I have one?"

"Don't think you can keep unicorns for pets, little man," Harry replied, trying to curb his amusement. "But we'll see what they've got in the gift shop, alright?"

"Can we go now, Uncle Harry?"

"You don't wanna go see the other animals?"

"More? Come on, Uncle Harry, come on!"

As Teddy skipped in front, Harry slipped his hand into Severus'.

"Are you having a good day?" he asked quietly, keeping his eye on his godson.

Severus smiled down at Harry and nodded.

"Surprisingly, yes. Thank you for asking me to come."

June

"I really don't understand why you insisted I fetch shorts," Severus grumbled as he and Harry unpacked their small suitcases.

"Um... It's the beach. What else are you going to wear?"

"Going to the beach doesn't automatically mean I wish to wear as little clothing in public as is decent."

Harry laughed. "You can transfigure them into full length trousers if it makes you feel more comfortable," he assured his grumpy partner. "But it's warm out, and I'd hate for you to overheat."

"I have a better idea," Severus said, abandoning his unpacking to turn and push Harry onto the bed, leaning over him with a wicked smile. "We forget the shorts, and spend the weekend naked on this bed and I'll show you just how many things I can come up with that don't involve getting sand in unforgiving areas?"

"Promise we can walk along the beach later on tonight and you have a deal," Harry replied, nuzzling his face against Severus' neck.

"A walk in the moonlight? Agreed."

July

It had been the best birthday he'd ever had. As they stood atop the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by the lights and other tourists, Harry knew that he could never have asked for more than what he had with Severus.

"Thank you for today. I don't even have words to tell you how much it all meant to me."

Severus smiled from where he stood behind Harry and wrapped his arms tighter around his waist, burying his face in Harry's neck.

"You're welcome. I..."

Harry turned in his embrace, his eyes curious and hopeful.

"I love you, Severus."

The relief that the sentiment was returned was immense, and Severus couldn't stop himself from kissing Harry deeply.

"I love you too."

August

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal," Harry shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. "My flat is bigger, I have the better view and you've already said that you love my bed much more than yours. Just move in and have done with it!"

"My flat is better placed for work for both of us and you damn well know it!" Severus shouted back, rubbing a hand over his temple. "You prefer my decor, you love the cafe down the street, and my kitchen is far superior to yours."

Silence reigned for a moment before Harry sighed.

"We're going around in circles," he muttered, throwing himself into the armchair. "I can't have this argument again, Severus. Three times this week and it's just..."

"The make up sex is fantastic though," Severus replied, pulling Harry to his feet before he twisted them around so he could sit down in the armchair with Harry on his lap. Letting the younger man lean into him, Severus kissed the side of Harry's head. "But you're right. This shouldn't be so hard."

"Why don't we just buy somewhere new?" Harry asked. "Somewhere that's both of ours?"

Severus smiled. "Okay."

Harry sat up slightly, enough so he could press his lips to Severus' in a sweet kiss. "Why don't you remind me how fantastic the make up sex is?"

September

Severus was checking the room to make sure that the paint had spread and dried evenly when Ronald's patronus arrived.

"St Mungo's. Harry's been injured."

His heart clenched as he forgot about the decor of their new bedroom. Flying down the stairs, Severus threw the floo powder into the flames, and not three minutes after the jack russell terrier had arrived at the new house, Severus was walking up the corridor to the Auror ward.

"Wow, that was fast," Weasley commented when he spotted the panicking potioneer. "He'll be okay. The healer said he'll likely have to stay for a couple of days though."

Severus let the relief of 'He'll be alright' wash over him for a moment before he turned his glare back onto the red haired Auror. "What happened?"

The healers allowed him in to see Harry a little over an hour later. It hurt Severus to see his larger than life love lying on a hospital bed looking so small, dwarfed by the whiteness of the sheets and pillows.

"How are you feeling?" he asked when Harry blinked his eyes a few times, looking blearily around the room.

"Um... I don't know. What happened?"

"You were on the wrong end of a blasting curse," Severus muttered, trying to keep his anger at the monster who almost killed Harry at bay.

"Oh. Ouch."

Unable to stop the small smile erupting on his face, Severus took Harry's hand in his own, raising it to his lips to kiss gently. "I almost lost you."

Shifting on the bed with a wince, Harry tugged on Severus' hand until he took the hint, lying down in the small space Harry had cleared, letting his arm drape carefully over Harry.

"I'm right here," Harry whispered in his ear. "I'm right here."

October

"Wow," Severus said, blinking as Harry walked into the room, a scowl on his face. "You look... enchanting."

"Bite me," Harry muttered, glaring at his partner.

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Severus asked, raising his eyebrow at his Harry, his Vampire Harry.

"Never again am I letting Hermione choose the costumes for Halloween. Never. Ever. Again. God could she have been anymore cliche?"

"What costume did she get for Teddy?"

"Oh, he was a baby Vamp, a little version of me. He looked adorable."

"And the others. Tell me that you at the very least have blackmail material to counter... this," Severus said, stepping closer as he waved a hand at Harry's ensemble.

Suddenly grinning, Harry nodded. "Hmm. Hermione was Dorothy, you know, from the Wizard of Oz?"

When Severus nodded, Harry continued. "Well, Fred, George, and Percy were dressed as the tin man, the scarecrow and the lion, respectively."

Snorting at the implications of Percy and the lion, Severus nodded again for Harry to carry on. "And she dressed Ron up as Toto."

Laughter filled the living room as Severus wrapped his arms around Harry. "In comparison, I believe you got off quite lightly. And... I wasn't lying, Harry. You do look quite... enchanting."

November

Scarves wrapped around their necks, gloves warming their hands, and coffee heating their insides, Harry and Severus stood side by side, their fingers entwined, their eyes on the bright flashes lighting up the sky. Harry had never been to a bonfire and firework display before, and he was captivated by the experience.

Severus pulled his fingers loose from Harry taking the empty cup from his hand with ease, and throwing the two into the nearest bin. He wasn't nearly as interested in fireworks, and if it hadn't been for Harry, he'd probably be at home now in front of the fire, reading yet another potions journal.

He couldn't find it in himself to be disappointed.

Harry's face as he watched the fireworks more than made up for the fact that he was entertaining frostbite of the nose. The innocence and wonder made him look so much younger, and yet, when Harry turned to glance at Severus, he could see the wonderful man he'd turned into.

He was Severus'. He'd chosen to share this, and many other, experiences with Severus.

Severus had never believed in luck, but if he did, he'd consider himself the luckiest bastard to ever walk the planet.

December

The final night of the year.

Their anniversary.

Another party.

There was only one way for Severus to thank Harry for the last year, and that was to ask him to share many more with him.

The countdown.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Harry, will you marry me?"

"Yes!"