Chapter Text
The Burrow during any holiday was the most anxiety-inducing, stressful, chaotic situation ever. Molly was like a taskmaster, running the kitchen with an iron fist (or wooden spoon, really) and ordering everyone about. It didn’t matter that her hair was more grey than ginger or that she walked with a bit of a limp now. It didn’t even matter that all her children were grown adults with kids of their own- it was her household and everyone knew it.
Christmas was like the culmination of all important events. The Annual Weasley Dinner only became more legendary with each passing year and new members that were added to the family tree. Harry could only look in awe at the sheer number of people the house could accommodate, even if it did look like a stiff breeze would topple it all over.
Even though Molly had tried hard to do everything on her own, age and her seven children had eventually convinced her to delegate at least some of the tasks to others. For the past five years then, she was in charge of the baked goods and the main goose, but everyone else would get at least a dish (or three, if you were as good at it as Harry was) that they had to bring.
This year, Harry and Sirius didn’t have anything too complicated on the menu, just an apple pie, a roast chicken dish, and some grilled veggies. This in turn meant that they were one of the first people in the house. So, with a quick hello to Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen when he went to store the food (everyone knew to expect nothing more than a distracted glance on family gatherings days from her because the sheer volume of work she drowned herself in was…astounding), Harry quickly made his way out, grabbed Siirus’ elbow and dragged him straight out to the boundary of the property where there was a nicely hidden pond which was cleverly spelled to stay the perfect temperature all year round. And even though it was too cold right now to strip down and get in, that didn’t mean just sitting there with only your feet submerged in the water wasn’t a great way to spend the time either. They didn’t often get time to do this these days, so it was always nice to be able to sit down and unwind.
Both of them quickly rolled their trousers up to their knees and settled into the small bench-like structure that was formed against one side of the pond.
As soon as his feet touched the warm water, Harry let out a huge sigh of contentment. This place had a special place in his heart. After the war, he’d spent a lot of time at the Burrow but quickly realised that there wasn’t any space for him there, not really. It was no one’s fault in particular, but the situation was difficult all around. The air of grief and sorrow was thick enough to be choking, and it felt like ghosts were more real than the actual occupants at the time. Ron and Hermione were navigating their newly formed relationship while trying to deal with Fred’s death and finding her parents. Harry knew he couldn’t leave abruptly, not unless he wanted to deal with all the questioning and unease that would trigger, but he couldn’t stay there either. Harry had been an outcast for most of his life, he’d grown up knowing nothing but his own company and the spiders in his cupboard, but the kind of loneliness he had felt in those early days was…almost unmatched, and would’ve pushed him to the edge in a way nothing else had managed to.
And so, on one of those days when it was basically impossible to stay in the Burrow and go out in public, he was out exploring the property. It was the best compromise at the time. He’d been shocked to find out how large it really was. The Weasleys weren’t the most well off family in the Wizarding World but clearly, wealth worked differently there because the amount of land they owned was… astounding . There were fruit orchards, and different animal colonies scattered, and even a few seasonal vegetables growing here and there. It was right at the edge of the property, though, as he’d almost turned back, that he spotted the pond. He’d been curious, because no one had ever mentioned something like this to him, so he’d made his way over to the place and then…never left.
Okay no, that was an exaggeration of course, but it was such a beautiful place, radiating calm and safety and Harry had craved that kind of peace in those days. And so most days, he could be found stretched out in the sun beside the pond, or swimming, or even flying around on his Firebolt. Those few months were also instrumental in him finally getting over the malnutrition and neglect of his entire childhood- a combination of the sun, exercise, and proper food meant that he gained a healthy weight and a good chunk of muscle. The effect it had on his mental health couldn’t be discounted, either. This was the place where he found the strength to analyse his circumstances , to come to the conclusions he did (no matter how damning they were) and take control of his life.
Even now, years later when he didn’t need to come here, he still tried to make time for it whenever possible, and drag Sirius with him too because lord knows the old dog needed the safe space too. It was just a nice break from everything around them, where they could slow down, relax.
As he became lost in his musings, he didn't realise that Sirius had maneuvered himself to lay down on the ground with his head on Harry's lap, turned sideways. Harry smiled at the sight, and caved into the unspoken demand (Sirius could be remarkably similar to a puppy demanding attention), carding his fingers through his partner's thick hair. He lingered extra long at the thatch of grey hair that was most prominent at his temples and towards the sides, loving the way it made Sirius look- distinguished and attractive.
In that moment, with the sun shining down on his back, feet soaking in warm water, and his Sirius nuzzling into his touch, Harry felt almost overwhelmed with joy and contentment. Seventeen year old him, who was constantly fighting to live to see the next day, could have never imagined that he'd be in a place like this. That not only would he survive but also find family, safety and love in his life. Heart feeling full, he leaned down to press a kiss to Sirius' lips, trying to convey his emotions wordlessly (and not entirely sure he was succeeding at it.)
But this was Sirius, and he had always been good at reading Harry so he had no problems responding in kind. One of his hands went up to tangle itself in Harry's hair, fingers twisting his hair just the way he liked it. In turn, Harry's hand cupped Sirius' cheeks, fingers digging into his jaw and just behind his ears. Sirius' tongue flicked against Harry's masterfully, making him groan in pleasure. He could never get enough of Sirius, always craving more . Sometimes Harry worried about the implications of a sentiment like that, the hold the older man had over him but now was not the time.
It was just as he was losing himself in the moment, one hand stroking Sirius' jaw and the other trailing down his stomach that he heard a shouted exclamation that made him jerk back in surprise. Untangling himself from Sirius took a few seconds, especially when neither of them particularly wanted to do so but once they did, Harry looked up to see Hermione and Ginny standing a few feet away from them, shock painted across their faces and...a hint of betrayal in Ginny's? Huh. Wonder what that was about.
"Hey, you two," Harry called out after a brief pause where it seemed like neither of them were going to say anything, “Is it time for dinner already?"
The surprise on Hermione's face melted into incredulity and wow , Harry hadn't seen that expression directed at him in quite a while.
“ Harry James Potter ! You cannot be serious right now!”
“Actually,” Sirius, predictably, cut in, having managed to get out of Harry’s lap and facing the other side with his head propped up on one hand, “he’s not, I am.”
Ginny scowled at him, a bitter little thing that had Harry blinking in surprise, “Will you cut that out for a minute? And tell us what is going on here.”
“What do you mean what’s going on here?” Harry asked, confused. He couldn’t understand what had happened to make either of them so-so hyper , and it didn’t look like they were in a particularly explanatory mood right now.
“Wh—You— Harry !” Ginny had her hands on her waist, face red, and looked one step away from stomping her foot on the ground and really, was it too much to ask for to get an idea of what was happening?
Before the situation could devolve any further, Sirius got up and pulled Harry up with him, waving his wand absentmindedly to dry their feet and unfold their trousers.
“Since it seems like neither of you are in a state to be properly coherent, we’ll see you two back at the house.” Now Harry was gaping at Sirius, the curtness and bite in his voice almost foreign to hear. Sirius’ mean streak could make grown adults cry, yes, but he rarely let that side of him out now. Definitely not to people like Ginny and Hermione whom they were so close to.
In his bemusement, he didn’t even resist when Sirius tugged him out of the clearing, fingers tight around his wrist (but feeling less like he wanted to pull Harry and more like he was trying to ground himself, concerningly). It was only when they were a good distance away that Harry dug his heels in, forcing Sirius to stop as well.
“Siri?” He asked, cupping one stubbled cheek gently. He could tell something was wrong, though he wasn’t sure what.
“I—I’m sorry, Harry, I didn’t—I shouldn’t have said that,” he said, frustration dripping off his words. His free hand was roughly pulling at his hair and Harry quickly held his wrist before he could actually pull the strands out.
“I don’t care about that as much as I care about you, love,” he stroked his thumb soothingly around Sirius’ pulse point, “but I’m still confused. What was that about back there?“
Sirius breathed out harshly, “Baby, you uh—you know we haven’t told anyone about us, right?“
“What do you mean?” Truly, Harry didn’t mean to be so clueless. It was just that he had nicely settled into a serene headspace and it had been disrupted way too quickly for him to catch up to what was going on. Mentally, he was still half sitting in the pond with his feet in the water.
“Harry. You and me. Together. As a couple. We never actually told people about it.”
“But—what’s there to tell? It’s pretty obvious, Siri,” Harry retorted, “We’ve been with each other for years now, this isn’t new.”
“And Hermione and Ginny wouldn’t have reacted like that if it was common knowledge, honey,” Sirius sighed and okay yeah, that—that does make sense.
But still. Harry couldn’t believe anyone could look at the two of them and not realise within a few minutes that they were hopefully, ridiculously in love with each other. It was so obvious in every action, every glance, every touch between them. And sure, maybe they’d never explicitly sat down and announced the change in their relationship, that transition from godfather-godson to something more, but Harry honestly didn’t think they’d had to. Two grown men who lived in the same house, did everything together, were constantly touching each other and had the sappiest nicknames known to wizard kind, basically existing out of each others’ pockets? Come on, the story wrote itself at that point.
In hindsight, though, it did explain why everyone around them (especially Mrs. Weasley) would constantly get on their case about ‘don’t you think it’s time to settle down, Harry?’ and ‘I know a nice girl who you’d get along with great, Sirius!’. All those weird looks when they entertained people at their house and gave gifts as one entity also made sense now. The pointed comments about ‘shouldn’t you move out and find your own house now?’
Huh . Harry really was oblivious, wasn’t he? All the signs were there, pointing to how everyone was so woefully ignorant and he’d just breezed through without paying a lick of attention to them.
“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?“ he moaned out loud, mentally hitting his head against a wall at how many cues he’d missed so far.
Sirius’ let out a small huff of laughter, bending down to press a kiss to Harry’s hair, “Never. Just a little…distracted, s’all. There’s no harm done, Harry, except now we have to face the music. You know the whole house has to have found out by now.”
“But it wasn’t supposed to be a secret!” Harry complained, voice suspiciously close to a whine, “We never hid anything from anyone. So what if we forgot to tell them, huh? Can either of us even remember our anniversary at this point? It just happened, Siri, what do we even say?”
“I know, Harry,” Sirius shushed him gently, “But they’re not gonna see it that way. We’re probably gonna have to go up there and justify this. I hate it just as much as you do but—we care about everyone in that house, and this is just something we’ve gotta get through.”
“But I don’t want it to be that way,” Harry whispered tiredly, “I don’t want to justify this or explain our relationship to them. I love you, you love me—shouldn’t that be enough?”
Sirius kissed him then, slow and gentle and impossibly lovingly, and Harry all but melted into it, clinging to his unspoken words of support and strength. He didn’t want to do this, but he could, because he had Sirius beside him.
“Maybe they’ll surprise us by not saying anything, huh?” Sirius commented as they pulled back, and Harry really wished he could believe that. One look at his partner’s face showed that he didn’t either.
Oh well. Guess they’ve just got to hold their breath and get done with this.
The Burrow was still in a way it never was, and Harry had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at all the drama. It wasn’t even that big a deal in his eyes, and all of this seemed entirely unnecessary. But they quickly made their way to the living room, where it seemed like the majority of the whispers and voices were coming from, wanting to get this done with as quickly as possible.
Harry entered first and had to blink at seeing what seemed like the population of a small country squeezed into the room. Of course, he knew that there were a lot of people at the Christmas dinners in the past years, but it had never felt so imposing because everyone was usually scattered across the whole house, playing in the garden, going in and out. Now, looking at all the Weasleys, their spouses, and family friends like the Lupins gathered in one place, it felt less like a family holiday and more like a criminal intervention or something equally intense. At least the kids were not here. Small mercies, he supposed.
“Um,” Harry tucked his hands into his pockets, “Hello?”
Mr. Weasley and Remus- it seemed like they were chosen as spokespersons- exchanged a glance and stepped forward, the former taking the lead.
“Harry, Sirius,” his eyes flicked to the doorway, “We—uh, we just heard something…unexpected from the girls.”
“It seemed a little unbelievable though,” Remus took over cautiously, gaze switching between the two of them, as if trying to catch them out.
“Yeah, no,” Harry cut in bluntly, not in the mood for dragging this out, “Sirius and I are together, Hermione and Ginny weren’t—lying or exaggerating or anything of the sort.”
And with the confirmation straight from his mouth, it seemed like whatever spell was keeping the room quiet was broken because a cacophony of noises started up all of a sudden.
“ WHAT!?”
“I thought for sure it was a bad prank.”
“I thought it was just Ginnikins being jealous, mate,” Smack “Ouch, careful there, Gin.”
“Sirius, how could you do this—? ”
“ Oh Harry, why didn’t you tell us before?”
“This is really weird, I have to say.”
“Merlin’s saggy ballsack! ”
And so it went for a minute straight until Sirius put his fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill, piercing whistle. Finally, mercifully, everyone shut up.
“Thank you,” he commented dryly, “Now. Not that this is anyone’s business but ours, but if you folks are willing to be civilised, we can actually have a proper conversation or Harry and I can walk right out and have a nice dinner somewhere else.” He raised an eyebrow in question, and Harry had to bite his lip at how attractive the man was when he was taking charge like that. Now was not the time for his libido to act up.
“Sirius, come on, don’t be unreasonable,” Remus held his hands up, “You have to admit this came out of nowhere.”
“I don’t, actually. This isn’t something new and the fact you guys think so is on you, not us,” Sirius shrugged.
“What do you mean by that, mate?” Ron piped up and Harry was happy to see only curiosity on his face, not censure or disgust like he could see on many others’.
“He means that we’ve been together for a long time now. This isn’t a recent development,” Harry continued.
“Wait a second,” Mrs. Weasley started dangerously, “When you say a ‘long time’ what exactly do you mean by that, young man?”
Harry blinked, the silent accusation against Sirius hitting him like a slap across the face. He knew that those two had their issues in the past, but they’d been cordial for years now. Where was this coming from?
“You’re his godfather, Sirius, you had a duty to be his guardian and protect him,” she continued, “This is not what you’re supposed to be doing.”
“And you feel qualified to make statements on our relationship just a few minutes after finding out about it, how ?” Sirius sneered (and Harry was so glad that he hadn’t taken her words to heart because in the early months of their relationship, Sirius had struggled a lot with what it meant to be his partner instead of his godfather. Although their coming together was organic, happening overnight without any conflict from either side, the aftermath was different—once they’d settled into a slightly different routine. He’d been worried about what Harry’s parents would have thought, if he was taking advantage of his godson, if what they were doing was right and Harry had to step in regularly to calm him down. Sirius was his lover and his godfather and his partner and his forever person all in one . Maybe it was too much for one person to handle, but they made it work for them and he wouldn’t stand for it to be affected by the shadows of people long gone)
“Sirius, you must see what this looks like from the outside,” Hermione spoke, her voice filled with concern, “Harry and you have always been… close , but this is—it’s not normal.”
“And what’s the deal with keeping it hidden from us if you were happily together for so long?” Ginny commented snidely, “Would we even have known if Hermione and I hadn’t walked in on you two?“
“Okay first of all, Hermione, I’d thank you to not comment on what’s normal when we’re both living in a world that wouldn’t even have been a figment of our imagination two decades ago, okay?” He turned to the other girl standing with her arms crossed across her chest, “And no, maybe you wouldn’t have known if things hadn’t turned out the way they did. But neither Sirius or I were trying to keep our relationship a secret. We’re not ashamed of each other. In fact, I was under the impression that everyone already knew because we weren’t hiding a thing. Why else would two grown men act the way we do if they weren’t together?”
There was silence as everyone tried to figure out what to say to that until Remus stepped up again.
“Harry, we—always knew that you and Sirius were, you know, closer than normal. But I don’t think any of us ever expected something like this. It just feels…,” he trailed off at the end, hand waving in an incomprehensible manner to sum up the jumble of his thoughts.
“That’s a failure of your imagination then, I’d say,” An unexpected voice entered the conversation and- as one - everyone turned to see Bill leaning against the doorway, arms crossed across his chest, eyebrows raised in exasperation.
“I’ve known the two of them for exactly as long as any of you, perhaps even less, and it was plenty clear to me that they were together,” he continued as one side of his shoulders lifted up in a casual shrug, “You can’t look at them for more than a few minutes and not realise it, to be honest.”
Harry mentally threw his hands up in a ‘thank you’ gesture at the oldest Weasley sibling. At least someone wasn’t totally blind here.
“Bill—you knew ? And didn’t tell us?” Mrs. Weasley cried out, betrayal painted across her face and really, what would it take for everyone to stop being so dramatic here?
“Honestly? I didn’t realise it was a secret, or that no one else knew. I just thought I’d been out of the loop, what with being in France and everything, s’all.”
“You’re a decent sort, Bill,” Sirius laughed at the matter-of-fact manner in which he said that. Harry could see the way his shoulders relaxed, and he was infinitely glad towards the other man for cutting through the tense atmosphere.
“But—I still think we should talk about this,” Mrs. Weasley tried to interject, but Harry wasn’t having any of it. Like he’d said, he had no interest in having his relationship with Sirius scrutinised (and he’d taken a vow a long time ago- when he was a mostly powerless fourteen year old and the only person who ever cared about him was a fugitive on the run- that he’d do everything he could to protect his godfather, and though their dynamic had changed since then, his feelings for the man hadn’t. He loved him just as much as he had then.)
“ No . Sirius and I love each other, have done so since before things took a turn in this direction. There is no one on Earth I trust more than him and besides, we’re both adults. I think we can make our own decisions here, yes?” It wasn’t a question, not really, but he needed to drive the point home.
“But Harry, he was - is - your guardian. It’s not right . This is—this is blatantly taking advanta-“
“Okay, that’s it,” Harry interjected firmly. He was not gonna sit here and listen to his Sirius being maligned like that. He turned slightly to see Sirius staring straight ahead with his face blank, and winced. That meant he was trying really hard not to show any expression, and a definite tell that he’d been hurt by the callous words. And though it had been a good few years, Harry felt that rush of protective anger that had been like a constant companion for him back in the day, when Mrs. Weasley couldn’t go a day without insulting Sirius. Harry intertwined their fingers together and squeezed tightly in reassurance, eliciting a small smile from the older man.
“I’m not going to let you talk about my partner like that, and frankly, I couldn’t care less what you think about us being together. It’s been literal godsdammed years and clearly, something has to be working for us ‘cause we’re happy and content, so I’m gonna thank you to keep your noses out of our business,” Harry gave them all a tight smile and turned to walk out of the house, Christmas Dinner be damned. He didn’t think he could sit there and deal with all the judgment and questions, and he definitely did not want Sirius to put up with it. On his way out, he patted Bill’s shoulder in silent thanks for making the whole thing slightly more bearable, but other than that, he avoided looking at anyone in particular. He suddenly felt bone tired and wanted nothing more than to go home, where it was just the two of them insulated from the outside world.
As soon as they crossed the wards, Harry pulled Sirius against him firmly, and picturing their cottage in the middle of basically nowhere, the huge open kitchen they’d had specially built, the little lake on the property- he Apparated them home.
“You know, you don’t always have to defend me like that.”
It was a while later, both of them had changed into sweats and comfy socks. They were in the kitchen, Harry having just put a Shepherds Pie in the oven, and Sirius prepping the greens for the side. Cooking together was a ritual that had started just after the war, when both of them needed to find something to keep their time (and thoughts) occupied. Harry had been quite adept in the kitchen by that time, having been the unpaid sous chef at the Dursleys thus far, but Sirius was almost completely hopeless in that regard. He’d learnt a little by Mrs. Potter’s side but Azkaban and two wars had effectively nullified that knowledge, making it start from scratch. And it became a thing for them- the hours they spent in the kitchen, Harry patiently teaching the tricks of the trade to Sirius, their exploration of different cuisines, discovering each others’ interests and personalities through their culinary experiments- it was so crucial in developing their relationship further, in making them comfortable around each other. It was their time together, untouched by the chaos of the world outside, and Harry cherished these moments between them. But since they’d gotten home, he could feel the way Sirius kept looking at him every few minutes, considering, something stewing in his mind, and had resolved to wait it out, letting him start the conversation at his own pace. Which he did as soon as got done with the vegetables.
Harry didn’t reply immediately; instead he kept his gaze on the counter he was wiping down. After a short while had passed in silence, where Sirius was looking at him and he was—thinking, he sighed and turned to face the older man, back pressed against the counter.
“I know.”
“But you’ll keep doing it?”
“Whenever it’s in my capacity, yes,” Harry answered simply. He lifted a hand, palm up in invitation and Sirius took it without hesitation, allowing Harry to pull him forward so most of his weight rested on him, their foreheads touching.
“You’re the most important person in my life, Siri, always have been” Harry whispered, eyes running over the handsome face in front of him. All these years and he still wondered how someone as painfully attractive as Sirius could ever be with him, plain old Harry, because despite being over fifty, the man still looked as good (or perhaps better) as he did when he was sixteen. “And that means I’ll do what it takes to have your back, even if it means a confrontation or two.”
“The Weasleys are your family, sweetheart, I don’t want you to have problems with them because of me.” And that was the real issue. Sirius could never fully believe that Harry would always place him first, that he would burn the entire damn world down for him if he had to, without a shred of hesitation.
“Well tough luck, because you’re my priority. Now and always. Everyone else can go suck a dick.”
That startled a laugh out of Sirius, who had been edging into morose at the topic of conversation. He leaned forward to rub his nose against Harry’s, fond and indulgent, “I truly adore you so, baby. I thank my lucky stars every single day I have you in my life.”
Harry bit his lip at the awe and love in his voice, something he could never get used to (and he wished he never would either). As he pressed a kiss to soft lips he knew better than his own at this point, he sent his own quick prayer to whoever was looking over them— he never wanted this moment to end. If he could stay like this forever- wrapped in his lover’s arms, in their house, the whole place smelling like Christmas and happiness and joy- he wouldn’t change a single thing.