Harry stood on the steps to the castle, waving off the students as was his duty as a professor. He had wanted to ride home on the train one last time, but had been given an acceptable ultimatum in place of this. Severus had agreed to go with him to visit the Weasley's, who wanted to help him celebrate a good first year, this evening. It would be the first time they told anyone about their relationship, and Harry was really looking forward to it. He was nervous as hell, too, but right now he was more excited than anything.

When the last of the carriages had vanished out of sight, Harry turned with the rest of the professors to go back inside. He happened to glance down as he moved up the steps, and there he saw a folded slip of parchment. Assuming it was some student's list of friend addresses for owling, he picked it up and unfolded it to see if he could discern the owner by the names on the page. He was surprised to find it blank. Flipping it over, he saw no writing on the back. He turned it over again only to discover that a familiar scrawl had begun to spread across the page.

Snoop.

I spelled this note so only you can find or read it. I know you're anxious about telling your family of the recent developments in our relationship. I have a surprise for you that might help to calm your mind. To receive this surprise, you must follow the clues in the notes I've hidden around the castle. Good luck, Mister Potter.

Cleverly yours,

Severus Snape

Your first clue is this:

Amongst us you may walk, but upon us you cannot trod.

Through the looking glass you can see the work of God.

Harry smiled fondly at the note. In the month they'd been together, he'd come to find that his lover was every bit the romantic that he pretended he wasn't. Curious what the man could be up to, he hurried up the steps of the castle and through the Entrance Hall. He was stopped before he could reach the Grand Staircase.

"Harry, dear." The Gryffindor turned to see his smiling former Head of House. "Where are you off to?"

Harry blushed. "Nowhere special." He and Severus had agreed to wait until after they'd spent the summer away to expose their relationship to the rest of the staff. Even so, Minerva eyed him knowingly.

"Well, you're headed 'nowhere' awfully quickly," She crooned. "If you've nothing to be doing, would you like to join me for tea in my office? I've just ordered some fantastic chocolate biscuits from Switzerland."

"Uh," Harry struggled to find a reasonable excuse. "That sounds awfully tempting, Profes-Minerva, but I've still got some packing to do before I leave for the summer. I put it off, since I knew I wasn't going to be on the train, but I should really get it done. I've got to be at the Weasley's in just a few hours."

Harry could swear he saw a twinkle in the murky green eyes of the Deputy Headmistress. "Of course, Harry. But, we will have to have tea more often, now that you're one of us stuffy old professors. You run along."

Harry grinned with relief and gratitude. "You bet, ma'am. If I don't see you later, have a great summer."

"You, too, dear." She definitely just winked at him before walking away.

Shrugging off the encounter (he would have to tell Severus that she almost certainly knew), Harry headed up the marble stairs to the Grand Staircase. His grin returned as he raced up the steps. He had a note to find.