DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of it, JK Rowling and associates own all rights, no infringement intended, no money is being made, unfortunately.

STORY: Harry seems to have forgotten all he was taught about keeping vigilant luckily Severus steps in once again to say his neck, leading to some surprises for both.

WARNING; HP/SS Slash, if you do not like do not read remember you have freedom of choice. Reviews appreciated but no flames, as I will trash them.

Ever Vigilant… Not!

Chapter 1

The barroom was filled with a curious mix of people. There were those that looked like they did not have a Knut to their name and those that looked like they belonged in some posh location on the other side of town. The reason for the mix was that the location of the bar made it an obvious choice for the new Auror School and some of its students. The place was dingy with dark booths and a bad paint job but now sported a new band, wood dance floor, and excellent ale. For the time being, it was caught between the past and the present.

'This bar has definitely seen better days, probably in the last century,' Harry thought sitting at a booth in the corner sipping his ale and watching Hermione and Ron dance. Then again, that is why they had picked this particular bar for their celebration. There was just enough of a mix of unusual people that a few more went unnoticed. 'I hope that no notices that it was the Boy Who Killed Voldie and his famous friends having a few drinks' Harry he thought as he took another sip of his ale.

These days it was almost impossible to have a decent night out with out running into rabid fans. They had to take so many precautions that it made it more trouble then it was worth to go out. Harry snickered quietly 'after dealing with notoriety for the past 10 years since discovering the wizarding world they had discovered a few unusual tricks to deceive the casual observer.' A lot of it had to do with attitude and learning how to fade into the background.

Ron had just finished his Auror training coming in first in his class; even beating out Malfoy who came in second to his chagrin. This was actually no surprise since both Ron and Hermione had received the additional training that Harry had during the war. It helped of course that Ron had hit a growth spurt soon after seventh year began as did Harry; Ron stood at least 6'4" in his bare feet, and thanks to his training, had put on some decent muscles. While Harry, barely clearing 6' still had the lean build of a seeker. Most people underestimated his strength due to his size but they only made that mistake once. Harry had used this deceptive helplessness to his advantage more then once.

Ron had insisted that they needed to celebrate with some serious partying. Harry knew that Ron intended to ask Hermione to marry him sometime tonight and could not wait to see Hermione's face.

They had been so very lucky in the war; while they had all lost friends and relatives to the conflict those that he considered his family were still alive. Even that prat Percy had come to his senses and returned to the family in the end.

Taking another sip he looked around at the crowd, just because the war was officially over did not mean they should let down their guard; there were still Deatheaters on the loose. Out of habit, he had already located the exits and clearest paths to them. Stiffening he peered into the far corner of the bar, he thought he saw someone he recognized though why he would be here he did not have a clue. He could not imagine Snape coming to this type of bar. Trying to get a better look, he started to rise when suddenly there was a hand gripping his shoulder. "Harry come dance with me," said Hermione with a smile.

Harry could see Ron making his way to the bar to get more drinks. 'Great some friend he is' he thought bitterly. "Hermione you know I can't dance to save my life" he whined piteously.

Hermione giggled and kept tugging his arm, "Come on Harry, anybody can dance to this music all you have to do is move your feet." She could not help the giggles she knew how much Harry hated dancing but this was a celebration and he was going to dance if she had to hex him into it.

With a martyred sigh, Harry rose to his feet and slowly followed her to his doom. Once on the floor he began to imitate the others around him, due to his training, he was smoother then he looked. Nevertheless, it was obvious to someone watching that dancing was not his forte. Hermione was trying not to laugh, the unseen observer did not bother to hide the chuckle; how someone so graceful in the air could be such a klutz on the ground was beyond her. Thankfully, they switched to a slow dance within a few minutes. As they danced Hermione looked up at him and spoke quietly, "Well Harry when are you going to do something about your life."

"I am going to be teaching at Hogwarts this coming year. Albus offered me the DADA's position. I told you guys that yesterday," Harry replied with a quizzical look.

Hermione gave him her best no nonsense look, "That is not what I meant and you know it. When are you going to do something about Severus?"

Harry looked casually off towards the bar "Ron's on his way back to the table maybe…"

Hermione interrupted "Harry stop it, no stalling you know very well what I mean, now answer the question!"

Harry sighed, "No I haven't said anything to him. I know that we worked together in the war but he still only tolerates me. What am I supposed to do, walk up to him, say I've been in love with you since seventh year, kiss him, and tell him that I want to shag him? You know what he'll do, first he'll laugh, and then he'll hex me into the ground."

Hermione could not help smiling, "You don't know that, Harry. Where's your Gryffindor courage?"

Harry grinned, "What can I say; I'm a chicken at heart."

Hermione smacked him on the shoulder but dropped the subject for the moment. She did not intend to give up though. Harry had been alone for a long time and it was time that he had someone to love. She had seen the way Snape looked at Harry when he was not watching and was sure that he wanted him too. All she had to do was to force Harry to make a move. 'Men' she thought 'they couldn't see what was right in front of them at the best of times and Harry was particularly dense when it came to emotions.'

Making their way back to the table, they all took their seats. Ron spoke up, "So what was Hermione giving you the lecture on mate."

Hermione gave him a mock glare "What makes you think it was a lecture, its not like you could hear from here."

Harry laughed "Nothing in particular just Hermione doing her mother-hen act. So Ron have they given you an assignment yet?" They continued talking about his possible choices and Hermione's new job in the ministry.

Ron gave Harry a nudge and asked Hermione if she would like to step outside for a breath of fresh air. Harry sat back and grinned while he watched them walk out. It was about time they had their happy ending. Looking around he felt relieved so far no one had made the connections between him and Harry Potter. Having his eyes fixed so he no longer needed glasses and only wore clear glass ones when he had to be Harry Potter. Hiding the scar behind some Muggle makeup worked wonders people saw what they wanted to see.

Even over the noise of the band, he heard a loud squeal from outside and knew that Ron had popped the question. Sure enough in a moment, they returned, with Ron grinning from ear to ear and Hermione clinging to his arm while staring at her left hand. When they got close to the table, Hermione launched herself into his arms and gave him a hard hug. Harry hugged her back while shaking Ron's hand.

Ron said, "We are going to tell my parents and hers the good news. Let's go!"

Harry shook his head "No way mate, there are bound to be crying females and loud noises. I think I will just finish my drink and head back to my apartment. I still have a lot of packing to do." After more reassurances, the happy couple left. This was their night and he did not intend to take the spotlight away from them.

With a sigh, Harry decided to call it a night. As he was making his way to the door, he noticed three men sitting at a table in front of him. As he started to walk past one of the men stood up and bumped into him spilling his beer all over him. With loud apologies, the man tried to wipe off Harry's cloak while his two friends laughed uproariously. Harry brushed off the apologies but the man kept insisting drunkenly that he would buy him a drink to make up for his clumsiness. To avoid a scene Harry finally agreed to the drink and the man poured everybody a shot. Seeing the others drink first Harry tossed back the drink and once again started out.

At the back of the bar, the observer was shaking his head as watched the scene unfold some things never changed. How many times had it been pounded into that fool's head about "Constant Vigilance?" Sometimes he wondered if the boy had a brain in his head, laying some money on the bar he decided to do what he did best and step in and save the brat's arse again.

tbc