Fellowship & Fairydust

Severus tossed and turned in his sleep until he was woken by a loud noise. He sat up in his bed, and the rumble continued until he finally got up and looked around his dungeon in search of the source.

“I’d truly appreciate it if you would just show your bloody self!” he snarled. “It’d save us a lot of trouble!”

What was the point of all this? He just wanted to go to sleep. What did they really expect to come from it?

The rumble stopped, and someone fell from the sky, landing hard on their side.

When the person stood up, Severus rolled his eyes. “I should have known.”

Hagrid dusted off his clock and decided to not say something rude. “Severus Snape, I’m the Ghost of Christmas Present,” the ghost said. “Touch my robe, if you will.”

Hesitantly Severus touched the robe and groaned when he found himself in the Gryffindor common room.

“I bought Dobby socks,” said Harry Potter, amused.

“Really?” inquired Ginevra Weasley.

“Well, you know he’ll appreciate them,” Harry said.

“Harry, you could give that elf a blank piece of parchment, and he’d still worship it,” said Ronald Weasley. “You’re like Merlin to him.”

“Oh, come on, Ron!” Harry said, giving his friend a playful punch on the arm.

Eventually, the conversation turned to a different subject.

“Does Snape seem moodier than usual?” Harry inquired.

“Slightly,” said Hermione. “I figured that it had something to do with the holidays.”

“I wonder why he hates Christmas so much?” Harry said.

“Who cares?” replied Ron. “The greasy git hates everything.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” said Hermione. “There’s got to be something.”

“Doubt it,” said Ron.

“Come on, Ron,” said Harry. ” Thanks to the Dursleys, I never enjoyed the holidays before I came to Hogwarts. Snape must have some sort of reason.”

Was Potter actually defending him? As much as he’d hate to admit it, the boy was right. He had many reasons why he hated the holidays. They’d never been any good. If his father hadn’t found a way to ruin it, then he’d done so himself by ruining things with Lily.

“Are you really defending him, mate?” said Ron. “He’s horrible to you.”

“Look, I have no lost love for Snape, and he has none for me,” replied Harry. “I know that, but it doesn’t mean I can’t recognise that he’s still human.”

“Are you okay, mate?” asked Ron.

“I’m fine, Ron, honestly,” assured Harry. “Don’t get me wrong. I still think he’s a foul git, but nobody’s born bitter. Something must have happened to make him that way.”

“I think you’re right, Harry,” said Hermione. “Something probably made him that way.”

At that, Ron huffed.

“Believe it or not, I was actually looking forward to potions, before that first class,” said Harry. “I do like the subject, just not the method of instruction.”

“I still can’t believe you were yelled at for taking notes,” said Ron. “It was really unfair.”

“The brat wasn’t paying attention,” Severus muttered to himself as he observed the scene.

“Actually, he was taking notes,” replied Hagrid. “He was writing down exactly what you were saying. He just never had much practice with a quill and had to concentrate on making it legible.”

“He…,” started Severus.

“Silence,” ordered Hagrid.

“Let’s just let it go,” Harry was saying. “It’s Christmas Eve, after all.”

The group nodded.

“Are you guys looking forward to the ball tomorrow?” asked Ginny.

“I am,” Hermione said with a smile.

“It should be interesting,” Harry grinned. “I don’t exactly dance, but as a champion, I have to go first.”

“You’ll be fine, Harry,” said Ginny.

“I’m glad you’re taking Neville, Ginny,” said Harry. “He’s really excited. I hardly ever see him so excited about something.”

“I’m glad, too,” said Ginny. “Neville’s great.”

Hagrid decided they had seen enough then. “Let’s move on,” he said. “Touch my robe.”

Severus did so, this time without hesitation, and the scene changed again.

He found himself at the Burrow, and he frowned intently. The Weasleys were poor, thanks to the size of their family and the pitiful funding that the office where Arthur worked received, but they had never seemed to care. Why was he here?

Outside it was sleeting, but it was warm and cheerful inside of the quaint house in Ottery St. Catchpole. They had each other, and in spite of everything, they seemed… happy. They always had done, come to think of it. They seemed determined to make the best of everything despite their worries. Several of their children were at Hogwarts, but they had a couple of friends over from the Order, and it seemed that two of the older children had come home for Christmas.

“My favourite thing about Christmas is the fact that it brings family together like this,” said Hagrid quietly, grinning to himself as they watched the little family celebrating.

“What is the point of us being here?” questioned Severus.

“Just listen,” retorted Hagrid.

“A toast to Professor Snape!” said Molly, her voice cutting off Severus’ looming snarky remark and making him turn back to the scene in surprise.

“Snape? Why, Snape?” asked Charlie indignantly. “He hasn’t done anything for us, has he?”

“He helped in the War, and if anyone needs a dose of Christmas cheer, it’s that man,” said Molly stubbornly.

“He’s a foul git! Ow!” cried Charlie, and he rubbed the back of his head where his mother had just smacked him.

“It’s true. He is very unkind,” said Molly. “But it’s Christmas, and we should try to forgive him, at least for today.”

“All right, then. To Professor Snape, may he have a happy Christmas and long life,” said Arthur.

The family all solemnly raised their glasses together.

“Well, that’s that then,” said Percy brightly, and the family returned to their former good cheer once again.

Severus was completely silent, determinedly ignoring the spirit standing at his side. Hagrid stared intently at him, and then sighed, “One last thing before I go… do take this seriously.”

Moments later, the scene around Severus faded, and he found himself once again back in his rooms at Hogwarts.

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