Severus's eyes flickered around the room wondering who exactly had believed it to be a good idea to invite him to the little Christmas gift exchange between the remaining residents in Hogwarts. Severus admitted that he didn't really mind buying the gift, usually a simple box of whatever was in Honeydukes sufficed, for whoever he had received that year. Student and teacher alike were fond of sweets, after all, and the fear he could see lurking within the back of the students' eyes were enough to lift his mood.
Perhaps that was the only reason he was here, because the invitation was certainly not convincing enough. It hadn't been in previous years. The Christmas celebration hadn't seen hide or hair of Severus Snape since he had joined the teaching staff too many years ago.
A good Christmas, in Severus's opinion, was a day with just him and his potions and, perhaps…
She entered the room with little ceremony, slipping through the doors and joining the nearest conversation as if she had always been there. There were no cheers that regaled her entrance like there were for Albus, Minerva, or Filius - even Pomona had received a smattering of applause – but Severus spotted her immediately. Severus didn't understand why no one else did: it was extremely difficult to miss the woman and her golden eyes.
Rolanda Hooch.
Severus had been given her name on a small piece of parchment three weeks ago, and had been stuck for a gift. A thoughtless box of sweets somehow didn't seem sufficient as a gift for Rolanda. She deserved more than that, much more, and Severus had found himself, for the first time, having to search for a Christmas gift.
The search had been frustratingly fruitless for the first week. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, a haystack as large as London that is. It had been shop after shop in Diagon Alley, then each day was another section of muggle London. Severus had never spent such a long time out of Hogwarts during the Christmas season than he had in the last three weeks.
He saw it in a shop he had skipped right next to the apothecary. It was a small shop filled with odds and ends that were lumped together into messy piles on the counters and in boxes. Severus didn't know how the tiny glittering snitch had caught his attention from within the shadowy shop, but it had, and Severus knew that it was perfect for Rolanda.
And, so, he had bought it without second thought. The fact that it cost him nearly triple of what he usually paid for these gifts didn't matter, because this was a beautiful gift and the only fitting gift for the receiver.
It was enchanted, the woman at the counter explained to him, and would recognise the first person who touched it with their bare skin just like a real snitch. Severus marvelled at the fact that the little pendent had yet to be touched by naked flesh, but grateful nevertheless. It was as if the pendent had simply been waiting there for him to pick it up. Severus had been careful not to touch it as he placed the precious gift into the box, and wrapped it, before calling for the owl that would deliver it with only a short "Merry Christmas" scribbled on the top.
The owls would be here any moment now. They were the elves that delivered anonymous gifts. Albus had tried to get the elves to deliver the gifts once, but they hadn't been able to keep the sender anonymous and had sprouted out whoever had sent the gift after a mere question, before busting into tears upon realising their mistake. Severus knew because the house elf that had delivered his gift to him that year had done exactly that, screaming "bad elf!" the entire time.
The screeching of owls caused the conversations to die down immediately. Everyone's eyes flew toward the source of the noise, and the cloud of owls swept into the hall. Every so often an owl would sweep down and drop a package before a student or professor, receiving a small smile in return. There was no telling if they would like the gift, after all.
There was no telling if Rolanda would like her gift, and suddenly doubts began to creep into Severus's mind. What if she didn't like it? Who's to say that he even vaguely knew what Rolanda liked? Severus really didn't want his gift to be one of the many failed Christmas presents that he had heard of over the years.
The package dropped in front of Rolanda, and Severus had to pull up his occlumency shields to prevent himself from looking too worried. It wouldn't do for Rolanda to know that it was him that had sent the gift. A well-practiced sneer covered the worry that Severus felt, and he turned to face the students once again, but he could still see Rolanda out the corner of his eye.
A package landed before Severus but he didn't bother acknowledging it as he watched Rolanda glance at the short message before opening her gift. She wasn't the only one to do so. All over the hall there were people tearing at the wrapping around their gift, and gasps of surprise filled the hall.
Severus was just waiting for one reaction. One reaction that would make or break his Christmas whether he would like to admit it or not.
The startled gasp was louder than he'd expected it to be, giving him the perfect opportunity to glance in Rolanda's direction with feigned disinterest.
Rolanda had scooped the necklace up, holding it as if it were brittle glass. It shone in the candlelight: Severus had made sure to clean it with magic before he had wrapped it. It looked like something that had been only recently crafted, Severus noted with satisfaction.
"Thank you, Severus," Rolanda called with a smile.
Had Severus's occlumency shields not been up, he would have spluttered at the fact that she knew it was him. Severus had been certain that there hadn't been the slightest hint of emotion to give him away…
"How did you know?"
"I would recognise that spidery handwriting anywhere."
Written for Carmen!
This pairing is one I haven't written before, but I know you enjoy it so I decided to try it anyway!
I hope you enjoyed it! :D