Author: GrapeSmshr
Rated: PG13, just in case
Coupling: HP/SS slashy goodness
Disclaimer: Potter and Snape belong to JKR, but Harry and Sev belong to my heart...
A/N: I sooooo had to do a holiday fic. It just called to me, it did. I must say that I'm quite excited about this fic, too. I'm going to attempt to have it done before Christmas, but I make no promises. Anyway, without further ado, read on and enjoy!
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Chapter 1: Confronting
It may have been a coincidence. It may have been fate. It may very well have been a conspiracy.
No parties involved had the guts to chalk it up to a Christmas miracle.
What started out as an innocent Christmas activity, a humorous and uplifting event, quickly spiraled out of control and into utter chaos. The plan may have been started out as a concoction of Albus Dumbledore's and Harry Potter's, but it quickly grew a life of its own. There was laughing, crying, screaming, hugging, accusing...
And, of course, snogging. Lots of it.
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Harry Potter's seventh year was practically flying by. Before he knew it, the month of December was upon him, which signaled the much anticipated winter break.
Because it would be their last chance to spend nonacademic time together, the majority of the seventh years decided to stay at Hogwarts for the break. Such a thing had always been a safety hazard before, but with the fall of the Dark's terroristic attempts to reign, such an event was now possible.
And Harry couldn't have been more thrilled.
He was quite used to staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, giving halfhearted goodbyes to all of his friends as they left to join their families. He had long since stopped wallowing over the fact that his only blood relatives were a group of ill-conceived Muggles who could give Merlin's left ear about him. His friends had quickly become his real family.
And spending Christmas with his family would be the best gift ever.
So joyous in the holiday spirit was he that, wanting to share his good cheer, he met with the headmaster and devised plans for several festive activities for students and staff alike to partake in. Upon announcing this to said hopefully willing participants, the reactions had been magnanimously positive.
So set into motion many hours of brainstorming and planning by Harry and the headmaster as to the best ways to pull off said activities. They would all be voluntary, of course. Nothing was worse than having holiday cheer forced upon oneself. The second issue was a matter of having professors chaperone each activity, if not for their input and guidance then for the lookout of potential conflicts. Some professors were happy to oblige. Some had to be... persuaded into their chaperoning duties. Either way, each activity was accounted for.
Harry could hardly contain his excitement. He was keeping the activities secret, except from Ron and Hermione, whom he was never successfully able to withhold secrets from. Most students--even Slytherins, though they showed muted enthusiasm-- he talked to were quite excited to find out what the hols would have in store for them.
Currently Harry was in the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione. They had gone to lunch early to finalize the schedule for the next day's activities. Taking advantage of the expanse of empty space, the three took turns casting their newly constructed spells on one another.
As the heavy doors swung open with a resounding echo, Hermione cast a banishing spell on the mess they had made as the three scrambled to sit down at the one lone table that stretched across the center of the Hall.
Stalking into the room, Professor Snape cast a cursory glance around the Hall and, upon sighting the trio, scowled in their general direction. Seating himself at the opposite end of the table, he demanded, "Coffee." A steaming mug appeared on the table in front of him, which he drank generously from.
Gaping, Ron asked incredulously, "That's all it took to get service around here?" He then proceeded to string off a list of foods, growing more determined when nothing appeared on the table in front of him. All the while, Harry and Hermione, who were aware that only school authority figures could call food to themselves, were shaking with silent laughter.
Eyes casually falling upon the Potions Master, Harry's smile softened at the triumphant yet amused smirk that was aimed at Ron. As his attention was turned to Harry, the obsidian eyes darkened, the brooding stare accompanied by a scowl.
Harry only continued to smile at the man, a knowing glint in his eyes. Finally he turned his gaze to his arguing friends, all the while keeping his thoughts on a certain someone whose eyes Harry could feel upon him.
The Hall began to fill up with other students and professors, and soon lunch was served. They chatted amiably amongst themselves, spending time between bites discussing the upcoming holiday activities but not asking Harry outright, as they knew from prior attempts that the wizard would remain relentless in his secret keeping.
After a filling lunch, Harry excused himself to attend to a few minor details for the next day. He made it as far as the moving staircases before he finally acknowledged the person stealthily following behind him. "Was there something I could help you with, Professor?" Harry asked calmly, slowly turning around to meet the subtly flustered gaze.
Snape was still thrown by Harry's uncanny ability to identify his presence even when facing the opposite direction. It appeared to have been a talent that Harry acquired from the final battle, a talent which both unnerved and intrigued Snape.
Eyeing the teen shrewdly, he answered, "I demand to know what plebeian, asinine antics you will have us participating in."
"I apologize, sir, but I cannot reveal that," was Harry's apparently unsatisfactory answer.
Snape bristled, narrowing his eyes as he ground out, "I am a professor, and as a figurehead and a chaperone, I order you to tell me at once."
With a genuinely apologetic but unyielding smile, Harry crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded the man contemplatively. He knew that if he even considered telling Snape, which he absolutely would not, then he would lose a chaperone then and there. And Harry wasn't about to let a vital part of his plan collapse. "I have not informed the other chaperones, but they have all still agreed to help out. I won't do anything to compromise your integrity as a figurehead. Much," he added after a thoughtful pause.
"Potter..." Snape said warningly.
"Sorry, sir, but my lips are sealed."
"Oh, I can find a way to unseal them."
"Really, now?" Harry drawled interestedly, taking a step forward and raising his eyebrows in what could be interpreted by any passersby--or Potions Master--as a suggestive expression.
Flustered by the bold statement and possible innuendo, Snape did the only thing he could think of to do: get angry. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your cheekiness!"
"But it's a holiday!" Harry protested.
"I don't care!" he snarled, knowing full well that his threat was empty--Albus had forbade the taking of House points over the holiday break, after all--but Harry didn't need to know that.
With a satisfied smirk, the man stalked off down the hallway.
Shaking his head, Harry stepped onto the staircase just as it began to shift. As he was moved in the opposite direction of the snarky man, be called out loudly, "A good day to you, too!"
And he would need a good day. Come tomorrow, the normally reclusive man would be so immersed in Christmas joy that he would be wishing he could actually drown in it. Harry chuckled to himself. It was definitely going to be a holiday to remember.
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Oh, I do so love the beginnings of slashy undertones! Sev won't know what hit him. Or I guess he will... but that's for another chapter. Anyway...
Please review! I do so love to hear your thoughts, and encouragement is quite the motivator, especially since I'm now working 40 hours weeks and all that jazz. I'm going to try to get these chapters up frequently, but it may take a while. Aside from the working, I'm also planning my birthday celebration (on Dec 17, which I'm sure you all wanted to know) and getting ready for X-mas. Funfun!
For anyone reading Born to Be Wild or Misnomer, those two may be on hiatus while I scramble to finish up this one for the holiday. So, sorry about that! But ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Until next chapter, then. Peace out!