Disclaimer: Everything from the Harry Potter universe is the property of J.K. Rowling.
Every year, Albus organises a Secret Santa for the staff. This year, Severus decides to liven up the proceedings...
Secret Santa
15th November 1983
The staff meeting was finally drawing to a close. Severus stifled a yawn, wishing he'd had the foresight to sit further away from the fire. Staff meetings weren't exactly his favourite way to spend time, and the combination of boredom and heat was making him drowsy. But there were only a few decent armchairs in the staff room, and if you didn't want to spend two hours with springs poking into your backside you had to get there early and grab one of the good seats near the fire.
"And now for the final item on the agenda." The headmaster beamed at them all. "Yes, it's that time of year again, and time to pick your recipient for the Secret Santa!" He produced a small red velvet bag from the pocket of his robes.
Severus rolled his eyes. It was only November, for Christ's sake! Was it really necessary to have the so-called festive season shoved down their throats five weeks beforehand? The trouble was that Dumbledore loved celebrations of any kind, and for him Christmas took the biscuit, as preparations could legitimately be started weeks beforehand and the festivities dragged out until the beginning of January. Severus just couldn't see the point in all the fuss. He had never looked forward to Christmas, even as a child, and was now completely indifferent to the whole thing. The only present he ever bought was for the Secret Santa, and he certainly didn't bother decorating his rooms or organising 'Christmas-themed' classes for the students as some of his colleagues did.
Dumbledore was waving his wand over the bag now, and pieces of folded parchment flew out one by one, landing on each staff member's lap. Severus picked up his own and gave it a discreet glance before shoving it into his pocket. Aurora Sinistra. Could have been worse. Last year he had got landed with Binns. What the hell were you supposed to buy for a ghost? Edibles and drinkables weren't options, nor was any kind of apparel. In the end he had settled on a Deluxe Quill from Merryweather's Gifts and Greetings in Diagon Alley, and Binns had seemed pleased enough.
The problem with the Secret Santa was that nearly everyone ended up giving themselves away. The women loved guessing who had bought what for whom, and probably discussed gift ideas amongst themselves beforehand. Last year he had received a truly vile hand-knitted green and silver scarf, presumably supposed to represent his house colours, except that the green was a garish sort of lime and the silver wool sparkled when it caught the light. It had obviously come from Sybill Trelawney, as she had stood about three inches away while he was opening the wretched thing, with a look of hopeful expectation on her face. He had somehow managed to force his features into something akin to a smile and thank her. Then of course she had insisted he put the bloody thing on, and had gone to great pains draping it round his neck and over his shoulders, while Aurora Sinistra and Septima Vector had hysterics in the background.
He now had to come up with a suitable gift for the Astronomy professor, he thought to himself, as he made his way back to his rooms. Still, he supposed women were easier to buy presents for than men. Most women liked chocolates or fancy bubble bath, didn't they? Or perfume. No, not perfume. It was too...personal; more like the sort of gift a husband or lover would buy. He snorted. What the hell did he know about buying gifts for lovers and girlfriends? He had bedded a few women during his Death Eater days, mainly purebloods forced upon him by Voldemort, but since then he had lived a celibate existence down in the dungeons. Although the pain of Lily's death was no longer as fresh and raw as it had been, women were not exactly queueing up outside his door to fulfil his sexual urges.
A slight flush suffused his face as a memory of his seventh year suddenly surfaced. Aurora Sinistra had started teaching at Hogwarts that year, although, as he hadn't studied Astronomy to NEWT level, she had never actually taught him. But she was young and attractive, and had been the subject of much fantasy amongst the male students. One of his dorm mates had somehow got hold of a photograph of her with her long dark hair loose, and had magically superimposed her head onto the nude body of a nubile young witch from an adult magazine.
Slamming the door of his room behind him, Severus decided a cold shower was in order.
15th December 1983
How he hated the Christmas crowds! Diagon Alley was a nightmare at the best of times, but ten days before Christmas it was sheer hell. Still, at least he only had one gift to buy. He should have done it weeks ago, but his hatred of shopping in any form had led him to put off the trip to Diagon Alley as long as possible. He supposed he could have just gone to Hogsmeade, but had no desire for village gossip getting around about the surly young Potions master buying a gift obviously intended for a woman.
He was heading for the other end of the street, having more or less decided to buy Aurora a box of chocolates of some description, when suddenly a small boutique he had never noticed before caught his eye. He hesitated, a grin beginning to form on his lips. Should he? No, it was a totally ridiculous idea. Then again, he could do with a laugh. Voldemort was gone and showed no signs of returning, at least for the moment. And it wasn't as if he couldn't afford it, although technically there was a price range for the Secret Santa that one was supposed to adhere to. Sod it. Why not? If nothing else, it would make Dumbledore's Christmas.
With a smirk on his face, he pushed open the door of the shop.
24th December 1983
"Ah, Severus, dear boy! Glad to see you're on time for once! I was thinking I'd have to come and drag you out of that dungeon of yours!"
"Oh, I wouldn't have missed this for the world, Headmaster," Severus replied, grinning inwardly at the Headmaster's slightly confused expression. Then again, maybe he shouldn't sound too enthusiastic. Dumbledore would be roping him in to help out with the Valentine's Snog Fest and the Easter Bunny Romp at this rate.
"Splendid, dear boy, splendid!" Dumbledore beamed at him and gave him a pat on the back, before turning to greet Filius and Sybill.
Severus had a couple of glasses of punch and a mince pie or two, and made polite conversation with Professors McGonagall and Sprout. From time to time he eyed the large sack of presents in the corner of the room, suppressing a smirk each time. Christ, what was wrong with him? Maybe Albus had slipped him a Get-Totally-Over-Excited-and-Act-Like-An-Idiot-At-Christmas potion on the sly. It couldn't be possible that he was actually looking forward to Christmas presents. Not his own present of course; he had no high expectations there.
He didn't have to wait long. Albus was dragging the sack into the middle of the room.
"Well, who'd like to do the honours? Pomona? Splendid! And I see you've dressed up specially for the occasion."
Professor Sprout, dressed in red velvet robes with a Santa hat in place of her usual witch's hat, delved into the sack and drew out the first present, a book-shaped package. She studied the label.
"Septima!"
Septima Vector stepped forward with a smile to claim her present, which was the latest in a series of murder mysteries she was hooked on. Hardly a surprise choice. She was always reading them in the staff room and trying to get her colleagues hooked too. Filius then received a bottle of good-quality French wine, and Hagrid a cask of mulled mead. Then came the moment Severus had been waiting for.
"Aurora!"
Aurora Sinistra came forward, looking very pretty in plum-coloured off-the-shoulder velvet robes, and took the present from Pomona's hand. She undid the gold bow carefully and removed the blue wrapping paper to reveal a flat silvery-grey box. Severus kept his face impassive as she opened it, pulling aside the folds of silvery tissue paper. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.
"Well, what is it? Let's see, then!" said Septima.
There was a definite flush to Aurora's cheeks now, as she hesitantly held up the sheer black negligée, which would conceal nothing at all when worn, amidst a host of wolf-whistles and lewd comments from the rest of the staff.
"Someone's got a secret admirer, I see!" said Rolanda Hooch with a grin, as she looked at the box. "That's from Lulu's in Diagon Alley, my girl. Doesn't come cheap."
Severus bit back a grin as he watched Aurora try to scan the room surreptitiously looking for signs of who her 'secret admirer' might be. He could almost hear her brain working. Filch, Hagrid, Albus – don't even go there. Filius, my old Head of House – don't go there either. Quirenus – oh, please! He seems to be besotted with that dreadful iguana. Severus – hates Christmas and would never bother with something like this. Let's just hope it was Septima or Rolanda having a laugh at my expense.
Aurora stuffed the offending garment back in its box and looked suspiciously at Septima and Rolanda, who were both convulsed with laughter. Even Minerva couldn't hide a grin.
Gradually the hilarity died down and Pomona delved into the sack of presents again. This time it was Minerva's turn to receive a large tin of her favourite shortbread and then...
"Severus!"
He crossed the room to receive his present, which was wrapped in green paper with a silver bow. He opened it to reveal...a flat, very familiar-looking, silvery-grey box.
Shit!
He lifted the lid as if it were an unexploded Dungbomb. Nestling in the silvery tissue paper was...oh, bloody hell...a pair of black boxer shorts with a small silver serpent embroidered on the front.
Hoist with his own petard!
The room exploded in laughter again.
"Has someone been putting something in the water?" laughed Pomona. "Albus, I'd start questioning the house-elves if I were you!"
Now it was Severus's brain that was working overtime. Who the hell would have bought him something like this? Please, God, don't let it be Trelawney. He shot her a suspicious look, but she had such a shocked expression on her face that Severus ruled her out immediately.
He stuffed the shorts into his pocket.
"Oh come on, Severus, aren't you going to model them for us?" called Rolanda, to more shrieks of laughter.
He gave her a withering look and leaned against the wall, his arms folded, as if daring anyone to comment further. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Albus's amused expression. That was it. Next year he would simply refuse to participate in the Secret Santa and lock himself in his rooms for the entire Christmas period.
The rest of the gift exchange passed uneventfully and soon everyone was crowding around the buffet table helping themselves to the house-elves' Christmas fare. Severus wondered if he could get away with leaving already, although it was barely nine o'clock. Spotting Aurora alone for a moment near the door, he was seized by a sudden fit of madness and swooped down on her, making her gasp with fright as he grasped her bare shoulders.
"I hope it fits," he whispered in her ear. Without waiting for a reply, he made a swift exit and hurried back to his rooms.
About fifteen minutes later Severus heard scratching noises at his living room window, and discovered that a small grey owl was trying to get his attention. He opened the window to admit the bird, and untied the scroll of parchment from its leg.
"Why don't you come to my room and find out?"
His jaw dropped. Bloody hell! He had thought she would be furious with him for embarrassing her in front of the entire staff. The last thing he had expected was a proposition. Then again, he supposed it could be some kind of trick to get him alone so she could hex certain parts of his anatomy off. But the thought of her in that negligée was too much. He'd risk it. Ever since he had been on his little shopping trip, he had been plagued by disturbing dreams of astronomy professors, black negligées, long dark hair spread over pillows, soft, voluptuous flesh... He practically bolted out of the door.
A few minutes later, slightly out of breath from all the stairs in the Astronomy Tower, he was knocking at Aurora's door. It swung open at his touch.
The main living room was dark and unoccupied, but a faint chink of light was visible from under the door on the other side of the room, which obviously led to the bedroom. He sealed the main door behind him with a spell and crossed the room, his heart thudding with anticipation. Would she really be waiting for him ready and willing and scantily clad behind that door, or was he about to be hexed into oblivion.
She was over the other side of the room, leaning against the wall. The shadows made it difficult to discern what she was wearing, but he could definitely make out the outline of a wand being raised to point straight at him.
Damn. So, no Christmas canoodling in store for him this year. He would have to remember to write it on his Christmas list next year.
"So, you think you can get away with that sort of little trick, do you?" said Aurora softly.
She stepped forward into the light, and his eyes widened. As he drank in the sight of her voluptuous body, barely concealed by the thin fabric of the negligée, she flicked her wand at him, reducing him to the same state of undress.
"Oh, but you're not wearing my present. What a shame!"
He gaped at her. "You were responsible for that?"
"For an intelligent wizard, you can be incredibly dense sometimes, you know." She smiled, seeing his look of confusion. "No, I didn't think the subtle hints were getting through, somehow."
"Are we just going to stand around in our underwear talking at cross purposes all night?"
"I can get dressed if you prefer."
"Oh no." In a flash he was across the room, arms snaking around her and hips pressing against hers. He felt her shiver. There was no way she was escaping him now.
"So, am I to understand you've been dreaming of this moment for some time?" He smirked.
"Perhaps. Although I didn't think I'd have to go to such drastic lengths to get your attention," she whispered, her hands tracing the contours of his back and coming to rest on his buttocks.
"I promise you, you now have my undivided attention." His mouth sought hers and she responded hungrily, as he slowly slid the negligée from her shoulders, letting it pool at her feet. She was every bit as beautiful as he had imagined and she didn't seem at all disappointed with what he had to offer, either. He had a brief moment of uneasiness as her fingers traced the faded mark on his arm, but she made no comment, leading him instead to the bed and pushing him backwards onto the crisp white eiderdown. Her pupils were hugely dilated and he didn't need Legilimency to read the desire in her eyes.
A while later, as he lay breathless and sweating in Aurora's arms, Severus couldn't remember the last time he had felt so completely relaxed and at peace. He nuzzled her neck lightly. "Tell me, why haven't we done this before now?"
Aurora laughed. "Well, I have to say it was worth the wait. Just promise me I won't have to wait until next Christmas to do it again."
"Well, I could maybe make some time around Easter if you're interested." He chuckled as she slapped him on the backside.
"You get twenty minutes maximum to recover. You're only twenty-three, for goodness' sake!"
As he rolled over to pin a squealing Aurora to the bed once more, Severus thought that maybe he could get to like Christmas after all.