The next Thursday night, Snape walked down the long, dark staircase from the Great Hall to his bedroom in the dungeons.
Lying in his bed, unable to sleep, Snape noticed for the first time how moldy the dungeons really were. How had he not noticed before?
There was actually mold in here, spreading quickly around the walls of his bedroom. And a thick mist, slowly filling the room.
Snape was well-aware that his room was below the lake, but this was just ridiculous. Tomorrow he would have to talk to Dumbledore about a room transfer. Maybe McGonagall would like sleeping down here for a change.
A figure drifted into the room. One of the Hogwarts ghosts, out for a late-night stroll. It wouldn't be the first time one of them had found their way down here by accident. The ghosts seemed drawn to the dungeon.
"Hey! You! Get out of my room!"
The ghostly figure turned towards him, and for a second Snape was really afraid. This wasn't one of the Hogwarts ghosts. The tall, skeleton-like figure with dark hair hanging down, covering his face, glided towards Snape slowly, bringing with him the mist and the mold.
"I-I-" Snape began, reaching for his wand.
"Are you afraid, Severus Snape? Your time has come…" Despite the seriousness of the spirit's words, the apparition seemed unable to keep from laughing. And Snape recognized that laugh.
"Black?"
The ghost tossed back his hair, revealing Black's laughing face.
"Did I scare you, Snivellus? Did I?"
"You think a ghost would have better things to do, Black."
"Hey, I'm not here by choice. I'm just trying to make the best of my assignment."
"Then why are you here, Black? Last I checked, you were still very dead. I was enjoying it greatly."
"Do I look alive to you, Sniv?" Black passed his arm through the wall and back again, "And I have much better things to do with my afterlife than help Severus Snape get some Christmas Spirit. But it was decided that you needed an old friend to help you."
"We were never friends, Black."
"Hey, I know that. But I was already on another assignment tonight, showing Remus what it would be like if he was never born, and it was decided that while I was down here I should help you out as well. It's not like I'm staying long, anyway. Just here to let you know what to expect tonight."
"Well, as much as I appreciate being kept awake by the ghost of my childhood enemy, I really must be getting to sleep. I've got a detention with Potter tomorrow that I'm really looking forward to."
Black scowled at him. "You are really cruel, aren't you Snivellus? You can't enjoy Christmas yourself, so you take enjoyment out of ruining it for other people."
"Yes, well, at least I'm not dead."
"Yet," Black said darkly.
"Fine, fine, I'll go along with it. Let's see how pathetic your attempts are, Black."
"Three ghosts will be visiting you tonight, Snape. Three- one for Christmas Past, Present, and Future."
And with that, the ghost of Sirius Black faded away.
"Three more ghosts, eh? Let's see how pathetic they will be. If the first is any indication-"
The words died on his lips as a bright light erupted in the center of the room, and out of it stepped an angel. A beautiful angel, with long, red, hair…
"Severus Snape, I am the ghost of Christmas Past."
