Severus' Christmas with the Evans
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I own the Harry Potter Series.
They'd just finished putting the firewood by the fire when Marigold popped her head into the hall. "Richard wants to speak to you, Severus. He's in his study."
Severus only had to take one look at his current companion before he was walking to the study as fast as his legs could carry him.
He had almost arrived when raised voices caught his attention
"Dad, I know what I'm doing!" Lily said, her voice near to shouting. "And it's not like I'm doing it alone. Some of my other housemates are joining too."
"You may know, but I certainly don't!" Richard thundered back. "You haven't told me anything about them, other than it's some group created by your teacher, who, let me remind you, I have not met." His voice softened. "Look, I just want you to be safe. Can you at least tell me what they will be doing?"
Lily and her father arguing? Severus' brain almost fried at the thought. Lily was… well, it said a lot that one of the things he disliked the most about her was how she refused to write off Potter as an attention-seeking asshole, saying that there was good in everyone. Meanwhile, the only time he'd ever heard Richard raise his voice in anger was the time some of Severus' accidental magic hurt Petunia, and the man had even apologized for that! What was this group though? He tried to think what it might be - a dueling club under Flitwick maybe?
"I'm sorry," Lily said sadly, "but I just can't. You'll just have to trust me."
Richard snorted. "What have they taught you in that school of yours that you can't give your own father a straight answer?"
"Dad, you're overreacting."
"Until you can answer my question, young lady, this conversation is over."
Lily growled, and a moment later the study door was thrown open as she stormed out.
Severus tried to look like he'd just arrived, moving toward her as if he hadn't been standing there like a lump for the last minute. "H-hey, Lily."
She glanced at him and sighed. "Sorry you had to hear that, Sev."
Busted. Trying to pretend his face wasn't heating up, Severus copped to what she said. "What's your father mad about angry about? Usually, you're -" a total Daddy's Girl, "close. Very close."
She shrugged, offering a wan smile. "Don't worry about it. He's worried about this club I'm wanting to join. You know, being the overprotective dad."
Severus had never experienced that himself, but he knew of the 'overprotective parent' affliction from many of his housemates, so he nodded along. "It's not very good, is it?"
"Well, it is and it isn't," she said, making about as much sense as mud. She smiled, but it didn't meet her eyes. "I really need to go help mum in the kitchen again - dinner's almost ready."
"Alright…"
She started to walk away, but only took only three steps before turning back, "I didn't get to say this earlier," she smiled once more, a real one this time, "but I'm glad you came, Sev."
Severus' face heated up again and words became vague concepts in the mush he called his brain. Finally, he managed to stutter out, "T-thank you. Me too."
It was to Lily's back though as she disappeared around the corner.
Ugh. He always seemed to find the wrong words at the right time and the right words at the wrong time. What was it about her that always got him tongue-tied? He shook his head at himself.
Regardless though, he had someone to meet.
The study was almost a misnomer, Severus thought as he stepped inside. It had once been a small storage room or cupboard under the stairs but from what Lily told him, her father was a clerk of some sort and brought work home sometimes. For lack of better alternatives, a small desk had been squashed in the back of this little room, just under the low ceiling, so now it was the study.
Mr. Evans had made it his own though, with a high-backed chair for him to sit at, a single bookshelf bolted to the wall on one side under which laid an old record player that would play Muggle tunes with only the slightest scratching from overuse. There was just enough room for one or two other people to stand before his desk, but there were no other chairs.
"So how are you doing today?" Richard said with a smile from behind the desk. The man was massaging his forehead though, and the smile didn't quite meet his eyes.
"I'm well," Severus said cautiously. He didn't want to get in the middle of a fight between Lily and her dad. "You called for me?"
Richard frowned a moment in thought before nodding. "That's right I did… but Lily already helped me with that."
"Oh."
"But since you're here, would you mind indulging an old man's curiosity?"
Severus raised an eyebrow at that. An old man? Richard wasn't even that far into his forties. Still, he supposed it couldn't hurt to humor him - even if Lily didn't want to tell her father something, it was unlikely Severus knew anything about it. "What would you like to know?
Richard steepled his hands in front of him, before saying, "I want to know about the man you folks call 'Voldemort'."
Severus' mouth fell open and he stared uncomprehendingly at the man before him. Voldemort? Why, why, why would Richard Evans want to ask him about the Dark Lord? Hell, how would he even know about him unless - Lily! A month after what had happened and Richard was asking about Voldemort? It couldn't be a coincidence, could it?
"Severus?"
Severus looked at him but detected no duplicitousness from the man, so finally, he said, "He is a very powerful wizard, why?"
Richard's expression clouded and his lips quirked into a rueful smile. "Lily told me a little about him, but she is always so concerned when she talks to me, like I'm too old and frail to take the blow. I wanted to get it straight, and at least you won't try to protect my 'fluttering nerves'."
Severus thought quickly. Sounding too proud of the Dark Lord wouldn't go over well if Lily ever heard about it, but he didn't know what Lily had told him, so sounding too critical was hardly a good idea either, "The Dark Lord," he said slowly, "is one of the most powerful wizards of all time, with only a few coming close. He has aims to change the wizarding world, but to do so has taken steps and courted those of an extreme bent. Some say he wants the best for the world, but others say that his only goal is to strengthen himself. The latter call him a dark wizard."
There, that sounded about right. Severus thought. It was relative and expressed opinions, but not Severus' own.
"That's... hmm, thank you," Richard said, steepling his hands in front of his face as he considered what Severus had said. "Now, I also wanted -"
"Dinner!" came Marigold's call, echoing through the house.
Both men looked at each other before Richard smiled. "Seems I'll have to save my questions for later. Thank you for indulging an 'old man's' curiosity though, Severus."
Christmas Dinner at the Evans family consisted of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding swimming in gravy with a bunch of greens, roasted brussels sprouts, salad, and all the eggnog one could drink, albeit alcohol-free.
Neither Richard nor Lily were impolite, but if one was paying attention, they'd notice that neither went out of their way to associate with one another. Petunia had narrowed eyes throughout the meal, sometimes aimed at Severus, sometimes at Lily, and a few times even at her parents.
Severus kept to himself mostly though, save for when Lily and he were talking. He definitely didn't want to get in the middle of Lily and Richard's argument, especially when he'd probably have to deal with whatever nuisance Petunia had planned.
Dinner went by slowly, with the air of a bomb snugly nestled under the kitchen table, ready to go off at any moment.
Yet somehow though they made it through without an explosion and the end of it found Severus helping Lily do the dishes. Marigold had been against the guest helping, but Severus had insisted that he really, truly wanted to help them. By them of course, he meant Lily.
"So what's next?" Severus asked as he wiped down a plate Muggle-style. "We eat the cookies, hang out by the fire, then go to bed?"
"You'll just have to wait and find out," Lily said with a sunny smile.
"There isn't anything bad, is there?"
"You'll just have to wait and find out."
Severus gave her as stern a look as he could manage - which wasn't much. "You're teasing me."
"You'll just have to wait and -"
He flicked some suds at her.
Lily ducked as a series of giggles escaped her. When she'd successfully escaped his dastardly onslaught, her grin was wider than ever though. "Okay, that may have been called for. I'm being serious though. It's a surprise, so don't ask me to spoil it."
"You know how I don't like surprises," Severus bellyached.
"Trust me, it will be fun."
Fun for Muggles, he wanted to say, and probably would have said to anyone other than Lily. He understood that the Evans family were being nice… well, they were being nice, save for Petunia. Still, after seeing what the Malfoys were capable of when they'd invited the poor half-blood to join them for the holidays, he wasn't expecting much. The evening hadn't been too bad so far, and it was Lily, so he let the moment pass.
Soon enough, Lily went upstairs to change into more appropriate attire, then he was called to the living room. It looked like the Evanses had done a bit of rearranging, as they'd dragged five chairs from the dining room into a circle, underneath that little Christmas Tree. Across from them, the fireplace burned merrily away, with what looked like five oversized red socks hanging from atop it.
When Lily came down, it was in a green dress that revealed very little of her chest and curves, going down past her knees. It wasn't the most flattering thing he'd seen her wear, but it was just the right shade to bring out her eyes and drew his attention to the mischievous grin she wore.
She chose a spot for herself in front of the tree, beside her mother. "Come on, Sev," She patted the seat beside her. "Sit down, you doofus."
Marigold nodded down at the chair but otherwise said nothing. The smile on her face had thinned a little though.
Wondering if Petunia had gotten to her or he'd offended her somehow, Severus took the seat Lily had guided him to.
Shortly after, Richard sat down on Severus' other side, Petunia following behind him. Her eyes narrowed at his presence, but she took the seat between her parents, jerking her chair back to avoid contact with his 'filth'.
"Alright, let us begin," Richard said, before pulling out a well-worn tome from the shelf beside him.
He thumbed through the pages with practiced ease before clearing his throat. "We'll begin with a Bible reading. Isaiah, chapter…"
Although he had his misgivings - what on earth was a Bible? - Severus remained silent and listened.
Richard had a soft voice that could easily have been forgotten in the background, but with everyone silent, it was almost like the story was whispering itself to Severus. It was the tale of a child blessed from long before he was born, and how a terrible king had forced his soon-to-be parents to traverse across Israel and had no choice but to have him in a stable for lack of places to rest.
The king was hunting them and their child, a major event because the child was destined to rule over all or something.
It was some sort of religious thing, Severus decided. He'd heard of some of the wizarding religions before, worshipped gods and goddesses, although he'd never been too interested. This sounded a lot like that, although he supposed it could also have been the result of some wizards getting involved.
Still, the story was well-told and he waited with some curiosity to hear the results of the revolution the child would create when he grew up.
Richard ended the story at the child's birth but said that the child went on to be called the prince of peace.
Severus wondered how the child's great destiny became something about peace. The world needed violence to change it, not peace and good-will.
It would be nice though. Between the Marauders, his father, the Death Eaters, Hogwarts, and the Wizarding World as a whole, there never seemed to be much peace nowadays. The last time had been after Grindlewald fell, before Severus had even been born.
He sighed, leaning back into his chair, a sense of tranquility coming over him. He was beside Lily on Christmas Eve. Yes it was a Muggle Christmas gathering, but it wasn't too bad, and one difference from the Malfoy's or even Hogwarts was that he didn't have to watch his back for knives - as much as he and Petunia despised one another, neither would try to truly harm the other. Drive one another out of their lives? Yes. Hurt? No.
Finally, Richard closed the bible with a smile. "Now, let's move on to the second reading tonight. Severus," he said, "As you're the guest, would you like to start?"
Petunia muttered under her breath, glaring daggers at Severus.
Severus resisted the urge to smirk at Petunia, but only barely. "Of course, sir. I would love to."
But rather than handing Severus the Bible he had been reading from, Richard offered him a thin book with a cover showing a snowy landscape and star-filled night. The title read 'The Night Before Christmas'.
"Just start on the first page," Richard said
Severus opened it up to see a book of colorful pictures, with only a few lines of text per page, and only twenty pages at most.
Severus stared dumbly at it. It was a damned children's book. He'd underestimated the Muggles apparently, thinking them incapable of mockery and trickery, then they give him a children's book to read. Petunia had gotten to them first.
"Come on, Sev," Lily said, squeezing his shoulder.
Severus narrowed his eyes at her but finally he began to read. "'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse…"
Was this some sort of humiliation, to make up for their anger over what happened? Lily and him had spent months arguing over his friends, her mad over their dark magic, their bullying ways, and how they were going to join the Dark Lord, him over her support of the Marauders while refusing to give his friends the slightest chance, a battle waged with long diatribes and snide remarks, lasting from almost the start of his fourth year until the beginning of sixth year -
"When on the rooftop there arose such a clatter!"
Severus started. He'd said that, yes, but it hadn't been him alone. Lily had joined in. He stared at her, his reading halted for the moment.
"Go on," she said, her face an embarrassed pink, "sometimes we like to chime in."
Severus gave her a look but continued reading.
This time though, he was not alone. Although only he had the book in front of him to read, first one sentence, then another and another had someone joining in, reading the same words he was with a smile of their own. Even Petunia didn't have her usual glare, chiming in at something about reindeer.
He kept reading.
"Ooh, here's the best part, " Lily said, before the entire Evans family joined in on 'He had a broad face and a round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly!', their voices loud and hammy as they each seemed to top each other in their recitations, even Petunia making a voice like an old man.
When they finished the line, they all giggled, Lily wiping a tear from her eyes. "Sorry Sev," she said, "please continue."
He did, looking from one to the other out of the corner of his eye in confusion. This wasn't humiliation - if it were, why would they humiliate themselves? - no, he wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't seem bad.
As he continued the story, there were a couple more moments where they recited along with him, but not all at once until the end when they said, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
Severus had an oddly warm feeling in his chest as he set the book down.
"Good job, Severus!" Lily said, squeezing his shoulder.
Richard joined in. "Very much so. Lily told me that you would make an excellent radio speaker, but I see she was understating it if anything. You could melt butter with that voice. Almost like how Grandpa Evans did it," he smiled at Severus, "Sitting right in that chair like you are now."
"What was he like?" Severus asked, curious in spite of himself.
Lily smiled. "Grandpa Evans? Well, he was a skinny man, not too tall," she looked him over, "actually, maybe even shorter than you now. But he had this air about him sometimes, the kind that makes you stop and listen, and never was it bigger than when he'd read the book you did just now, Severus."
Petunia snorted. "Hardly. Oh your voice was… decent, I suppose," she looked ill at the thought of having given Severus a compliment, "but Grandpa Evans brought that story to life."
Marigold said, "Severus said it nicely too, yet Grandpa Evans was good too."
"He was so serious," Lily said, "yet whenever it was his turn to get to read, nobody could keep a straight face." She smirked before turning toward her sister. "Petunia has that skill too."
"I do not! I happen to have an excellent reading voice if you must know."
"Shame it's my turn next year," Lily's smirk widened and her eyes danced.
But it was Petunia's turn to smirk "Ah, ah, ah. I talked with Mum and dad before the reading - your friend, your turn - Severus used your turn when he read."
Lily's expression crumpled. "But that's not fair! Not that I wish you didn't read, Severus," Lily added quickly. "You were lovely, and I'm glad you did. It's just… it was my turn!"
"It is fair," Marigold said firmly. "It wouldn't be fair to Petunia to have to give up her turn for your friend. Don't worry though," she smiled, "you can have mine."
Lily considered. "Very well." She smirked, leaning into Severus. "You should have seen Petunia back in 72," she whispered conspiratorially, "She got on the tallest chair so she could be all adult, but halfway through it-"
"Don't you dare!"
Lily seemed to consider, then so quickly it was practically a run-on sentence, she said, "Her braces poked her cheek right in the middle, so she said, 'Not a creature was stirring, not even an - Oh god this hurts!"
Petunia let out a wordless shriek.
"Lily, quit teasing your sister."
Severus couldn't stop himself. First one laugh escaped him, then another, then the entire bunch. The sight of Lily looking like a five-year-old being told to wait till next time at the store was just too cute.
Author's Note: To answer a couple quick questions. Yes, this is an AU story, which I've adjusted the summary to indicate. As to how it's AU, I don't want to spoil too much, but one event in the past changed. Two, I originally was under the impression that most wizards could dispel their own spells without another spell, but then I realized that that's something from a different fandom. The mistake has been corrected.