Chapter 4: Merry Christmas

Warning: This story may contain traces of: OOC-ness, spoilers, tortures, magical spells, AU, swords, powerful spells, badly written but still very awesome duels, family, severitus, rambling author notes and minor character bashing. Engage at your discretion.

THE OTHER WARNING: This author is currently not very busy, bored out of her mind and suffers from severe cases of bad humor. Take the WARNING seriously, just not the author in general.

Enjoy

Christmas at Hogwarts was always a lavish affair, especially in the years since Albus Dumbledore had been appointed Headmaster. It was hard to say if the infectious festivity and over-abundance of decorations was due to the fact he didn't want the children boarding over the holidays to feel as if they were missing out or if it was just that it was his favorite time of year. Most agreed that it was probably a little of both. Maybe not a little bit.

Twelve magnificent fir trees were dotted about the great hall, fat flakes of snow falling gently from the enchanted ceiling as Flitwick decorated the trees with artistic flicks of his wand. Holly and mistletoe hung from the walls and were strung in thick steamers above the tables, though due to the small numbers, only the head table would be used for the next two weeks, both professors and students mingling together.

Floating candles were visible through the soft fall of snow, blazing like small stars as the flakes vanished just before they hit the table. Several students moved around, helping various professors set up the hall. The air was thick with magic. Glittering icicles hung at strategic points and certain bunches of mistletoe were charmed to follow anyone unfortunate enough to walk under them until said person found someone willing to kiss them.

Laughter rang out around the hall from students and teachers alike as the decorating continued. Their combined efforts were a thing of beauty.

But Severus Snape felt quite uneasy.

He was one of only two Slytherins that had opted to stay over the Christmas break. That should have been a weight off his mind. He only had one person to avoid for the next two weeks and if they tried anything, it would be a fair fight. The thought of having access to the common room and not having to sneak into his dorm at night without having to bring half the storeroom of the hospital wing with him should have filled him with joy.

Maybe it would have if the person staying hadn't been Bellatrix Black.

Bellatrix is, as quoted by pretty much everyone, "the quiet-BATS-HIT-INSANE girl," even her sisters had stopped arguing about it in her defense. Bellatrix could be called pretty and attractive by many of the male student population and many Slytherin boys had managed to summon up the much needed courage to go to her, to either ask her out, or one of her sisters due to that Bellatrix Black has sibling over-protection down to her job description. But many of said Slytherins boys had found out, after a talk from Bellatrix, that she is this close to falling down towards the canyon that is INSANITY!

Unfortunately for Severus, she also had a rather big and very unhealthy obsession/affection to him.

It all started when Rabastan Lestrange knocked into her on her way back Charms, she was about ready to curse his behind off when Severus Snape calmly picked up her books, fized her bag and threw some fuzzy green stuff in a large jar at Lestrange's head (it is just very very old seaweed, eel's eyes and fire drake urine all mixed into one). Lestange ended up in hospital wing for a week and Severus received the results he had been expecting, and the very unwanted following of Bellatrix Black, and with it, the rest of the Black sisters.

Severus sighed a gazillion time that day, Christmas was supposed to be happy! He could lose Bellatrix in the sea of students everyday, but now the only chance he have of surviving was lock himself down in the dungeons with his potions and never come back up. His dorm was just too close to the Slytherin common room for soundproofing to work. And Bellatrix singing drunk was as good as a banshee on a bad morning, with out of water mermaids as the back choir.

After much avoidance of the wild haired girl, he finally poked his head out of the potions lab professor Slughorn allowed him to use. Maybe he could have enough quiet time to find Remus, drag him to the dungeons and camp out there until everyone gets back.

Severus gritted his teeth, and set out for the extremely difficult journey to the Great Hall. Please don't let her find me, was the only thing on his mind.

To the Great Hall...

The rest of the students had left that morning and Dumbledore had decreed that the remaining children would assist in the preparations. To promote inter-House unity, he'd said. There were only two Gryffindors—a seventh year named Kingsley Shacklebolt and Peter Pettigrew. Remus had tried to talk to him but he was painfully shy and blushed to the roots of his mousy brown hair whenever he approached. Why does everything about that Perrigrew remind him of a rat?

Apart from the Gryffindors, there were two Hufflepuffs, four Ravenclaws and two Slytherins. Remus was glad of the last for Severus' sake, even if the other Slytherin was the infamous Bellatrix Black. It was quite unlike any Black to stay back for the holidays but it didn't worry him unduly. Sirius went home for Christmas. It seemed that the hexes Sirius used to ward off the bullies had reached his mother's ears, which resulted in his increase in allowance, his parents' approving words in a letter, and the non-existing Howler that would obviously be on his table if Sirius had sorted into any other house other than Slytherin, or to some extent Ravenclaw.

Sighing, he watched Xenophilius Lovegood and Kingsley mess about with the floating candles, getting them to spell out things that Remus felt sure Professor McGonagall wouldn't approve of while Pettigrew egged them on. He put in his token protest before returning to his own thoughts. He hadn't seen Severus at all today. And wonders if he holed himself down in the potions lab again, creating something nasty that could make people dance around the hall.

Just then a cheer went up, startling him out of his depressing contemplation. The hall was finished and they were all released to get ready for dinner. Black was the first one out, not that it was any great surprise. She looked like she smelled something rotten. Stretching, Remus looked around the great hall and couldn't prevent the smile from hijacking his lips. Christmas at Hogwarts was always amazing. It was so easy to get used to all this, to start taking it for granted but there was always something about Hogwarts that made it all fresh and new again.

That was real magic. Feeling his dreary mood lift slightly, Remus grinned at his friends. For now, he decided to focus on enjoying the holiday and not on things he couldn't change, like the full moon tonight. He worked the stiffness out of his joints while walking out of the great hall, determined to drag Severus out of the potion inflamed hole he had been hiding in.

Fortunately, he never got his wish.

With a great thud elbow, fist and head collided, the sandy haired boy immediately started apologizing while the rather pale boy's hand flew to the bump on his head, now hidden by his long, slightly greasy hair. Here is a lesson kids: do not chant Please don't let her find me, while walking head down, and look where you are going while you fling your arm around, trying to working out the stiffness in your shoulder. Elbows and fists connecting with heads can be quite painful.

"Oh Merlin, I am so sorry Severus!" Remus cried, eyes wide and shocked.

"You can pack quite a punch Remus, good thing I have a hard head, what have you got under there?" Severus waved off the apology with a small smile. He had suffered worse at his father's hands, but still, that had hurt!

"Nothing much really," Suddenly uneasy and not very sure he could lie his way out, at least not to a Slytherin, as they are known for their ability to deceit and detect deceit, "my dad used to teach me how to box for a while, but then mum went ballistic about that is not how gentlemen behaves, so we had to stop. Guess the basics are still in my bones and muscles."

Severus spared him that small smile again as they made their way to the library, hoping to avoid Bellatrix Black along the way, "I didn't care much for boxing, though I did do gymnastics whenever they ran free clinics around where I lived. I love doing somersaults."

Remus laughed, "My mum is very protective so she freaks every time I do something even remotely dangerous. So that's why she quit the boxing lessons."

"How come?"

Remus shifted restlessly, a movement that did not go unnoticed by Severus. He couldn't let the other know that the reason his mother feared him learning those things is that he could use it to hurt the other boys around his neighborhood while they are bullying him. Even in a human form, werewolves does have better reflexes and strengths than the average man, including scent and sight, "Don't know, she said there is a really naughty boy that tried to hit everyone with his fists back when she was younger and living in London. She didn't like fighting much at all."

"Oh? Then does she know about our current...predicament?" Severus shot him a narrowed look, lips twitching.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Remus replied, "but using the levitation charm on sharp needles to jab into other people's skin does not count as fighting!" He continued haughtily.

Severus chuckled, "whatever you say Remus. But don't blame me if you mother ran screaming at you because of all the things you did at Hogwarts." He finished at a sing song pitch.

"Prat."

"At your service, Mr Lupin." Severus ducked quickly as Remus swatted him with a arm.

"Say, Remus, do you want to spend the night in my rooms? I think the oh so emptiness of the warm Hufflepuff common room must be rubbing off of you. And if I have to endure Bellatrix singing at the top of her lungs because there is no other person to stop her, you have to suffer through it with me." Severus asked, once he came back up.

Remus shifted again, definitely restless now, "No thanks Sev, I'll survive and I would prefer to have a quiet Christmas where my innocence is still intact." He tried to flash a reassuring smile, but didn't notice how Severus' black eyes narrowed oh so slightly.

"You are meeting with Madam Pomfrey then? I heard there is a flu outbreak down near where the Hufflepuffs are." Severus asked, and watched as Remus heaved a barely detectable sigh of relief, thanking his lucky stars that Lady Luck is on his side for once.

"R-right, I'm supposed o go to her before the sunsets, she hates it when anybody disrupts her sleep, for the pepper up potions, just in case something happens." Remus tried smiling again, and Severus pieced the information together, it has been several months since the four of them became friends, almost like brothers, and wonders how he could have missed that. It is peculiar how none of them has seen Remus anywhere when there is a gigantic full moon in the sky.

"Well, go on then, Madam Pomfrey is not someone you want to cross with." Severus gave a half smile and watched Remus gratefully run off while he stayed and looked out the window. The sun had just set, its bright orange light still peaked around the heavy clouds.

He could see the full moon taking shape in the distance, he opened the window, and jumped out. Following the hurried footsteps of the Mediwitch and the werewolf, to the Shrieking Shack.

Tomorrow, or the day after, is the first full moon we'll get to see with Remus, and the reason how Severus had figured out his secret so early on in the game. And guaranteed, he is not alone. Though I really need somebody reading to answer the questions below. I am desperate!

Concerning Lily, she will play a role, but I am not going to make her a goddess like figure in Severus' life, because one of the reason he worshiped her was because the freakin' Marauders were throwing hexes at him at every chance and she is the only friends he had. Obviously we don't have that here, so Lily will not be that radiant in Severus' eyes. OK she won't be radiant at all in his eyes as the reason for that will be in, roughly, chapter 8.

Pay attention to detail, is my advice to all of you reading.

Do any of you have any suggestions on what to call Severus Animagus form? Or what his form could be. I have something but I'm not so sure about it. It has to be black though, and preferably something that could fly. Review please!