Author Notes: Hello and Seasons Greetings to one and all! It's been some time since the last chapter of this story so my daughter and I thought we would do a Christmas themed one. Enjoy more sheenanigans from the furry duo :)
Warnings: This is an experiment mixing my preference with my daughter's who is the co-author of this story. Hence, there are two OCs, some OOCness, some fluff and a general disregard for the more serious incidents in canon.
- Chapter Start -
It was the morning of Christmas Eve.
Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts even though Hermione, their other friends and most of the student body had already left for the Christmas holidays three days ago. The Weasleys were in Romania to visit Charlie who couldn't get time off. Ginny had gone with them, but Ron opted to stay behind with Harry and the two of them would leave for the Burrow after lunch.
"Feels quiet without Hermione around," Ron remarked as they came back inside from visiting Hagrid to wish him a Merry Christmas.
Harry nodded, hiding a grin at the redhead's overly casual tone. He rubbed his cold hands together before shoving them inside his trouser pockets.
"Hey, I know - let's go for a fly around the Quidditch pitch," Ron suggested. "We can work up an appetite for lunch!"
Harry let his grin show. "Sounds good, Ron, but my hands are freezing. I forgot to wear my gloves."
"I'll go get our brooms and your gloves now," Ron offered and started jogging off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. "Don't go anywhere!" he called over his shoulder.
"Alright." Harry pushed his hands deeper inside his pockets and moved further away from the entrance.
"Meow?"
"Meow?"
Even before he turned around, Harry felt a smile tug at his lips, knowing exactly who those two high pitched mewls belong to. Sure enough, two small and impish faces were peeping at him from inside the Great Hall. He went over to them and crouched down, grinning when the two kittens immediately jumped up into his lap, meowing happily as if greeting a long lost friend. Harry stroked their small heads and ears and chuckled when they tried to catch his fingertips between their tiny paws.
"Did Snape chase you two out of his lab again?" he asked, a wistful tone creeping into his voice. "Don't tell me he's going to spend the entire Christmas holidays hiding in his lab and brewing potions."
Ever since the Infirmary incident more than a month ago, Snape hadn't issued him any detentions, not even to prepare horrid ingredients. It hadn't stopped Harry from mooning after him despite his best efforts not to. Right this second, the colourful and loud festivities that awaited him at the Burrow didn't seem as inviting as it usually did...
Harry was pulled from his thoughts when Caramel leapt down from his lap and walked inside the Great Hall. She stopped and turned her head, tilting it in invitation.
"Meow."
Velvet quickly followed suit and turned to look at Harry as well, her golden eyes sparkling as she issued the same silent invitation.
Harry smiled and got to his feet. He glanced down the corridor, but Ron was nowhere to be seen so he stepped inside the Great Hall, figuring his friend would look for him there if he couldn't find him.
- o -
Velvet sighed as she caught up with Caramel.
"Harry is here and alone right now. If only Madam Pomfrey didn't need more Fever Reducer."
Suspicious green eyes narrowed at her.
"You're still trying to get him and Severus together?" Caramel accused.
"Of course! they're so Made For Each Other," Velvet said with a dreamy sigh.
"Are not!" Caramel insisted.
"Are too! M-F-E-O!"
Harry trotted behind them, his eyebrows going up. Caramel and Velvet got along really well with each other, but their occasional arguments were baffling to say the least. What could two little kittens possibly have to argue about?
"Are not!"
"Are too! M-F-E-O!"
Caramel's eyes narrowed further and she turned to face her friend, planting her tiny forepaws apart.
"If you say that one more time," she warned. "I shall - I shall..."
"M-F-E-Oooooooooooo!"
"That's it! You're going down, Velvet!"
Giggling, the gray kitten ran off, followed by Caramel in hot pursuit.
"Hey, where are you two going?" Harry called.
Velvet headed straight for the nearest of the twelve huge Christmas trees decorating the Hall. She leapt onto the pot containing the tree and up onto the lowest branch. Caramel did the same.
"Caramel! Velvet! Get back here!" Harry ordered.
He might as well have saved his breath. Caramel and Velvet didn't appear to have heard him at all, following the wondrous, winding path of silver ribbon that wound itself around and around the tree, up and up. Ornaments started tumbling from the green branches, bouncing on cushioning charms cast on the stone floor and rolling in all directions before coming to gentle stops.
Shaking his head in amused exasperation, Harry took a step back, tipping his head up to follow the progress of the kittens as they went higher and higher. They were about to run out of branches and ribbon, he noted.
True enough, Velvet soon saw the enormous golden star at the very top of the tree and skidded to a hasty stop. Meowing in surprise, she clung to one side of the star. Caramel reached her a moment later, flailing madly for a moment before her two forepaws caught the other side of the star. By then, there was a little angel strung around Velvet's waist while a golden ball bobbed from Caramel's tail.
"Meoww!"
"Meoww!"
Still hissing in annoyance, Caramel tried to hit Velvet who ducked and hissed back at her.
Harry shook his head. It was no wonder Snape threatened his two pets with a potions fate all the time; they were incorrigible!
"Alright, stop arguing and come down at once before you fall down!" he told them, holding out his arms. "Jump, I'll catch you!"
Caramel and Velvet blinked and turned to glance down at him before looking around the Great Hall. Their round eyes widened and they whipped back to each other as if finally realising where they were.
"Meow?" (Velvet?)
"Meow?" (Yes, Caramel?)
"Meow?" (Are we at the very top of the tree?)
"Meow. (Yup.)
"Meow?" (One of the enormous and very tall Christmas trees in the Great Hall?)
"Meow. (Yup.)
"Me-ow!" (But I'm scared of heights!)
"Me-ow?" (We've been higher up than this before, remember?)
"Meow?" (But not up a tree! Wait - do you hear that creaking sound?)
"Meow." (Oh. Uhm, I think the tree is swaying.)
"Meow!" (Oh no!)
"Meow!" (Oh yes!)
Harry had come to the same realisation at the same time. The creaking grew louder and the tree started to tilt sideways, leaning towards him.
"Jump. Quickly now!" he urged Caramel and Velvet who were still looking down at him with huge eyes, clinging to their respective sides of the star with all eight limbs and two tails.
"Meoooooooooooooooooowwwwwww!"
"Meoooooooooooooooooowwwwwww!"
"Potter!" A deep and familiar voice roared from behind Harry. "Get away from there!"
Relief flooded Harry at Snape's voice (of course it was him, no one else in the castle had a voice like deep, rich and furious dark chocolate), but his eyes remained on the two terrified kittens.
"Jump!" he called again.
With high pitched, panicked mewls, Caramel and Velvet finally abandoned ship and leapt for the safety of his arms. He caught them against his chest and took a few swift steps back. His right foot came down on one of the fallen tree ornaments - a golden sleigh - and shot out in front of him, causing him to land squarely on his arse.
"Ow..."
"Of all the dunderheaded - Arresto momentum!"
The tree's descent slowed down and hurried footsteps sounded behind Harry. Two hands slid under his armpits and hauled him backwards along the floor without ceremony.
"Hey!" Harry found himself sliding along on his bottom, unable to use his hands since he was still clutching the kittens. When his back thumped against two lean thighs, there was an 'Oof' and Snape stumbled and fell behind him; long, black clad legs appearing on either side of Harry's.
The huge tree fell to the floor with a resounding flump! and slid forward a few feet, scattering pine needles and more ornaments. Its topmost branches ended up between Harry's legs with the topmost and very sharp point of the golden star a scant inch from his groin.
For a long, long moment, no one moved in the pine scented air, not even Caramel or Velvet who had turned their heads to stare down at the star and then at each other, their eyes still huge and round.
Now that the danger was past, Harry was suddenly aware of the solid body behind him and the harsh rasp of breath stirring the hair on top of his head. As soon as the two hands slid from his sides, he jerked around, hands going out to keep his balance, green eyes wide and glasses askew on his nose.
Snape was staring back at him, a few strands of his long hair lying across his cheek, his sallow complexion paler than normal. He blinked and glanced down at the kittens and then up at Harry again.
"Are you alright?" he asked at last.
It was truly the most considerate three words Harry had ever heard fall from those thin lips. He gulped and saw those dark eyes dart immediately to his throat.
"Yeah," he said, his voice hoarse. "I - thank you."
"Meow?"
"Meoow!"
Looking down, Harry realised that, one, he was leaning against Snape's chest; two, his palms were flat against that same chest; three, Snape's heart was racing as fast as his; and four, a grumpy Caramel and a hopeful Velvet were being squashed between the two of them.
"Oh, sorry!" Harry exclaimed and jerked back so suddenly, he almost toppled right off Snape's lap, arms flailing.
Snape's hands whipped out to grip his shoulders. He gave him a single hard shake before releasing him, his expression morphing back to the cold mask Harry was familiar with.
"You, Potter, will be the death of me!" he hissed. Looking down, his scowl deepened.
Harry righted his glasses and looked down as well to see Caramel and Velvet creeping headfirst inside the opening of his robes, leaving only their rumps and tails visible. When he looked back up, Snape had folded his arms and was glaring down at the tails.
"I hope you two now realise the serious danger you have put yourselves and Potter in," he scolded.
Caramel and Velvet crept deeper inside Harry's robes and two very soft and contrite 'Meows' sounded.
"It's alright, I'm fine," Harry said softly, ignoring his rather tender bottom. He reached inside his robes to pet the two kittens trembling against his jumper.
"Thanks to me," Snape snapped.
"Thanks to you," Harry agreed with a small smile.
Snape scowled at him.
"Get off my lap, Potter, before someone walks in and sees us like this!"
"Oh, right!"
As soon as Harry slid off, Snape shot to his feet, shaking back his hair and brushing down his long robes. He didn't offer a hand to Harry who had already expected that and scrambled to his feet unaided. Caramel and Velvet - still looking remarkably contrite - climbed up to Harry's shoulders, still not quite daring to look at the Potions Master.
"Hand them over," Snape ordered, holding out his hands.
Biting back a smile, Harry plucked Caramel off his right shoulder and placed her in Snape's left hand, fingernails gliding across Snape's palm. The black eyes cut to his face at once and Caramel sat up with a pout, but Harry didn't care. Snape hadn't said anything and more importantly, his right hand was still outstretched.
Waiting.
Very slowly, Harry picked up an expectant looking Velvet from his left shoulder and placed her carefully in Snape's right palm. He took his time doing it, sliding his trembling fingers out from under her before looking up at Snape.
"I should deduct points for your cheek, Potter," Snape gritted through clenched teeth. He transferred Caramel and Velvet to his own shoulders, ignoring their wide eyed - one annoyed, one happy - gazes.
"But you won't," Harry said quietly.
Snape's eyes flashed dangerously at that.
"I could give you detention," he warned in a dangerous hiss.
"But you won't," Harry repeated, his tone more wistful than defiant.
Snape stared at him then, something warring in his eyes before he turned away, suddenly looking very tired.
"Off you go, Potter."
Harry took a step forward on impulse.
"Don't... don't stay in your lab the whole of Christmas, sir," he said.
Snape turned back to him, one eyebrow raised in a silent question.
"Caramel and Velvet might miss you if you do," Harry replied.
That eyebrow rose higher, signalling another question, but Harry just shook his head. He had a feeling Snape already knew who else would miss him.
"Merry Christmas, sir," he said instead and turned to walk out of the Great Hall. Ron was probably waiting for him already.
"Meow?"
"Meow?"
Harry paused.
"Potter."
Slowly, Harry pivoted around. His lips twitched in a smile when he saw Caramel and Velvet waving at him, seemingly recovered from their latest mishap.
"Yes, sir?"
"I daresay Caramel and Velvet will miss you too."
Harry's small smile blossomed into a wide one. Snape wasn't the only one who could guess at cryptic answers.
"I'm glad," he said simply and turned around to walk out, his heart lighter than before. He would look forward to the Christmas festivities at the Burrow, but he would also look forward to coming back to Hogwarts.
- Chapter End -
Thank you for reading. Please review :)