Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters within this fanfic, but I do own Eileen Pierce and her kneazle Mephistopheles so don't steal them! That is all, you may continue...

Chapter Twelve

Morning came fresh and sweet as Eileen snuggled Mephistopheles lovingly before sitting up. She glanced over at Beth and saw that she was still asleep, her hand draped across her pillow revealing the bracelet around her wrist. Smiling, she noticed a small pile of gifts at the foot of her bed. There was nothing on Eileen's bed but she didn't mind as she caressed the scarf around her neck with a smile.

Changing garments, she took the gift out of the trunk and stowed it away in her bag before journeying out of the room and into the deserted common room. She resolved that the rest of the students were either still asleep or opening presents as she stepped out into the hall and made her way to the great hall. There were a few students sitting eating breakfast and only McGonagall sat watching at the staff table, apparently the others were taking their sweet time getting up today. Instead of taking a seat herself, she went to see if Snape was in his office yet but there came no response. She had almost turned to go when she caught sight of him coming around the corner toward her.

"Merry Christmas, sir!" Eileen said cheerfully, beaming at him as he came closer.

"It's rather early, don't you think, Miss Pierce?" Snape yawned, looking a little annoyed at having to see a student so soon.

Quickly rummaging in her bag, Eileen pulled out the meagerly wrapped gift and said, "I wanted to give it to you in private so no one would see, in case you don't like it."

"If you already suspect I won't like it, why give it to me?" Snape blinked groggily as he took the package from her, looking at it curiously.

"Because you said you were expecting it, sir?" Eileen stared at him as if wondering why he'd forgotten his own orders so soon.

"Oh...yes, I did. Well, I suppose I should open it then." He made to remove the paper wrapping but Eileen muttered, "Um..."

"Yes?" Snape raised his eyebrows.

"N-nothing...I forgot to get Mephi his breakfast, I'll see you later." And with that she hurried past him and disappeared around the corner before Snape could say anything.

Looking after her with a puzzled expression, he stepped into his office and unwrapped the gift as he walked to his desk. Pausing, he looked down at the contents in surprise, holding it up with an incredulous stare. A note fluttered to the floor and he glanced down at it, reading it without stooping to pick it up, "Something to keep you warm this winter, hope you like it."

"How did she..." He looked the gift over again and frowned, laying it on the desk as he decided what exactly to do about it.

OoOoOoOo

Eileen was met at breakfast by Ron who was sporting a new sweater with an "R" knitted into the front, finding Harry to be wearing a similar sweater but with an "H". The twins were already seated at the table wearing shirts with their initials on them.

"Morning, Eileen!" The twins chirped together, scooting apart to make space for her.

She sat between them and looked at them with a puzzled expression, saying, "Why are you wearing each other's sweaters? Did you get them mixed up?"

"How did you notice so fast?" George looked surprised, looking down at his "F" sweater.

"She's got a keen eye!" Fred nodded, whispering to her, "It's a practical joke, just play along."

"I see...alright, George." She smiled and the twins laughed.

"So what did you get for Christmas?" Ron asked, stuffing some eggs into his mouth.

"I already showed you what I got." Eileen said blankly, pointing to the scarf.

"That's it?"

"Yes...why?" The boys exchanged rather guilty looks and decided not to tell her what all they had gotten.

"Sorry I didn't get you anything, you're welcome to have some of my chocolate frogs, if you want." Harry offered out of guilt.

"It's okay, I didn't make you anything either, I only had time for two presents this year." Eileen smiled.

"Two presents? Who were they for?" Ron asked curiously.

"My roommate, Beth, and a friend. I thought I'd make up for being such a bother to her." Eileen said, taking a small bite of ham.

"That's nice of you. Who's the other friend?" Fred asked.

"That's a secret." She grinned.

They looked at her curiously, it was rare of her to smile so much, she was usually pretty calm and expressionless. This amused the twins as they grinned right back.

"Did you make them yourself?" George inquired, leaning on the table and staring at her merrily.

"Of course, I don't have money to buy anything. I asked a couple of the teachers if they would help me get supplies for it and they seemed more than happy to oblige."

"Now I'm really curious, what did you make?" Fred leaned on the table as well.

"That's also a secret." She seemed amused by this game.

"Well it must be for someone important if the teachers helped you out." George mused.

"Come on, tell us!" Fred begged.

She shook her head, smiling as she ate some more breakfast.

The twins tried to wheedle an answer out of her, guessing and inquiring until breakfast was over.

"Hey, let's have a snowball fight!" Fred cheered, running over to a window by the table and admiring the piles of fresh snow outside.

"Yeah, look at all that ammunition!" George joined him, exchanging mischievous grins with his twin.

"Snowball fight?" Eileen glanced out, wondering what they were referring to.

"No way, I'm too stuffed." Ron whined, rubbing his full stomach.

"Who's fault is that? Come on, you can run off that meal while we pelt you with snowballs!" Fred grinned, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him out of the great hall.

"Snowball fight outside!" George shouted, grabbing Eileen's hand and running after his brothers.

Several other students cheered and followed them out, making up teams as soon as they were outside and building forts in the snow. They began lobbing snowballs back and forth, dueling it out until most of the kids were too tired to continue or too numb to feel their fingers.

"Gryffindor rules!" Fred yelled, pelting some Ravenclaws and Slytherins who were trying to fall back to the safety of the school.

"Man that was fun!" George laughed, his breath coming out as puffs of fog as he panted for air.

"You were brilliant, Eileen! You're pretty good with your hands." Fred nudged her as she smiled, a snowball in her mittened hands.

"Thank you, I had fun." She smiled, obviously missing the innuendo in his comment.

"MUTINY!" George cried, pelting Fred and Eileen with snowballs he had left over.

They screamed and threw snowballs back, racing around the field digging handfuls of snow up as they went and hurling it at each other.

George stopped to gather a huge ball of snow, preparing to hurl it at Eileen, "Take this!"

"Noooo!" Fred dramatically tackled Eileen out of the way, taking the hit for her. They collapsed into the snow, giggling and gasping for air.

"Oh no, you're hit!" Eileen giggled, lying in the cold snow underneath Fred.

"I did it for you, Eileen! Remember me!" Fred feigned death, flopping on top of her.

"You're gonna crush her, you brute!" George laughed, pulling his brother off of Eileen.

Eileen just smiled and laughed, sitting up and dusting herself off. Looking up at the sky, she said, "It's getting colder, we should probably go inside."

"Yeah, I'm freezing. Let's go warm up by the fire place!" Fred jumped up with a grin.

"You're alive!" George tackled his brother with love, flopping back into the snow and wrestling about.

Eileen laughed at them as she got up, swiping the rest of the snow off of her clothes as the boys got back up, pushing and shoving playfully.

"Last one back is a rotten Snape!" George chuckled, dashing through the snow toward the shelter of the castle.

"Hey! Come on, Eileen!" Fred grabbed her hand and took off after him, laughing all the way back to the Gryffindor dormitory.

OoOoOoOo

Dinner came sooner than anyone had thought it would. The great hall was alive with chatter and laughter, the trees dancing with the light of their ornaments as students came in to fill in the void left by so many absent bodies, only two tables set up instead of the usual four. Eileen had joined the boys again and they talked about random things as they waited for dinner to start.

It was getting close to the start of dinner and all the staff was present but Snape, causing Eileen to get a nervous knot in her stomach.

"Maybe he didn't like it after all." Eileen muttered, twisting her skirt in her hands.

"Hmm?" Fred blinked over at her curiously.

"Nothing." She sighed. But her anxieties were suddenly forgotten as the door behind the staff table cracked open.

They all watched in awe as Snape stepped into the room, wearing a jet black coat that fell to the floor, the perfectly tailored seams done in a dark green with a peaked lapel that was black on the chest and dark forest green around the neck. There were subtle designs stitched into the cloak everywhere, an elegant design on the slightly long cuffs. Three crystal buttons did up the front and cuffs of the coat and gave Snape an overall regal look as he swept forward and took his place at the table, half of the attendants marveling at his new apparel. Several of the teachers seemed be hiding their delight and amusement as they tossed Eileen approving glances and smiles.

"Blimey! Look at Snape!" Ron exclaimed under his breath.

"Woah, he's actually wearing something different for a change!" George gawked.

"Hey, wait a minute...is that the secret present?" Fred hissed to Eileen who merely smiled bashfully.

"No way! That's a wicked coat!" George whispered too.

"You made that? When!" Harry couldn't believe she had managed to make that during the heavy workload she was constantly found working on in the library and on the grounds.

"Over the past 2 months, I'm a fast worker and I use magic to sew, so I can set it to work and do some essays in the meantime." Eileen smiled, honored that they admired her work so greatly. They still couldn't believe it even after dinner was over, taking one last glance at Snape before heading up to bed.

Eileen hovered by a window looking out over the snowy grounds as she waited for the rest of the students to make their way back the warmth of the dorms, eager to speak to Snape about the coat but without a dozen or so onlookers watching them. She was just about to see if it was safe to approach him when he came up behind her, a look on his face she had never seen before. Snape looked...nervous.

"I, um..." Snape spoke in a hushed voice, a look of awkwardness as he absent-mindedly played with the cuffs.

"Do you like it? I wasn't sure if I got the measurements right but I just took it a bit at a time and it looks like it fits perfectly!" Eileen beamed happily as Snape's eyes widened, his face going pale.

"You made this? When?" He began to admire the handiwork himself with a renewed amazement.

"Between schoolwork, it's the best I could do." She gave him an apologetic look and he quickly said, "No, I...it just looked so..."

"I only have funds for school supplies. Do you like it?"

"It's...I don't really...you shouldn't have." Snape mumbled, looking steadily more guilty, after all the times he had treated her so badly she was secretly making him a present out of the goodness of her heart.

"It doesn't matter, sir, it's made to fit you, I can't very well give it to anyone else and I put too much effort into making it to just let it sit in my trunk." She said, rotating back and forth as she clutched her hands in front of her.

"But...all I gave you was my scarf." Snape said glumly.

"What do you mean? I love it! It's soft and warm and reminds me of you every time I wear it, like you're always with me." Eileen snuggled it against her cheek affectionately, "It's the best thing anyone's ever given me, sir, and I don't wish to part with it for anything in the world!"

Looking slightly embarrassed, Snape muttered, "But it's just a scarf..."

"It's not just a scarf, sir...it's a memory, one that I shall carry with me forever." Eileen smiled tenderly up at him and he softened his gaze, realizing he wasn't going to win this fight.

"Well...if you like it that much..." He looked around and saw that no one else was in the room, figuring the teachers had decided to give them some privacy, causing him to feel even more awkward.

"Oh, I do! I love it very much! And..." She trailed off, bowing her head as her cheeks flushed again, but this time the cold hadn't caused it.

"And?" Snape glanced back at her and frowned, "What is it?"

She didn't reply, she had almost admitted something to him that she was not ready to confess quite yet.

Seeing a growing look of embarrassment crossing her face, Snape said, "Thank you."

"Sir?" Eileen looked up with a surprised expression.

"The coat...thank you, I...like it." He said in a whisper, looking away in embarrassment.

A content expression filled her eyes as she said, "I'm glad..."

Turning his attention to the window, he said, "The snow's coming down harder tonight, no doubt there will be snowballs aplenty flying in the afternoon tomorrow."

"No doubt...it's pretty, isn't it?" Eileen turned around to look out at the landscape shrouded in white.

Standing next to her, Snape replied softly, "I suppose it is..."

Eileen's tiny hand slipped into his and he looked down in wonder as she smiled up at him, her blue eyes dancing with joy.

"Thank you for letting me spend my first Christmas with you, sir. I'll cherish it forever."

For a long moment he just stared at her before slowly returning her smile.

She let her hand linger in his for a moment longer before pulling away and folding her arms on the windowsill, resting her chin on it and gazing out at the snowy landscape.

Snape watched her curiously before he went back to watching the snow fall slowly outside, remaining there with her well past curfew.