Summary: Severus has never done anything for anyone, but what will he do for one small boy named Harry.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot
A/N: Of course it is AU. I also would like to thank my beta Nita
Chapter 25
Severus woke up just as the sun was starting to rise. He had not slept peacefully the night before, visions of the Dark Lord and Lucius invading his dreams. He was looking forward to spending the day with Harry.
"Oh no!" he thought, Harry's gifts were still in his closet.
Opening the door, he first grabbed out the presents that were wrapped and went to put them in the sitting room. Next, he grabbed the kitten and put a bow around his neck, and put him underneath the tree, a shielding charm around him so that he couldn't get away before Harry woke up. Finally, he filled Harry's stocking with candy and then went into his room to dress so he could have a cup of coffee before Harry woke up.
Severus went into the bathroom and washed his face, and brushed his teeth. After running a comb through his hair, he went to go put on his robe and slippers. Severus placed a warming charm on his robe so that it could break the chill of the room, and then he went to put on his slippers. The first one slid on his foot without incident, but as Severus slid his foot into the second one, he brought his foot back out quickly.
The kitten, it seemed, had used his slipper for a loo, and now Severus' foot was covered in poo. Severus' nose wrinkled from the smell and he hopped over on one foot to his bed to retrieve his wand to rid his foot and slipper of the mess. After three cleaning charms, Severus felt better, though this Christmas morning was not starting out well.
Severus was sipping a cup of coffee when Gertrude came into the kitchen.
"Did sir look into my pots?" she asked him.
"What, and have my face melted off by some elvish charm? I think not. I shall wait till dinner to have my meal."
"Would sir like me to prepare him something for breakfast?"
Severus sipped his coffee and sat back in his chair. "I don't think so, but I thank you all the same."
Severus was waiting for Harry, and he didn't have to wait long before he saw the half awake boy coming into the sitting room. Severus stood from his chair in the kitchen and went to stand by the door. He wanted to be there when Harry realized that he was indeed going to get gifts.
Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and walked into the sitting room. He hadn't fully woken up yet after being up for over an hour the night before setting out Severus' gifts. He glanced to the fireplace when he walked in and saw the box for Severus and smiled, but when he turned around, he saw the Christmas tree, and underneath it, presents all wrapped up in sparkling paper.
"Severus!" he screamed. "Santa came! He really did come!"
Severus stepped into the room and Harry lunged himself into his arms.
"I told you that you were a good boy."
"Dudley was wrong!" Harry said, pulling Severus over to the sofa. "Look at all these gifts. Open yours first," Harry said, pointing to the big pile under the tree.
⌠I am afraid Santa does not visit grown ups. All those are for you, Harry."
While Harry gaped at the presents Severus pulled out his wand. "Accio Harry's presents."
"I think a bit of cocoa would be nice while you open your gifts," Severus suggested, and suddenly two cups of it appeared on the table. "Thank you Gertrude," Severus said.
Harry opened the first gift to find just what he had asked for, a new book. The pictures inside moved, and told the story of a brave knight, that slew dragons. Harry was mesmerized by the book, and didn't put it down till Severus cleared his throat.
"You have many more gifts to open."
Harry ripped off the paper of the next gift to find new clothes, and even a shirt with the Hogwarts emblem on it.
"You shall be a student there one day, so I thought you would enjoy having it."
"I love it!" Harry said, hugging Severus. Before Harry could open another gift, Gertrude came in, carrying a tray of cheese and crisps. Beside those lay nuts and a small sausage, cut up into pieces.
"Something for you to snack on till dinner," she said. Severus and Harry both were a bit hungry and grabbed a crisp, placing a slice of cheese and a bit of the sausage on it.
Harry then picked up another gift and opened it to find a toy broom.
"I thought you may like one since you spent so much time looking at the one in Diagon Alley." Harry's face lit up and he again hugged Severus, thanking him for his gift.
"You have one last gift to open, Harry," Severus said, motioning to the box in front of him.
Harry looked all around him at the boxes and boxes of things. "I have so many presents though. What else could Santa have brought me?"
"Open the box and you shall see."
Harry pulled off the ribbon on the top of the box, and carefully pulled the paper off the box. He thought it strange that the box had holes in it, but when he opened it, a pink little nose popped out. A fluffy black kitten crawled out of the box and curled up in his lap.
"It's a kitten!" Harry exclaimed, hugging the kitten to him.
Severus chuckled. "You are very good at stating the obvious. It is indeed a kitten, your kitten, and it needs a name."
Harry stared at the kitten, swiping the tears of joy from his face. "I think I will call you Fred."
"Fred?" Severus said, looking quite confused.
"Yes, he reminds me of a Fred. House elves can have people names and the kitten should have one, too."
"Fred it is then," Severus said. "How about we have lunch and feed Fred here? He is probably hungry."
Harry and Severus had a light lunch of cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, one of Harry's favorites. Harry gave Fred a fresh bowl of cream, and the kitten drank it happily.
"Now that we have finished lunch, we can clean up the sitting room, and you can enjoy your gifts."
"Gertrude is having the sitting room already cleaned." the house elf said, stirring the various pots on the stove, and checking the ham in the oven.
Harry stopped eating, putting his spoon down. "You haven't opened your gifts yet," he said to Severus.
Severus looked shocked that Harry knew about Albus sending him a gift each year. "I have opened Albus' gift, and will be sending off the thank you note later today."
"No, I meant the gifts I bought you," Harry said, trying to pull Severus up from his chair.
Severus stood up and followed Harry into the sitting room, and even Gertrude walked in to see her Master's reaction.
"Harry, when did you buy me gifts?"
Harry hung his head a bit. "I snuck out one day. I know I am not supposed to, but I promise, I only went to a Muggle town. I didn't go to the wizard shops."
"That was a very dangerous thing to do. Someone could have seen you, and you would have been lost to us."
Harry started to sniffle then. "I know, but I wanted to get you something for Christmas."
Severus saw the tears in Harry's eyes and relented. He would discuss the dangers another day. For now, he would open the gift that Harry had gone through so much trouble to get him.
"Where is the gift at?" he questioned, and Harry began to laugh.
"I can't believe you didn't see it," he said, pointing to the rather large box by the fireplace. Severus turned around to see where Harry was pointing, and wondered himself how he had missed the box. The paper was a bright blue with stars that twinkled. He carefully removed the bow and peeled off the paper. The box was heavy, and Severus had to slide it closer to him to look inside.
Severus placed his hands inside the box and pulled out a clay pot. Inside the box were two more, one green, and one painted blue.
"Where did you find these?" he said, his own tears threatening to fall.
"You said that clay pots were rare in the wizarding world and you didn't know what type of clay was used in them, but I did. It is modeling clay that kids use for projects. All I had to do was get the clay and make the pots and then put them in the oven to bake. Do you like them?■
Severus closed the gap between him and Harry and picked the boy up, hugging him to his chest.
"No one has ever given me a better gift. I love them, and they will come in handy in the lab. Thank you, Harry. I will cherish them for a long time."
When Severus pulled Harry away to sit him back down on the floor, both had tears in their eyes.
"You have another gift," Harry whispered. "You don't have to open it now if you don't want to."
Severus looked around the room, but didn't see any more presents lying about. "I will open it now," he said.
He watched Harry go over to the mantle and pull down his stocking. Severus took a seat in his chair and took a sip of his cocoa. "If you don't like it or want it, I understand," Harry said, going to sit in the other chair.
Severus peered inside his stocking and found it was filled with candy. Not wizarding candy but Muggle treats. "You got me candy? I have never been one to eat candy, but it may be a habit I will find to be quite pleasing."
Harry gulped, the lump in his throat growing. "The present is at the bottom of your stocking."
Severus pulled out the candy, laying it on the table and found a rather large lump in the bottom of his stocking. He had thought it would be an orange, but when he picked it up, it wasn't completely round.
Harry edged away in his seat, ready to bolt from the room should Severus blow his top when he opened it. Severus pulled on the small red ribbon holding the gift closed, and gasped when the paper fell away. In his lap was a coffee mug, and on it was written, World's Greatest Dad.
"Harry, I don't know what to say. Why would you give me this?" Severus asked. That was all it took for the tears Harry had been fighting to hold back to fall.
"Well, you are like my Dad. I mean, you gave me a bed, and help me with my reading, and you even stayed with me when I was sick. I know you might not want to be a Dad, but I thought ..."
Severus put the mug down and grabbed up the now crying Harry. "What did you think?"
"I thought you could be my Dad, but you don't want me," Harry said, now sobbing. Severus held Harry to him tightly his own tears flowing freely now.
"You are wrong Harry. All I have thought about is you for a long time now. I would be proud to be your father, and prouder still to call you my son."
Harry looked up from Severus' shoulder. "Do you really mean it?"
Severus felt his broken heart start to mend. "I really mean it. You are by far the greatest gift ever given to me, and I love you."
Harry and Severus both let the tears fall that had been building up till they heard Gertrude blow her nose.
"Why are you crying, Gertrude?" Harry asked.
"Gertrude is never seeing such a happy moment. Gertrude is happy for Master Snape and Harry," she said, blowing her nose again.
Both Severus and Harry looked to the house elf in wonder.
"I think that this is the best Christmas ever," Harry said. Grabbing a small gift from underneath the tree, he handed it to Gertrude, before being gathered back up in Severus' arms. "I almost forgot."
Gertrude stood in horror, staring at the gift, tears welling in her eyes again. "Gertrude promises to be a good house elf. I wish no clothes from my Masters."
"It isn't clothes, Gertrude, honest," Harry said, urging her to open the gift. After a look to Severus, who also seemed perplexed, Gertrude carefully opened the wrapping. Inside laid a locket, and when it opened, there were two pictures, one of Harry and one of Severus.
"I shall never take it off, ever." Gertrude flung herself at Harry, before leaving to go back to the kitchen.
"This shall be a Christmas I shall not soon forget, ever," Severus agreed. The doorbell rang as Severus sat Harry down on the floor. "Who could be calling on Christmas morning?"
Severus opened the door to find Mr. Hoffman himself standing there, though he looked a bit ruffled, having been thrown by the wards.
"I got the papers in order for you, but since it was a holiday I thought I would deliver them myself on the way home. Good Luck Mr. Snape, and Happy Christmas."
Severus shut the door, and put the papers in his pocket. Tomorrow, he and Harry could sit down with the papers, today was for fun.
Harry and Severus spent all afternoon playing with Harry's new toy broom. The broom would not fly but five feet off the floor, but several times, Severus had nearly had a heart attack when Harry flew upside down. He was sure the boy would fall off, but Harry seemed a natural on a broom.
Harry had even convinced Severus to try one of his candies. Severus' opted for the Hershey kisses and ate three, giving one to Harry. The kitten had played with a piece of string dangling from Severus' robes for over twenty minutes. Even Severus thought it was amusing, until he stood up and the kitten lunged for the string again, clawing its way up his leg to get to it.
After that, Severus was ready for a hot meal.
"Gertrude, is dinner ready?"
Gertrude popped her head out of the kitchen. "Sirs can go to the dining room and dinner will be there in a moment."
Harry followed Severus into a room he hadn't ever been in. The table was maple, the finish on it glossy. The table could sit six people, but since it was only Harry and Severus, it seemed too big. Severus sat down at the head of the table, and Harry took a seat to his right.
"This table is so big. Do you have lots of people over sometimes?"
"The table was left to me, along with the house. I only use it on special occasions."
Before Severus had to explain further, the ham appeared on the table, followed by dressing and a variety of vegetables.
Harry stared in awe, as croissants, muffins, and three pies and two cakes filled the end of the table. "How can we eat all this?"
Severus' mouth was watering. "With a fork and spoon of course," he laughed. Harry laughed too but he had another thought.
"Can't we invite Gertrude to eat with us? She did go through a lot of trouble to make all this food."
Severus straightened in his chair. "Harry, there is a line between house elves and their masters. The line is not to be breeched."
Harry face fell in disappointment, and Severus thought of another line from his past. This was a line that said purebloods and half bloods were not to mix. Severus learned that those lines were caused by nothing but ignorance.
"Very well, if you wish to ask, and Gertrude accepts, then she may join us for our meal."
Harry called for the house elf.
"Gertrude!" he yelled, and in a flash the house elf appeared. "Will you join us for dinner?" Harry asked.
Gertrude paled. "House elves are not supposed to eat with their masters. It is forbidden. Gertrude is a good house elf and cannot break the rules."
"I want you to eat with us, Gertrude. You made all the food, you should eat it."
Gertrude looked to Severus and saw him nodding his head that he agreed.
"Gertrude is thanking Masters. Gertrude is not used to such kindness. Masters are gracious and give Gertrude honor."
Harry watched as Gertrude filled her plate before filling his own. The usual table manners went out the window though when the burp fell from his mouth halfway through dinner. "Pardon me," Harry said, blushing.
Severus burst out laughing. It was the first time he had ever seen Harry eat this much and would not ruin it for a lesson in the finer graces.
"You are excused, now pass me those peas," he said. Fred had eaten his fill of ham passed to him underneath the table by Harry, and had curled up in his lap, asleep. Joy filled the Snape household, and lasted till well into the night when Harry started to fall asleep on the sofa.
"I think it is time for bed," Severus said, standing up and stretching. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and we need to get started early."
Harry didn't care what they needed to do, he was tired. He followed Severus into the room without any fuss at all, and put on his pajamas. After crawling into bed, Fred came up and lay down beside him on the pillow. When Severus leaned over to kiss Harry goodnight, the kitten meowed, and Severus patted it on the head.
"Goodnight Harry," Severus said to the already half asleep child.
"Goodnight Dad," Harry called back, before rolling over and snuggling deep in the covers. Severus closed the door and went back into the sitting room to gather his things up. The pots Severus carried to the lab, placing them gently down on the table. He was still amazed that Harry had figured out what was used to make them.
Next, Severus went into the sitting room to put his cup of coffee in the sink, but found Gertrude had already done it for him. Severus reached down for his stocking, and picked it up. The mug fell into his hands, and he read the saying on it again.
"I shall strive to live up to this," he said silently to himself. "Dad," he liked the sound of that. With a smile, Severus spelled the lights of the tree off and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.
A/N: See you next week! Also thank you too Tsuku-chan my 1000th reviewer!