Hi ;)

So this chapter is a little out of season now...can't believe it's been so long since I last updated. Thanks everyone for your continuing support - it means so much to me that I've decided to resurrect this story!

Hope you enjoy...please leave a review/follow/favourite :)

Disclaimer: Sadly I haven't come into possession of HP since I last updated.

25 - Christmas Day

The 25th of December began with a glistening, perfect sunrise. Layers of snow-covered hill-tops sloped and rose across the landscape that surrounded the dark, gothic mansion. As the light shone against the whiteness, robins perched upon bare tree branches and chirped like an iconic Christmas card. In the garden outside Harry's grand Victorian bedroom, the animated snowman tipped his hat to the wind and gave a merry smile. It seemed that the world awoke the moment the sunlight reached it; and each animal, creature, and plant was equally vibrant with excitement.

As the curtains swayed in the morning breeze and the patter of house-elves from the kitchen below made its way upstairs, Harry stretched out his toes and rubbed his eyes. It slowly dawned on him; today was Christmas Day.

He quickly threw on his dressing gown and slipped his toes into the carefully laid out slippers that were waiting at the side of his bed. The door had been closed the night before out of habit, so with great caution Harry took the shining silver handle and turned it, willing the hinges of the door not to creak too loudly. Having had a fair few nightmare-less nights, Snape had felt that Harry would be alright to sleep on his own across the hall, with his door closed for privacy of course, and any evidence of his Gryffindor decor hidden from sight. Harry didn't mind one bit; anything was better than his old cupboard.

Thankfully, the hinges obliged and barely made a sound. The next obstacle was to be the floor boards that covered the landing. Although most of the hallway was fitted with rich, thick marble that Harry could glide across as though it were made of ice, he knew that the patch of floor at the top of the stairs was deceptively old, with uneven floor boards hidden not far underneath. With his agile skill that almost certainly came from practice as Seeker, Harry swung his leg round the stair-rail and with his hand, hoisted himself onto the beam. At first his plan had been to slide down the first few steps and then rejoin the staircase when the marble was again solid. However, once he had begun to slip down there seemed no way of stopping until the thigh of his right leg thudded against the pillar at the foot of the beam. The sound resonated across the hall.

A few rustles came from upstairs, and Harry thought he could even hear Hagrid grunting in his sleep, but as far as he could tell no one had been woken by the sound. Breathing a sigh of relief, partly because no one was awake, and partly because he was glad that only his thigh had hit the pillar, Harry tiptoed into the living room.

When he got there his eyes nearly exploded from their sockets. All his efforts to be quite had been made pointless as a gasp of delight left his mouth before he could think twice.

Filled to their brims with presents of all shapes and sizes were five stockings hanging above the mantel piece of the grand fireplace, not far from the further mountain of presents that had been carefully tucked away under the Christmas tree.

Taking his stocking from its hook above the fireplace, Harry skidded back to the staircase and hurried up the stairs, running steadily until he reached his Professor's bedroom door. With a hint of caution he knocked on the door and waited for the Potions Master to reply.

From inside, Snape gave a knowing half smile and called for Harry to enter, being sure to cast a few charms across himself and the room before allowing the child to come in.

It wasn't long before Harry began to open his presents, overwhelmed by what he had received, and that was before he had even begun to open the ones that had been specially reserved for after the Christmas dinner. He had a large variety of Wizarding sweets, from Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans to Liquorice wands, and too many Sherbet Lemons to count (from Dumbledore he highly suspected).

And then he had some Quidditch accessories, books, quills, a new ink set. By the time Harry had finished opening the presents there was more wrapping paper than duvet on top of Snape's large double bed.

"Thank you, sir" Harry said sincerely as he began to open a chocolate frog. The frog leapt out and into Severus' arms.

"Take it, Harry," Snape said with a slight laugh, "what card did you get?"

"Dumbledore again," Harry replied, not in the least bit disappointed. He tucked the card away in his pyjama pocket and tried to gather up the rest of his presents back into the stocking.

"Your mother would be glad to see you this happy," Snape whispered mostly to himself, so quietly that Harry didn't even hear him with all the excitement. "Alright now child," Snape continued in a louder tone, "Go and get ready. I will see to it that the breakfast is served."

"This is for you, sir," Harry said, beaming with happiness as he and Hagrid handed Severus his large and rather conspicuously wrapped present.

Snape looked at the gift with surprise, "Harry, how did you-?" He asked, not finishing his sentence before he opened the gleaming cauldron Harry had picked out for him.

Harry suddenly panicked when he thought that maybe Snape was going to ask him to explain how and where he had bought the cauldron; knowing that he had technically broken the rules, he certainly didn't want to be in trouble on Christmas day of all days.

"It's wonderful, child," Snape said earnestly, looking at the timid boy beside him and trying to reassure him that he had done good. Harry laughed in relief and passed a few presents to Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall, all of whom were very thankful for their gifts.

The evening was coming to a close, and everyone was so full of food and wine that they almost forgot how surreal the situation was. Snape above all was amazed. Not only did the child want to give him of all people presents, but enjoyed seeing Harry open his presents too. He actually cared about the boy's happiness; a feeling that had been gone since the day he saw Lily for the last time.

"Now, Harry...I would like to give you this," Dumbledore said as the last present was taken from underneath the Christmas tree. The package was large and light, and soft. Harry suspected it was yet another knitted sweater from the Weasleys. However, as he suddenly felt all eyes gazing towards him intently, Harry got the distinct impression that this present was slightly more than just another jumper.

With caution Harry ripped open the wrapping paper to reveal a silky, almost translucent looking robe, with a note saying: 'Use it well'.

"What is it?" Harry asked, slightly confused as to what exactly he had been given.

"It's a cloak of invisibility, Harry. It belonged to your father," Dumbledore said matter-of-factly, seemingly unaware of Harry's discomfort at the news.

Harry put the cloak over his shoulders, looking down at his legs as they disappeared before his eyes. "I'm invisible," He said weakly, trying to look grateful. Nonetheless he couldn't hide the tears that threatened to well in his eyes, and it wasn't long before he had turned his head away from his teachers so that they couldn't see.

"Come, on, 'arry," Hagrid said gruffly, hiccupping slightly as a result of the wine.

"Leave him, Rubeus," Snape warned harshly, looking over at Harry who was still trying to hide his face. As much as he didn't want to even acknowledge that this cloak belonged to James bloody Potter, he knew it must be hard for Harry to deal with.

I knew this was going to happen! Why did that bloody old man have to bring this thing anyway? For Merlin's Sake - how would he like it if he was reminded of his dead parents on Christmas day!?

"Harry, you don't have to wear it now if you don't want to," McGonagall said, trying her best to keep things cheerful.

"Let him, Minerva," Albus interjected with a hand.

"E's fine...yer fine aren't ye 'arry?"

"Well, he doesn't look fine..."

"Young Harry is fine, Minerva"

Harry was getting more and more tense as he heard his teachers battle to convince themselves that he wasn't about to ruin Christmas; not only did he have to be a 'freak' but now he couldn't even be happy about a present he had been given. Let alone a present from his own father. He was confused as to why it wasn't making him glad, and why he felt more anxious than he did happy.

As he felt his chest grow heavier Harry made for the stairs, wanting to be away from everyone for a moment.

Back in the living room Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat, and drew breath to speak.

"No...Albus. Allow me to explain. You cannot simply expect Harry to accept gifts from his dead relatives without so much as a warning. If you please, I think it would be best to allow him this day without having to think about those things. In time, I am sure he will make use of his...gift."

Although why you need to encourage Potter to be more like his father is beyond me, Snape added to himself as an afterthought.

"Harry, child, let me in," Snape said firmly but reassuringly, knocking on Harry's bedroom door which had been firmly shut closed, "I am not cross, child, I just want to make sure you're alright," he continued, hoping that bloody invisibility cloak hadn't ruined the day entirely.

"Is it just you?" Harry asked. Snape could hear his voice shaking and cursed under his breath.

"Yes, just me," He said softly, opening the door very slowly to allow Harry time to calm down.

Harry had the cloak on his lap, staring down at his legs which had disappeared, revealing the red and golden covers underneath. Tears were falling from his cheeks and onto the silky material of the invisibility cloak, and Harry couldn't help but choke on the gulps of air he took to stop himself from crying.

"I know, child," Snape said, taking a seat next to Harry and putting a tentative arm on his back. He was used to comforting the child by now, but knowing that he had company only a few doors away made him feel slightly self conscious, "I know," he repeated, showing Harry that he didn't need to explain himself.

"It'sjustmydadandthecloakanditjustremindedmeof..."

Snape rolled his eyes, "Don't mumble Harry," he warned softly, "it's alright, I understand. You can do whatever you like with that cloak for now."

"My father would hate me..." Harry said quietly, throwing the cloak to the floor and burying his face in Snape's robes. The familiar smell of potions went some way to comfort him.

Silence filled the room for a good few minutes, before Snape finally said, "No, child. Don't ever say that."

"I'm sorry sir," was Harry's hurried reply.

Snape once again rolled his eyes, and said rather exasperatedly, "No, Harry, that's not what I meant. You know that your parents would be very proud of you. And they certainly wouldn't want to see you upset over a cloak," Snape added, nudging Harry away from him and fighting the feeling of jealousy he felt whenever he thought of Harry's father.

"What is it, Harry?" Snape asked once Harry had calmed himself down.

"It's just...I'm glad I have you," Harry said with a smile, knowing that his dad would be pleased to know he was happy.

Oh...the boy 'has me' now, is that it?!

Oh who are you kidding, Snape?

Severus gave a deep sigh and ruffled Harry's fringe. "Come on, Harry, let's go and finish the evening. I need you to make sure Hagrid doesn't have any more wine."

With that, Harry and Snape laughed quietly together before rejoining the party in the living room to enjoy the rest of Christmas Day.