Christmas

25th December 1998 Part 1

A select few in the Order of the Phoenix had been told that Severus Snape lived in a muggle house, on a muggle street, in a muggle neighbourhood. But no one really expected it to be the truth. There was nothing muggle about Severus; he was a wizard through and through, or so they thought.

They'd been told that the anti apparition wards around his house were so strong that no one could apparate within a quarter of a mile of the house. So the three wizards had walked through streets of well kept houses with clean windows and green front gardens. But very quickly, the difference in the small town became apparent and Harry couldn't help but frown. It had taken only a matter of minutes to walk from one part of the town to the other but now, they were walking down what was quite possibly the most depressing, desolate street that Harry had ever seen in his entire life. It was raining of course, it always seemed to rain in Cokeworth and it was dark even though it was almost midday so this did nothing for the atmosphere of the place.

Despite the fact that it was Christmas Day, there was little to show for it on Spinner's End. Only one of the old back to back houses they passed had a few pitiful lights strung on the inside of one of the windows and most of the bulbs in it were broken.

Appearance wise, it was the complete opposite of Privet Drive. People here clearly didn't care about the same things; for one, no one had a front garden to impress anyone with and there were very few cars too. On Privet Drive, it was a wordless competition that if you had the best car and the greenest front garden, then you were the better people by far. At least, you'd have thought so from the way Vernon and Petunia acted.

"Watch your step, Harry," Arthur Weasley called out from in front of him.

As they passed down yet another winding, narrow alleyway piled with overfilled rubbish bins and decaying cardboard boxes, Harry almost fell flat on his face but Remus' quick reflexes had saved him from that humiliation. He caught the younger wizard by the arm with his free hand and pulled him back up. The werewolf smiled at him from beneath his muggle umbrella and Harry thanked him.

"Cheery place, isn't it?" Remus remarked.

"Yeah, sure...cheery," Harry muttered back, glancing around again.

"Arthur seems happy enough," the man replied.

He was right of course. The red headed wizard seemed fascinated by everything that he saw. But he did have an unyielding obsession with all things muggle so taking him to a muggle neighbourhood was probably the same as letting a child lose in Honeydukes for the first time.

"Snape won't be when he sees us," Harry grumbled.

"Professor Snape," Remus reminded him with a gentle smile.

"...Right. Why exactly are we doing this again?"

"It was your idea."

"Was not," Harry shot back, childishly and Remus snorted.

"Well, think of it this way then; if we hadn't come willingly, Molly would have lead us all here at wand point and then we'd have probably ended up before the Ministry for risking the exposure of magic."

"When he sees us here, he's not going to be be happy," Harry reiterated. In truth it really had been his idea, but now it seemed as though his Gryffindor courage was faking him as they neared their destination.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Remus replied. "It's just to the left, Arthur," he called out a second later.

"You've erm...you've been here before?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Well, in a manner of speaking," the werewolf answered. "Years ago," he added, but he didn't elaborate.

"This one?" Arthur asked, stopping at one of the houses. It looked the same as all the others, made of dark bricks with an old slate roof and a black door.

"Hmmm," Remus nodded and Arthur knocked on the door.

Harry meanwhile took a deep breath and waited nervously until they saw a shadow move through the frosted glass windows of the door. After what seemed like an eternity, the door creaked open to reveal Severus Snape himself. He looked just as he always did, pale, disinterested and perfectly unwelcoming.

What they hadn't known, and had no way of knowing, was that until the second before he'd answered the door, he'd been wearing muggle clothes; specifically, old back jeans and a black jumper. But of course, after sensing that whoever was at the door had magic thanks to his wards, a silent spell had fixed that. No one needed to know that he found muggle clothes perfectly comfortable and acceptable.

"Merry Christmas, Severus," Arthur announced, jovially when the man said nothing and the dark wizard raised an eyebrow at him. "Can we come in...it's a bit wet out here?" he asked.

He seemed to debate the prospect for a minute in his head but then Severus silently turned his back on them, leaving the door open. "I'll take that as a yes," the red head smiled.

Harry shook their drenched umbrellas outside before he left both them and their wet coats by the door. His aunt and uncle had always gotten dangerously angry if he trudged rainwater through the house, after a while it had become a habit and a good thing too he supposed; the last thing he wanted to do was annoy the headmaster his first minute in the house.

They followed Severus through into a small living room with an old wood burning fire, walls lined with books and a dreary looking muggle kitchen through a door to the left. The living room was lit by candlelight and there was a small television set crammed across from the armchair which had stacks of books around it. There were discarded mugs and plates scattered around the chair as well. This was the cosy room of a man who hadn't planned on being disturbed at all.

"What do you want?" the man asked them as he sat down by the fire.

"Can I...erm..." Arthur asked, eyeing one of the chairs. Severus gave him a wordless nod and the red head fell happily into the chair which was far more comfortable than it looked. Remus followed his lead and, nervously, so did Harry. They were glared at, but Severus didn't stop them. "You have a television?" the man exclaimed before he could utter a word of thanks.

Harry looked just as surprised as he did though Remus looked more amused than anything else.

Severus just raised an eyebrow as the red head stared at the muggle device. "It looks like it works but I don't really know how it...Can I use the remoke?" he spoke quickly.

"Yes, of course it works but it helps if it's actually switched on. And the word is 'remote'," the man said.

"Yes...well," Arthur muttered, sheepishly, "Erm...well, erm...anyway, being as it's Christmas and...well...Molly's expecting you for dinner," the man explained.

"...I'm busy," Severus replied, picking up a book from a disorganised pile to his right.

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad, and you did say you'd be there..."

"I said I might," Severus corrected him.

"Just a few hours," Arthur suggested.

"I...don't celebrate Christmas."

"Maybe now is the perfect time to start."

"No," the headmaster retorted, scribbling something in the book without looking across at them.

"It'd mean a lot to us."

"...Give your wife...my regrets," Severus glared at Arthur. It was clearly a dismissal, but none of them seemed in a hurry to move.

"Well, if you won't come...can we at least wait until the rain goes off a little?" Arthur asked kindly.

"...You could be in for a long wait," the headmaster told them.

"Why's that?" the red head asked, curiously as thunder began to strike outside and shocks of lighting illuminated the room through the old blinds.

"You're a long way from the Burrow," Severus replied once the noise had quietened.

Unlike Albus Dumbledore, Severus detested Christmas time. His predecessor had made it a tradition to remain at the castle to 'celebrate festive cheer' while most other teachers went home. Severus however, chose to hide either in the Hogwarts dungeons, hoping that people forgot about him, or he holed himself away at Spinner's End where certainly no one would ever visit him. Clearly people weren't as afraid of him now as they had been previously.

"Yes," Remus nodded. "We went to Hogwarts first, you know. We were about ready to search the entire castle when Minerva told us you'd be here instead," he said and Severus scowled. "She also said to tell you that your threats have lost their edge," he added, quietly.

The headmaster sank further into his chair, muttering to himself about firing his deputy when he returned to the castle, much to their amusement.

"I shall endeavour to improve then," he grumbled, slowly louder.

"New Years resolution?" Remus inquired and Severus shrugged a little.

"An excellent idea!" Arthur exclaimed, "I always start the new year with one. Last year I said I was going to get a fellytone..."

"A telephone," Harry corrected him, smiling.

"Right, yes," the man nodded, "I actually managed to find one, you know."

"Did you get it to work?" Remus asked.

"...No, it blew up...and from what I understand, it's not meant to do that."

"You blew up a telephone?" the werewolf chuckled.

"Not on purpose...but, yes, I did," the red head answered, sheepishly. "Say, Severus...if we're going to be here for a while...do you mind...letting me try out that remote thing?" he asked, tentatively after a moment.

"Are you planning on blowing it up?" Severus muttered, without looking over at him.

"No, of course not."

"If it ends up like your telephone..."

"It won't. Wizards oath," Arthur said, cheerfully as he all but leapt up to retrieve the remote from a small, cluttered coffee table. "...A remarkable device..." he muttered, turning it over in his hands.

"Do you want me to show you..." Harry began.

"Yes!" the man nodded, sitting back down next to Harry who was half sitting against the arm of the chair he'd vacated and half standing.

"Here, you just need to press..." the young wizard said, pointing to a button on the remote.

When Severus finally managed to get them out of his house and resume his solitary 'celebrations', Minerva arrived on his doorstep bringing whiskey and yet more Christmas cheer. She too stayed for longer than expected but at least after that, he was left alone for the rest of the day.

That was until six o'clock in the evening when there was another knock at his door. He left them out there in the cold, knocking on the door for longer than was really socially acceptable but they were evidently not taking 'no' for an answer. So he answered it. Eventually.

It was an enthusiastic though exasperated Molly and a sheepish looking Arthur who stepped through into his house.

"Severus..." the red haired matriarch began as he closed the door behind them.

"If you are about to wish me the compliments of the season," he sighed, "I assure you...I've already heard enough 'festive cheer' to last me a lifetime."

"Clearly not. You didn't come to dinner," Molly replied, placing her hands on her hips as she surveyed him.

"I assumed that the Aurors have enough to worry about with all of you under one roof without adding another target," he retorted as he lead the way back through, again, to the living room which only had a few lamps and candles as well as the fire to ward off the dark and the cold.

To allow the Weasley's along with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, and Merlin only knows who else, to spend Christmas together, the already hard pressed Auror department had been left with little choice but to post watchers around the building along with some serious magical wards. Even though the last of the escaped Death Eaters had been captured, it still seemed a sensible precaution.

Severus had to hold back a smile as he thought of the exasperated expressions on their faces every time someone had left to visit him.

Clearly, Molly wasn't too worried about the Aurors because she didn't look at all put out by what he'd said. "Rubbish," she shrugged. "Anyway, I managed to save you some food," she said, taking out her wand. She conjured a tray which placed itself on the book ladened table and it suddenly piled itself high with food in a precarious balancing act. "And that's no small feat in a house full of hungry wizards," she remarked.

The tray held a huge plate full of meat and vegetables swimming in gravy, several plates of cake and biscuits, numerous glasses of firewhiskey and a magical Christmas cracker for good measure. "I couldn't just let you go hungry," Molly said to him when the food finally stopped appearing.

"I've already eaten," Severus grumbled.

Molly raised a skeptical eyebrow at the small plate which rested at the foot of the chair by the fire. It looked like the remains of a dish of rice but it must have been left there for several hours and it didn't look at all appetising. Obviously Severus didn't think so either because he hadn't eaten much of it and he vanished the plate along with its contents with a silent wave of his wandless hand.

"Then eat again," she replied. "You don't know just what I had to go through to save you all this. Ron would have scoffed the lot the second I turned my back, you mark my words."

"You should have saved yourself the trouble," Severus retorted.

"That boy eats enough as it is," she shook her head.

Of course the implication it left was that Severus himself, unlike Ronald Weasley, didn't eat enough. And it was a fair assumption. Poppy and Minerva still didn't leave him alone about his eating habits and he'd hoped that by retreating to Spinner's End, he'd have a little peace and quiet, but obviously not. Now it was a tirade of tenacious witches he'd have to put up with. It wasn't as though he didn't eat anything at all. But he couldn't help it if he didn't feel the need to stuff his face with food every five minutes could he?

"Now, at least if you won't eat with us, you can eat here alone in the dark and brood if that's what you want to do," Molly said, quite cheerfully.

"I do not 'brood'."

"Of course not, dear," she replied. "Bring the tray back when you're done," she added as they let themselves out.

Arthur shot him another apologetic smile as he was whisked out by his wife. The man hadn't even managed to say one word and Severus had been railroaded into visiting the Burrow again. Either that or he'd probably be invaded again by Weasley's when they came to retrieve the dinner tray.

Slytherins were, by no means, cowards, but their bravery was ruled by their intellect; generally speaking, and Severus' intellect was telling him that he was being really rather stupid.

He was standing a short distance away from the Burrow, easily concealed in the shadows, as he watched the people inside through one of the ground floor windows. The room was well lit and the people inside were laughing. The Aurors outside hadn't seen him and that was a rather troublesome thought. If he could slip by them then what else could?

He took a deep breath as though readying himself for battle and he strode towards the door, glaring at it like it had done him some kind of terrible wrong. He knocked on the door and it was answered in an instant.

"Severus!" Molly exclaimed happily, ushering him into the house. "You came. At last. Oh, I knew you would," she declared, leading him over to the fire and conjuring an armchair for him.

There was barely room for it with the multitude of other chairs, sofas, discarded pillows, blankets, plates and mugs which seemed to litter the floor and take up valuable space as well as the piano, but she seemed determined to make room for him. Evidently, so did everyone else as they shuffled their chairs about the place, squeezing in even closer to each other and Molly nudged the extra chair close to the fire.

Glancing around at the others in the room, most of them looked happy to see him, which wasn't something he was used to. Only Ronald Weasley seemed to squirm in his seat as the headmaster sat down.

"Here you are," Molly handed him a sweet smelling mug and a perfectly wrapped present in green and silver.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the mug but not the present. Instead, he stared at it, warily, like he expected it to attack him at any moment.

"I thought you were supposed to be clever," she sighed, "It's a Christmas present...for you," she added when he began to look a little perplexed.

And perplexed he was. People didn't generally go out of their way to give him presents. Albus always had and so had Minerva. So had Lily when they were children but that was it. Students never did, beyond the odd sycophant who wanted a good grade, and certainly no one else ever did.

"Well, open it," the matriarch prompted him, kindly.

It was a book. An antiquated potions book written by one of the eighteenth centuries' most renowned brewers and notoriously difficult to find. It was probably worth a small fortune and considering the fact that the family before him weren't exactly well off, he had to wonder just where it had come from and why on Earth they were giving it to him.

"It was my grandmothers'," Molly explained, "She wasn't really much of a brewer...but she liked to think she was, bless her. I found it a while ago...I couldn't make head or tail of any of it."

"This is worth a considerable amount of money," he said, appraising the leather bound tome.

"I know, Remus told me," she nodded.

"Perhaps you should keep it," Severus remarked, forcing himself to close the book. He had to admit, the mere thought of reading just one page was very tempting and he considered it an impressive achievement when he held it out for her to take back. He didn't consider it an act of pity by any means, but he knew what it was like to have no money and something so valuable, like this book, would have been a lifeline in his youth.

"It's a present," Molly said, rolling her eyes in frustration like he'd said something rather stupid. "From all of us," she added, "And presents can't be returned. That's a rule, you know."

"Is it, indeed?"

"Yes, it is," she nodded, sitting down.

"I wasn't aware that Christmas had rules," he replied, idly flipping the book open on his lap. The pages were worn, dusty and they had hand written notes scrawled all over them, much like his own books.

"There's lots," Ginny spoke up bravely and he raised an eyebrow at her, looking up from the book.

"Ginny, really..." Molly sighed.

"But there is, mum," the young witch protested. "You can't open presents until after dinner. We have to listen to Celestina Warbeck..." she said and making almost everyone groan, "We have to..."

"Yes, alright, dear," Molly insisted.

"We don't have to listen to that again, do we?" Ron grimaced, tossing his head back.

"I think it might scare poor Severus off," Arthur smiled at his wife, hoping, like his son, that Molly wouldn't play that same music yet again.

"Ah..." his wife frowned but then suddenly, she smiled again. "Well then I'm sure Severus wouldn't mind playing something for us," she said, optimistically.

The Dark wizard in question all but dropped the book and his jaw at the same time and the brief look of shock that crossed his face was more emotion than he was comfortable expressing before he managed to hide it.

"...I don't know any Christmas songs," he grumbled after a moment.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, dear," Molly smiled, kindly. "Just play anything you like. Anything at all," she said, standing up and all but shoving him, albeit gently, across to the piano still with his new book and mug in hand.

He managed to balance the mug on the piano, probably not a good idea, and he left the book by his side on the stool as he sat down. He stared at the keys for a moment and then at the insistent witch standing beside him.

"What exactly..." he began, exasperated.

"Whatever comes to mind," Molly answered, quickly and he sighed.

"I'm not a juke box," he said.

"A what?" she asked, furrowing her brow and he sighed again.

"Never mind," Severus said, turning back to the piano.

"What's a juke box?" Ron asked Hermione, quietly.

"It plays music," she answered, "Its a muggle device."

"Ohhhhh," Ron stressed the word, "Muggle thing, got it."

Rather than protest, Severus decided to simply play something, maybe then Molly would stop hovering over him, it was unnerving. Having said that, he had no idea what to play. He wasn't usually put on the spot like this to play music for an audience, in fact, it had never happened because no one had known that he'd played the piano before, really. Albus had known and asked occasionally when Severus had seemed to be in a particularly good mood. The old man's portrait still did ask him but Severus didn't keep a piano at the castle. Maybe he should.

Without much thought, Severus started playing the last song he'd played for Albus at his house before the war had escalated several years ago; Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters. The old man had quite liked it and had even hummed along to it, albeit badly since he didn't really know the song in the first place. It had been one of those rare occasions that he could remember with a smile even though it was quite a melancholy piece of music. *1

"Rainy days and Mondays?" Remus asked, smiling.

"It's raining," Severus remarked. At some point since he'd arrived at the Burrow, it had started to rain and he could hear it outside as he played.

"So it is," the werewolf said.

"Rainy Days?" Arthur asked him.

"The song, that's what it's called," Remus answered.

"It doesn't sound familiar...but I like it," the red head nodded, decisively. "Course, Severus could probably make even make Celestina's songs sound good on that thing," he muttered and the werewolf chuckled.

"I thought you liked her music," Molly frowned at him.

"Erm...I do, dear, of course I do..." Arthur said, not at all convincingly.

"Mmm-hmmm," she muttered back, sceptically and he coughed lightly as he looked back over at Severus playing the piano.

Once that song was over, he played another and another, and he stayed until about midnight. He only managed to sneak out of he building when both Molly and Arthur were absent from the room and every one else seemed to distracted or tired to notice.

Everyone except Harry for some reason.

"Mrs. Weasley might come after you, professor," Harry said. He'd followed Severus out of the Burrow and closed the door behind him.

"The four and a half glasses of wine she drank says otherwise," he replied, dryly, turning around to face Harry.

While things weren't as tense as they had been several months ago when, once again, Severus had ended their Occlumency lessons, Harry got the feeling that he still wasn't completely in the clear and had it not been for his Gryffindor courage, he wouldn't stayed in the Burrow rather than follow the headmaster outside.

"...Yeah," Harry scoffed, "Good point."

Severus said nothing else and he didn't intend to stay and talk because in his opinion, he'd been sociable enough today to last him a lifetime. So, he gracefully turbaned his back to Harry and walked off. Maybe it was the fine wine he'd drank or the good food he'd eaten, but Severus didn't feel particularly inclined to argue.

"Good night, professor," Harry called after him but Severus didn't answer.

When he returned home, Spinner's End seemed even more quiet and isolated than ever before. Against the Burrow, even though it's occupants were emotional Gryffindors, his own home paled in comparison, though he'd never admit it.

Severus set his new book down on a coffee table by the fire in his living room and once the place was illuminated by the candles, he found another present on his favourite chair, wrapped in Slytherin green paper. Two presents in one day was perhaps a new record for him.

Once he opened it he found a soft, wooden jumper inside. It was a Weasley jumper in Dark green and emblazoned with a silver 'S' on the front.

He wasn't quite sure whether he was grateful or embarrassed.

*1 This is just such a good song on the piano.