Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 10 Christmas Woes
Still amused by Draco's exuberance, Severus put the students' potions inside a box, which he tapped with his wand and sent it to his office for grading. Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside the classroom. He walked towards the door and soundlessly pulled it open. A few paces away were Harry and Draco, obviously on the defensive, while Hermione Granger was spewing an angry tirade about something. Severus listened for a minute to determine what it was about. Apparently, she was angry that the boys were having extra potions lessons during the holidays.
"He's just favoring Slytherins; it's not fair. I'm just as good as the two of you, why didn't he offer me the same lessons?" the girl wailed.
Severus was very glad he hadn't offered her extra lessons, for he found her to be very irritating. However, he wasn't about to let this friendship be destroyed because of such behavior. The Muggleborn's friendship with the two Slytherins was vitally important for its exemplary function.
"I can tell you why, Miss Granger," he said, stepping out into the hallway.
All three children whirled around to face him. He smiled inwardly, pleased with his ability to surprise his students.
"Professor," Granger exclaimed, mortification clearly visible on her face.
"I didn't offer you extra lessons because you would not benefit from them," Severus said. "You are a book learner, and while you are good with potions, you do not have the natural aptitude and instincts to do anything other than follow a recipe. Both Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy possess the required aptitude and instinct, which is why I am giving them extra lessons."
The girl looked thoroughly chastened and mumbled softly that she understood. Severus nodded and strode off, but looked back when he was at the corner. It seemed like Harry and Draco were consoling the girl and all was good again. He didn't mind being the bad guy in this instance; he had only been telling the truth after all.
HPHPHPHPHP
Two days later Severus stood in the corner of the staff room, a goblet of spiked punch in his hand. It was the annual staff Christmas party, which he was required to attend.
"Hiding in the corner again, are we?" Minerva asked, coming to stand next to him.
"You are hiding in the corner too," Severus snarled back.
"Now, now, don't be such a grump, Severus. Think happy thoughts. Most of the children are away, so we have some peace and quiet, that's nice, isn't it?"
Severus looked around the room. Most teachers were well on their way to becoming tipsy, only the Heads of Houses staying mostly sober in case something happened. He snorted, took a big swig of his drink, then looked in askance at his friend.
"Oh, yes, very nice. And when they get back, I can patch a number of them up from the abuse they suffered on the hands of their family. We're not even talking psychological damage. Yes, let's celebrate."
Minerva sighed. "Oh, really Severus, must you always be such a pessimist?"
"It's called a being realist, Minerva."
"But still, it's Christmas. Try to focus on the positive," she said kindly, then moved on to the next teacher.
Focus on the positive, right. He'd managed to keep several children whom were in danger at the castle during the Christmas holidays - that was positive, he supposed. Still, Christmas wasn't a happy time for Severus as he had too many demons to enjoy the season like his peers.
"Ah, my boy, lovely party, isn't it?"
Severus smiled a tense smile at Albus, whom was dressed in a bright red robe, with green tinsel on it. For Albus, it was a rather tame outfit.
"Quite," Severus answered sarcastically.
"I saw that Draco Malfoy was allowed to stay here during Christmas," Albus said cheerfully, completely ignoring Severus' tone. "How did you manage to do that?"
It didn't surprise Severus in the least that Albus had guessed that his request for help had been about Draco. After all, the man knew all about Narcissa's abuse. Thinking about the plan, Severus smiled his first real smile of the evening.
"Actually, Harry came up with the idea," Severus said.
"Really? Now you've certainly made me curious, my boy," Albus responded.
"He came to me, talking about how Draco wanted to stay here, and about how he had a plan but needed my help. He said that one-upmanship seemed to be important among purebloods, and that Draco would be allowed to stay if it meant they could brag about something. So why not give him extra lessons, as that would be something worthy to brag about," Severus said.
"But that wouldn't have worked," Albus said. "Extra lessons alone are not enough reason to skip the Yule season."
"I know," Severus nodded, "and I told him that. All he did was smile, and say that it would if The Boy-Who-Lived got those same lessons".
"He didn't?" Albus said, shocked.
"Oh yes, he did. And he was right; as soon as Narcissa heard that Harry Potter would be following my extra lessons, her darling boy had to follow them too," Severus said, grinning.
Albus frowned. "Well, I can see why it worked, but it's a bit worrying that Harry is throwing his status around like this."
"He's not," Severus said. "Draco doesn't even know it's Harry's idea, nobody does. And it really was the only way to keep Draco safe."
"Yes of course," Albus said, smiling brightly once again. "Harry's always trying to help people, very recommendable, that, very recommendable. Oh, look, Sybil has graced us with her presence, I think I should go and talk to her."
With that, Albus walked away, leaving Severus with the disquieting feeling that there was more going on than Albus was telling him, and that it all revolved around Harry. Taking another sip from his drink, Severus decided to shelter Harry from Albus' machinations as much as he could. An innocent child shouldn't fall victim to the greater good, no matter how important that good was.
HPHPHPHPHPHP
Severus awoke on Christmas morning to the smell of coffee. Grabbing his robe, he walked into the sitting room. As usual on Christmas, there was a cup of coffee waiting for him, and two presents. One from Albus and one from Minerva. Blearily, Severus sat down and grabbed his coffee. Turning his look at the presents, he did a double take. There were three presents there, instead of the normal two. He grabbed his wand and cast several detection spells, but everything was in order. He racked his brain to figure out who would have send him a gift besides Albus and Minerva. Lucius might have, but with the situation so precarious, he wouldn't want to cause any suspicions by doing something out of the ordinary. Sighing, Severus decided the only way he was going to find out was if he actually opened the present.
Deciding to leave the mystery present for last, he grabbed Albus' gift, easily recognizable by the garish wrapping paper with little dancing reindeers on it. Opening it, he saw it was the newly released book from Libatius Borage, entitled "Potions Use In Dealing With Severe Conditions." Thumbing through it for a moment, he placed it aside to read at a later date, when he had more time. Minerva's present was the usual bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. Setting that aside also, he carefully grabbed the mystery package. It wasn't very large, and the wrapping was green with a silver bow. Slowly pulling back the paper, it revealed a midnight blue box. Opening it, Severus gasped. Inside was a high-end quill and a small bottle of red ink, and in special pockets in the lid, there were several different tips that could be put on the quill. Alongside the quill was a small card, which he grabbed. It didn't say much, just 'Merry Christmas, Harry Potter'. Looking from the card to the gift and back, Severus had to swallow away some tears.
"He's just like you, Lily, so much heart. I'll take care of him, I promise, even if it's the last thing I do."
HPHPHPHPHP
Two days after Christmas, Severus sat in his wingback chair, sipping a glass of the Firewhisky Minerva had gifted to him. He'd spend almost the entire day with Draco and Harry, going over potions ingredients and how to use them. It had been a productive lesson as far as learning about potions went, but was far less productive when it came to connecting with the both of them. Heaving a sigh, Severus decided to put his troubles out of his mind for the rest of the evening and picked up his new book. He'd barely read a chapter when the alarms indicating someone was trying to get to the Stone went off.
Arriving at the third floor corridor, he saw he had beaten both Albus and Minerva there. With his wand out, pointed at the entrance, he carefully scanned the dark corridor in case he wasn't as alone as he thought. Soon he was joined by both Albus and Minerva.
"Let's go," Albus said.
Carefully opening the door, which hadn't been closed completely, Albus gently shoved a music box into the room which was playing Christmas carols. After half a minute, he opened the door completely. The big Cerburus that was guarding the entrance to the Stone was fast asleep. In no time the three teachers were past the Devil's Snare, after some judicious use of fire charms. Slowly they made their way through the dark, damp room, careful to avoid any traps set by whomever was after the stone. Albus went through the door to the next room first, eliciting an exasperating curse from Minerva and a grimace from Severus. In part he agreed with Minerva's sentiment, but he knew the old man was more than capable of looking after himself.
The next room was bright and a flurry of sound and movement. Severus scowled and wished himself back in the other room, where there were more shadows from which to defend himself. A password opened the locked door, and Minerva's chess set came in sight. It was truly a magnificent sight, Severus had to admit, but also a disconcerting one. The chess set was still in pristine conditions, indicating that whomever had crossed the room had not done so by playing across the room. Dark charms were the only other answer, which wasn't reassuring in the a few swishes of Minerva's wand, the trio walked into the next room, where an incredible stench made Severus want to retch. They quickly made their way into the next chamber, in which Severus had set his trap. He was disappointed to see that not only had his riddle not stopped the thief, he'd apparently not even needed the potion to pass through the flames.
"We should be careful, whomever is in there used some serious Dark Magic to pass through the chambers," Severus warned the others.
Minerva pulled a face at that, but didn't seem deterred in any way. True Gryffindor courage, Severus thought.
"We're ready," Minerva responded, as she gripped her wand tighter.
With a few muttered words Severus disabled his trap, and they carefully went into the next room. Their only hope now was that Albus' trap had held, or the thief could be long gone. Severus could imagine the horrors someone with Dark aspirations could produce with the Stone in his or her possession only too well. It was something Severus was determined to stop at all costs. Once inside the last chamber, Severus was both shocked and vindicated as Quirinus whirled around to face them.
"Quirinus, you're not who I was expecting," Albus said, sounding disappointed.
Briefly Severus wondered if Albus was disappointed that the man was trying to steal the Stone while he'd trusted him, or disappointed that it was not the Dark Lord, thereby confirming his theory.
"You're a fool, old man, and my master will defeat you now once and for all. Then the Stone will resurrect him, and he will rule you all," Quirinus shouted, then fired his first spell.
The foul curse was stopped by Albus' shield, and then the fight was on. The three defenders quickly overpowered Quirinus, and soon had him lying bound on the floor. However, before they could approach him, a horrible scream came from the man's mouth, and out of his body came a specter which was horribly familiar to Severus.
"I will return and you will all pay," the specter screeched, then flew away through the wall.
"Oh my, was that…" a very pale Minerva said shakily.
"Yes, my dear, that was Voldemort," Albus said gravely.
Severus suppressed his flinch when the name send a burst of pain through his arm and instead went to check on Quirinus. As he had assumed, the man was dead, the sudden withdrawal of the Dark Lord having killed him.
"At least the Stone is safe," Severus said. "Although I am not sure if I will ever be able to pick up my duties once the Dark Lord returns."
He didn't know if he should be glad or disappointed about that.
"Well, we'll think of something should that happen, although I'd rather stop his return in its entirety," Albus said. "For now, we need to deal with Quirinus' body, the Stone, and finding a new Defense teacher before the end of the holidays."
Minerva started back the way they came, floating the body behind her. Severus went to follow her, but turned back to Albus before he left the room.
"I might have an idea for a new Defense teacher, come and see me after you're done here," he said.
Albus nodded, and Severus left, deeply troubled by the happenings of the evening.
HPHPHPHPHPHP
The rest of the week passed without much incident, but this changed on Monday night. Around 2 in the morning, his student-in-distress signal awoke Severus. After pinpointing it to the first year boys' dorm, Severus broke out in a sprint, terror gripping his heart that the Dark Lord's specter had gone after Harry. He barged into the dorm room, only to come up short at the sight of a gasping Harry, surrounded by the other boys, all of whom were clearly concerned.
"What happened?" Severus asked brusquely.
"Harry had a nightmare, Professor; he woke the entire dorm up with his screaming," Vincent said.
"I couldn't get him to wake up, then all of a sudden he shot up and was awake," Draco added.
"All right," Severus said, putting away his wand. "Why don't you all try to get back to sleep? Harry, let's go and have something to drink, shall we?"
Harry nodded and, after grabbing his robe, followed Severus out of the dorm. Once inside Severus' sitting room, ensconced with hot chocolate for the boy and black coffee for himself, Severus asked Harry about his nightmare.
"It's not a big deal," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yes, it is, Harry," Severus said softly. He was determined not to stop this time until the boy talked to him. "Everyone has nightmares, and while all are different, none of them are 'not a big deal'."
"You have nightmares, sir?" the boy asked, not looking at him.
Severus hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not he'd allow this temporary distraction, then decided that maybe sharing something of himself was a way to get the boy to open up to him. Merlin knew nothing else he'd tried so far had worked.
"Yes, I do," Severus answered.
"About your time as a Death Eater?" the boy asked.
For a moment, Severus was surprised. He'd expected some question about what his nightmares were about, but to get asked so directly about his past was a shock. Apparently, something of the Gryffindor qualities of his parents, like sheer courage, had been passed to the son.
"Yes, some of them are about that time," Severus answered honestly. "But the one I have most frequent, the one that hurts the most, is about something that happened several years before I became a Death Eather."
Harry looked at him, clearly surprised. Then, the surprise turned to contemplation.
"Yeah, I can get that. Sometimes the big things just happen, you know, and nothing you could have done could have stopped it. So you don't dream about it so much. But the small things, things you could have changed, those hurt," Harry said.
Finally, Severus thought, finally we're getting somewhere.
"Yes, they do hurt. Is that what your nightmare was about?" Severus asked, and then waited with bated breath for the answer.
For a moment it seemed like Harry wouldn't answer. Then the boy snorted.
"No, not this time," he said, his eyes closed. "This was the plain old green lights, high pitch laugh, parents screaming nightmare."
Severus swallowed heavily. He so wasn't the right person to deal with this. Unfortunately, he was the only one here. Never before had he wished for Minerva's presence so much. She'd surely know what to say. He decided to go with the easy question first.
"Do you have this nightmare often?"
"No," Harry answered. "When I was really little I had it a lot, but I grew out of it, I think. This is the first time in years that I've had it."
This made Severus frown. He didn't believe in coincidences, and Harry having this particular nightmare so soon after the Dark Lord's specter had left his servant's body was a cause for concern, to say the least. He wasn't, however, going to concern the boy with this. Seeing that Harry had finished his drink and was beginning to have trouble keeping his eyes open, Severus escorted the boy back to his dorm. Back in his own rooms, he looked forlornly towards his bed, dubbing whether or not he could catch a few more hours of sleep. Deciding it was better to start researching the connection between Harry's dream and the Dark Lord's specter when he was fresh, he vanished the coffee he hadn't drunk yet, and laid down for a couple of hours sleep.
The soft pinging of the Floo woke Severus the next morning. Waving his wand to get the time, he was startled when it showed him that it was well past eight. He never slept so late. Reluctantly getting out of bed, he made his way to his sitting room and opened the Floo. Immediately Lucius' face appeared in the flames.
"Can I come through?" he asked, voice tight with tension.
Wordlessly Severus nodded. He had a feeling this was going to be bad. When Lucius had stepped through, Severus closed down the Floo again.
"Should I get Albus?" he asked.
Lucius shook his head.
"No, I don't have the time to wait for him, I need to get back before I am missed."
"What's wrong?" Severus asked his friend, eyeing him with increasing worry.
"We have a huge problem," the blond wizard said. "You'll never guess who visited my house last night."
Severus said down heavily.
"I can guess," he said morosely.
Lucius looked at him, but obviously decided to let the comment go, for he began telling Severus about the visit of the Dark Lord's specter.
"This will ruin all of our plans for the summer," Lucius concluded.
Severus nodded absently, his mind still reeling with what Lucius had just told him. Things were moving fast, far too fast for his liking. But at least he had part of the answer as to why Harry had his nightmare last night of all nights. It briefly made him wonder what the Dark Lord had been up to in Harry's early years, when he'd had the nightmare so often.
"I have to go," Lucius said. "You'll brief Albus?"
"Yes," Severus reassured his friend. "And I'll come back to you with the new plan. Don't worry, we'll find a way to stop this."
"That's not what I'm afraid of," Lucius answered. "I'm more afraid of what this will mean for Draco."
Severus had no reply to that, and Lucius left as despondently as he had arrived.
