Christmas came by, and Francesca Zabini woke up with a gleeful feeling in her heart. Yawning as she got up from her bed, her eyes lit up upon seeing the small pile of presents on the floor and she examined them all to find the one she really waited for.

Only for her to frown at the smallest box of them all; it was about the size of an engagement ring box. After inspecting it closely, Francesca then unwrap the item carefully and let out a gasp as she saw what was inside and took it out.

It was a stone locket; one side had a raven engraved on the surface while the other side had a spider. Biting her lower lip in excitement, Francesca went to read the note Severus had sent along:

Your spider pendant was the inspiration for this, hope you like it. The button below the raven was meant to be a Portkey; just imagine your safest place and it will send you there right away. I wish I can make it allocated to different locations but it didn't work, so choose well!

Severus

True to his words, there was a switch underneath the stone raven. Francesca's first choice to key in the Portkey was her family home, but wouldn't that be too obvious? Deciding it could wait for another day, she quickly noticed the spider was another button and intrigued, she pressed it.

The locket opened up to reveal a moving picture of Severus smiling at her. When the image waved at her, she absent-mindedly returned the gesture with a fond grin.

Oh, what a wonderful man Severus Snape was! Francesca just couldn't imagine how clever and innovative he had been to make such present for her; she even thought her amethyst spider necklace paled in comparison to his! She only hoped he would like her gift too in return.

Smiling wistfully at the moving photograph of her boyfriend, she then closed the stone locket and put it on before going to prepare breakfast for herself.

Severus stared in amusement at the Christmas present Francesca had sent him.

As predicted, the spider motif was used; this time it was silver in color and was woven on a black scarf. He briefly wondered if she had a fascination with such arachnids, and frowned upon thinking whether her Animagus form would be the same too.

Breakfast went by with minimal disturbance and after finishing his meal, Severus prepared himself to ask his ancestors a question.

"Uh…" he began, twiddling his thumbs nervously, "I hope none of you will take this the wrong way, but… May I bring a snake home? It was, uh… lonely and wanted to follow me here." He too, had wished for the mentioned serpent to be able to leave its somber home but would that be against Salazar Slytherin's order: for it to remain in Hogwarts? Could he even bring it to the mansion?

He waited anxiously as all of the previous Princes turned to each other; even the resident ghost of the manor, Septimus Prince gave him a quizzical look. Though he noted how Meredith Gaunt had her eyebrow lifted in interest and he returned the gesture knowingly.

"Severus, you are the current Lord Prince," Titus Prince guffawed, "There's no need to ask us for such permission! But, it just shows how much you value our family motto; and that was something we're proud of you. Of course you can." The others chimed in their agreement, wondering what kind of serpent their heir would bring home.

Severus grinned at his words. He really intended to keep their trust just as they kept his. He bowed down in gratitude to the portraits and after keeping the rest of his presents in his room; he took a bath and dressed up for the day.

"Going to see Eileen?" his grandfather's portrait asked. Severus only nodded as he wore the scarf Francesca gave him. It was charmed with a warm heating spell, and he smiled upon feeling the comforting sensation.

Lux had her brows furrowed, "Severus… I know you want nothing more to do with her, but could you invite her here? Just for a day? Surely… surely she could spare some time with us?"

Severus held out a sigh at his grandparents. "I will try, but… don't expect much." Stepping out of Prince Manor, he then Apparated to Spinner's End and knocked on the door of his parents' house.

"…'Ello, Ma," he greeted.

Eileen simply folded her arms with raised eyebrows. "Fancy seeing you here of all days, Severus," she said sarcastically, "What would be the occasion?"

"Your mother's asking for you," Severus groused, shoving his hands in his coat's pockets, "are you that prideful that you can't spend a day in the manor?" He narrowed his eyes at the Prince family's pendant around her neck.

Much to his surprise, his mother actually looked apologetic as she subconsciously wrung the hem of her dress. "He would ask," was all she said.

At that, Severus rolled his eyes in utmost exasperation. "Why are you afraid of him? He's just a Muggle. You're… You're better than him. Hell, I'd say any other man would be a better partner for you!" he almost shouted, "Just… be brave for once, Ma. Live up to your name. Everyone in the manor wanted you to be there. Two hours… would be more than enough. Please."

He stared into his mother's onyx eyes hopefully, wishing for her to come along. Perhaps the other family members could convince her to stay? But… what if his plan to bring the basilisk over succeeded?

No, no, no. As much as he'd like for Eileen to be in Prince Manor, he reluctantly agreed that her staying in Spinner's End would be better for both of them.

He almost jumped out of joy when she finally nodded. "But only for two hours; no more, no less," she huffed halfheartedly.

Severus only snorted; punctuality seemed to run in their veins. He then waited for Eileen to change into one of her dress robes and smiled at her bashful expression. Holding each other's hand, the two pressed their pendant's buttons to reappear in front of the Prince mansion. He frowned when seeing her pursed her lips.

"…Do they really say that, Severus?" Eileen whispered and he sighed. Years of living with a man like Tobias Snape sure had brought her spirits down. He only took her hand and opened the entrance doors, embracing themselves for the inevitable.

The corridor full of portraits went silent as soon as they entered. Severus could tell his mother wanted to run away from the sudden attention and tightened his grip on her wrist, wanting her to remain where she was.

Then chaos ensued.

"Oh, our dear Eileen!"

"Been a long time since we last saw you!"

"A Christmas miracle, indeed!"

Both mother and son winced as the paintings went on rambling as if nothing had happened for the past twenty years.

"One person at a time, please!" someone finally said and the noise died down considerably.

Slowly, Severus let her reacquainted with the manor's occupants, and went to his room to see Marvolo's present for him: Salazar Slytherin's basilisk's completed armor. It was a small thing, but with a press of a button on the supposed snout, it would enlarge and open up, allowing the gigantic serpent to fit in easily into the armor.

Oh, he couldn't wait to see how the basilisk would perceive the gift.

Lunch was as modest as it could get, with Severus noticing how Eileen looked more comfortable as she chatted with her parents. When her two hours went up, the Princes' house-elves had given them numerous enchanted boxes full of food for nearly a week and they all shared a heartfelt farewell before reappearing in Spinner's End.

"I- Well, I…" Eileen stumbled upon her words before shaking her head and gave Severus a weak smile, "…Thank you." Entering the pallid house, the two almost dropped the packaged food in their hands at the sight of Tobias Snape in his armchair.

Both of them gulped in horror upon seeing the man's narrowed brown eyes staring at them.

"Where ye been?" he asked, huffing out a smoky breath.

"A friend's house," Severus lied, barely hiding his fright, "just… visiting over." Glancing at his mother, he grimaced before turning away. "…Merry Christmas, Ma, Pa."

"I haven't finished talking to ye; boy," Tobias snarled and Severus involuntarily flinched, cursing himself for being weak in front of his father. "Must be fun, eh? Begging for food from others like a charity case; like some beggar?" he spat.

Severus really wished he could hex the man, but the small shake of his mother's head said otherwise. And so, both mother and son only listened as Tobias ranted on how the Snapes were supposed to be proud of their own efforts and Severus almost puked at the irony of his words.

He had never felt so glad to leave the gloomy place.

Lord Voldemort never really liked New Year's Eve.

His birthday was always forgotten in favor of the more joyous celebration of Christmas (many had said the presents he received for Christmas already counted for his birthday as well, and saw no need to spend money on a lowly orphaned half-blood wizard) and welcoming another year for their existence; a new beginning, they had said. Even now, he didn't expect his Death Eaters to suddenly throw him a party, simply content with enjoying the day for himself.

Though, this time he yearned to celebrate it with another person.

His serpent companion sensed his conflict and hissed softly as she slithered onto his shoulder, "Just go for it, Tom."

"I'd imagine he would be busy packing his stuff back to Hogwarts," he grumbled.

"Always so serious," Nagini lazily flicked out her tongue, "I want to be with him for the day."

The Dark Lord sighed, "Since when did you become so persistent?"

Although he couldn't see it, he just knew the snake was smiling smugly at him. Rolling his eyes, he walked out of Malfoy Manor with her and Apparated to the cottage behind the British Library before knocking on the wooden door.

"Hello," Severus Prince greeted them with a smile, "what's the occasion?"

"It's his birthday," Nagini interrupted and Lord Voldemort shot her a glare, to which she only stuck her tongue out in amusement.

Severus blinked before letting them in. "Must be a tough day, with the new year's coming in," he said while he wrote something on a piece of parchment.

"You don't say," the Dark Lord replied as he sat on the couch, watching as Nagini began to explore the shack.

"Mmm, I get what you feel," Severus went on and with dawning horror; Lord Voldemort realized the boy had put the note into the lunch box that was connected to Prince Manor.

He soured as soon as Severus took out a huge plate of chocolate cake from it.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't like cakes?" the boy asked innocently.

"I see no need in celebrating such petty occasions," the Dark Lord huffed, though he was touched that his supposed heir wasted no time in getting him a… cake. A birthday cake. He was an adult, not some whiny child; damn it! Why was this bothering him so much?

Severus rolled his eyes and placed the chocolate cake on the coffee table, "Like I said; I know what you feel. Birthdays coming up right after holidays, ugh."

Lord Voldemort blinked his red eyes. "You… too?" he asked incredulously.

"Not for another week, but yes," Severus quirked his eyebrow before going to retrieve the plates and forks in the kitchen. Turning to Nagini, the Dark Lord slowly had a smile in his face.

Perhaps New Year's Eve wasn't so bad after all.

It was the day of returning to Hogwarts after Christmas break, and Peter Pettigrew wondered just why he had to remain in Gryffindor after his re-Sorting. Had the Sorting Hat been a fluke? Or was this the time he would shine among his peers?

"Come on Pete, just this once," James Potter begged, "You've made it possible for us to create the Map, what's not to say you won't find the legendary Chamber of Secrets?" Beside him, Sirius Black was baring his teeth in utmost anticipation.

Peter turned to Remus Lupin and Lily Evans for help, but they only smiled weakly at him. The thought of gaining possible fame sure had got them mad.

"B- But remember what Dumbledore had said?" he tried to convince them how that idea seemed terribly flawed, "There's a basilisk hiding somewhere in the school! W- What if someone will die?" Peter didn't say the silent question: What if he died in search for the beast?!

"And that's exactly why we need to find it as soon as possible!" Sirius exclaimed, and Peter could barely hide his terrified squeak and closed his eyes. How he wished for them all to forget the damned conversation already!

"What is going on here?"

Peter had never felt so relieved of Severus Snape's presence. Turning aside, he saw the Head Boy had opened their compartment, his onyx eyes narrowed in suspicion at them.

"This ain't your concern, Snivellus," Sirius spat, though Peter noticed how his grin had dropped slightly.

Snape only lifted his eyebrow, "But it is my duty to solve any disputes on the behalf of the teachers." He leered at Evans, who returned the gesture just as fiercely as he was.

"Enjoy being the teacher's pet, eh, Snivvy?" James retorted hotly, "Get the hell out of our sight, or…" He took out his wand and pointed it to Snape.

"Put the wand down, Potter," the Head Boy hissed. "Or would you rather serve detention the second you enter Hogwarts? Please, do so if you want. I'd be delighted."

Peter watched as James turned to Sirius and reluctantly kept his wand with a disgruntled snort. Satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, Snape then left the coach. Peter's supposed friends then exchanged looks with each other; whatever it would take, Severus Snape couldn't know of their plans.

Too bad that Peter Pettigrew was not as trustworthy as they were.