The morning of the Hogsmeade weekend, I woke up to a bit of a surprise. Snow! I dressed warmly in jeans, boots and a sweater, grabbed my scarf and my italian wool cloak and ran to Sev's office.

"It snowed! It snowed! There's snow on the ground!"

"So I've heard" he passed me my coffee

"Oh come on, Sev even you can get excited about snow. The chilly air hitting your cheeks. Wrapping up in a wool cloak..."

"Babysitting a bunch of teenagers with raging hormones.."

"Oh they aren't that bad, you just don't know how to have fun! Now come on, everyone is meeting in 10 minutes. Get your cloak"

All students gathered together with their Head of House.

"I dont think I need to remind you of the rules. If any Slytherin is found breaking any rule, they will have their Hogsmeade privileges revoked and serve Saturday detention for the rest of term...with me personally. You may proceed"

"Ooh. Harsh." I whispered

He offered me his arm and we walked behind the students.

"See? Perfectly behaved kids" I wandlessly launched a snowball at Sev catching him off guard.

"Did you just hit me with snow?"

"Oh come on. Lighten up. You're so serious all the time"

"She's got a point there Snape"

"Potter"

"Nice shot Lex." he whispered as he walked by

A snowball hit me in the shoulder. Sev smirked

"Now we're talking" I winked

Snowballs were being launched from all sides. Severus was better at wandless magic than I was so i ended up covered in more snow. My cheeks hurt from laughing.

Neither of us noticed Harry watching us from up ahead.

"Alright. Alright. Truce" I said trying to shake the snow from my hair as Severus helped dust the snow off my cloak.

"See? A little fun never hurt anyone. Let's go grab a drink at The Three Broomsticks"

"Need I remind you were are working?"

"It's just a Butterbeer" I rolled my eyes as I dragged him through the door. "Go grab a table, I'll go up and order"

"You two seem to be getting along" Harry nodded toward Sev

"Yeah" I sighed "He's a tough nut to crack."

"He needs someone like you around. Remind him to live. I know more about Snape than probably anyone. He's a good man deep down... way deep down"

"Yes I know." I tried to convey what I knew without betraying Severus' confidence

"Do you?"

"Yes. I know everything"

"Ah. I'm glad he opened up to someone. Just give him time. I think he really cares for you. He wouldn't have a snowball fight with just anyone" Harry winked as he walked away

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Sev caring for me, if even in a friendly way.

I brought over two mugs of Butterbeer and sat down

"So I hear Slytherin's Quidditch match against Gryffindor is coming up this week. Do you want to watch it with me?"

"I didn't know you were into Quidditch"

"I'm not really. I was never any good at it. I'm no good on a broom. But it's supposed to be the best match of the year... Plus, it's your house. You should go. And there's no point in sitting by yourself"

"Very true. I think it could be arranged"

We finished our Butterbeer and decided to walk around.

"Zonkos?

"I detest that store"

"That means we have to go in!"

"You may. I draw the line at going in to a joke shop"

"Of course you do" I rolled my eyes

I went in and the store owner introduced himself as Bilton Blimes.

"Ah you are the pretty assistant everyone's been on about"

"Have they?" I blushed

"Well I say they certainly had something to go on about my dear" he laughed loudly

How the fuck am I supposed to respond to that? I looked around quickly noting who was buying what items for future reference. I think Sev was rubbing off on me.

I rejoined him outside

"That guy's creepy. Oooh a candy store" I said pulling his arm and dragging him through the door

I bought a huge bag full of sweets, much to the chagrin of my co-shopper.

"It's a wonder you have any teeth left"

"That's what dental floss is for. Don't be a sour puss. Everyone likes sweets"

He raised his eyebrows at me

"Oh come on this homemade chocolate is amazing" I unwrapped one and put it in front of his mouth to take a bite, which he obliged. I ate the other half

"Good right?"

"Not bad"

"Oh not bad my ass" I playfully slapped his arm

We walked back through town rounding up any straggling students and met Harry on our way back.

"Have a fun day then?" he asked

"Of course. I love this weather. The snow. The chill on my cheeks. The idea of a nice long hot bath at the end of the day. I love Christmastime. Though I do miss my big city. Ice skating in Rockefeller center and going to the tree lighting and seeing all the shop window displays. I used to walk up and down 5th avenue almost every day during Christmas break. Millions of people bustling and shopping..."

"Sounds... terrible actually that many people, but the other stuff sounds nice" Harry laughed "Isn't your family going to miss you this year? Your first time away from home?"

"No. Probably not" I didn't really want to talk about my family.

Well, see you later. " he jogged up the path towards the castle.

Later that evening, as we finished up Lesson Planning for January, Severus broke out the whiskey

"Oh thank god." I downed it in one shot. I needed some liquid courage.

I slid my chair to his side of the desk and grabbed his had. I put it to my cheek ready to share my memories, as he did with me.

"You don't have to do this"

"Yes. I do. I need you to know..."