Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related is the property of J.K. Rowling and anyone else who has claim to a piece of Harry's fame
Disclaimer 2: I own the plot, Saerry Snape, and Aeyr's. Nothing more, nothing less.
Hippy Flower – More? Thy shalt have more.
Krista Snape – You're welcome. That is one of my two favorite phrases I've written, the other being "Idiot fools with no fang." One of my characters in my vampire rpg said that. ^^
Severitus – Heheheh. You'll see, you'll see. ^-^ I would have her stomped on but….hey, that's not such a bad idea! *evil grin* Ooo, that would be interesting. And so much fun to read! *maniacal laughter*
Luna Rose – Its coming!
MercS – Glad you like. And the Dursley's will be going through some serious pain when I'm done with them.
Marvoless – Saerry=Sah-air-ree. Glad you like. And yes, Sirius is still Harry's godfather. That's not going to change.
Draculella – It is here!! *scary music*
Phoenix – ^^
Ast – Updating as fast as I can.
summersun - ^^ I keep going and going and going….
Chapter 38 **Christmas Spirit**
Harry woke the next morning, half expecting Ron to yell "Presents!" But instead a large shaggy dog pounced on him and pinned him to his bed, licking his face while barking happily.
"Ick . . .Ugh . . . SIRIUS GET OFF!!"
Harry grabbed fistfuls of the shaggy hair and tried to push his godfather in his Animagus form off of him.
It didn't work.
Sirius continued to lick his face until Harry fell back and stopped fighting. He sighed, "You win."
The dog barked then leapt off his bed, becoming his godfather as soon as its paws touched the floor. Sirius turned to him, grinned goofily, and said, "Good morning Harry."
Harry smiled and said, "Hello Sirius."
"Sleep well?"
Harry nodded. "Yes." He chuckled and added, "Until you woke me up at least."
Sirius rolled his eyes and grinned. "How else was I supposed to get you up?"
"Shake me?"
"You have no standards Harry. You can't shake someone awake. You've got to shock them awake!"
Harry laughed at the look on his godfather's face and said, "Whatever you say Sirius."
Sirius snorted and glared at him.
Harry grinned back at him then reached out and grabbed one of the wands off the table by his bed. He handed it to Sirius and said, "Here's your wand."
"Thanks."
Sirius pocketed the wand then asked, "So, how does it feel to be Snape's son?"
Harry shrugged.
"Kind of weird. Everybody's been avoiding me since they found out."
Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Even Ron and Hermione?"
"Oh, no. Ron had a problem with it at first but he got over it. And Hermione doesn't seem to care whether I'm a Snape or a Potter." He paused then added, "And Fred and George haven't turned against me. Ginny was a little off at first but she's come around."
Sirius nodded then got to his feet. He picked up a package wrapped in Gryffindor red and gold that Harry hadn't noticed from the floor. Turning, he handed it to Harry and said, "Here. I would have put it with your other gifts but I wanted you to open this one first."
Harry took the present and removed the wrapping paper, watching gold snitches flit across its surface. When he finished unwrapping it, he saw a strange assortment of figures moving within a picture frame.
A brilliant white stag raced after a large, shaggy black dog in the portrait, a great gray wolf bounding after them. Harry thought he saw a small gray rat bounding after them.
Sirius smiled and said, "Lily took that during the last full moon in our seventh year. That was the last time to Marauder's roamed the Hogwart's grounds."
Harry watched the dog and the wolf wrestle each other to the ground then looked up at his godfather.
"Its wonderful."
Sirius smiled, his eyes brightening. He said, "I'm glad you like it, Harry."
Harry smiled down at the portrait then asked, "Do you want to come with me? Saerry wanted to ask if you and Professor Lupin wanted to join us."
Sirius shook his head and patted Harry's shoulder.
"No. You spend time with them. I'd only be in the way."
Harry blinked and cried, "You wouldn't be in the way Sirius."
"Yes I would. Besides . . ." Sirius frowned and continued, "As much as I hate to admit it, they are your family and you should spend Christmas with them."
Harry frowned. He looked down at the portrait for a moment then said, "You're the first real family I ever had Sirius. And since this if the first chance we've got to spend Christmas together, I want to. I don't care if we have to tie you and Snape down, we're going to spend Christmas together." He glared up at his godfather, waiting for his response.
Sirius stared at his godson for a moment then burst out laughing. He brushed a tear from his eye then said, "Merlin, you're as stubborn as Lily."
"Thank you."
Sirius laughed again then waited for Harry to get dressed. Harry placed the picture on the table by his bed, grabbing his wand as he went. He smiled as Sirius wrapped an arm around his shoulders and steered him out of the fifth year dorm and Gryffindor Tower. He asked, "So, you're coming?"
"When you put it like you did I don't have any choice!"
The two of them chuckled then headed towards the spot where Saerry had told them to meet her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Saerry was standing outside the portrait of the stone-faced wizard, wearing the dark red robes that she had been wearing on her first day at Hogwart's. The only difference was that she had placed small silver serpents about the neck and the bottom of the sleeves.
She sighed and leaned against the cold stone wall, scowling at the portrait, whose inhabitant was grumbling something that she couldn't hear.
Suddenly Harry rounded the corner, Sirius walking beside him with one arm thrown across the boy's shoulders. They were talking animatedly and Saerry smiled. Absently she thought Perhaps Sirius is not all that Severus said.
"Saerry!"
Harry and Sirius came quickly down the hall and Harry broke free of his godfather's to give Saerry a quick hug. As Saerry returned it, she saw anger flash across Sirius' face. Pulling away from Harry, she reached out a hand to Sirius, who looked at it like it was one of the snakes on her robes.
Saerry smiled and said, "Hello again Mr. Black. Are you going to join us this morning?"
Sirius' eyes moved from her hand to her face, his eyes studying her. She saw a haunted, deadened look in his eyes that she hadn't seen last night or a moment ago. Severus had once told her the effects of Dementors on a person and Sirius had been in Azkaban for twelve years. She should have known that deadened look would be in his eyes.
After a moment he took her hand and half-growled, "I believe I will be joining you Ms. Snape."
Saerry was unperturbed by the anger she could sense in him, just as she was by her brother's. "I am happy to hear that. And please, call me Saerry." She smiled at him, trying to show him that his belief that all Snape's were evil wasn't true.
But he didn't seem to believe it.
As their hands parted, Saerry gave an inward sigh then said, "Well, let's get going shall we?" Turning to the portrait she snapped, "Flamma."
The wizard grumbled but the portrait swung open and the three of them stepped inside. As they walked down the hall Harry asked, "Is Professor Lupin coming?"
Saerry smiled back at her nephew and replied, "I asked him earlier today. He said he would try to come."
"Okay."
A second or two later they were outside Severus' door. Saerry gave it a sharp rap and they all heard a voice yell, "Hold on!" There was a scuffling sound inside then the door opened to reveal Severus, his dark eyes bright and his hair dripping in wet ringlets about his shoulders. He smiled at Harry and Saerry then scowled at Sirius.
"Black."
Sirius gave a curt nod and said, "Snape."
The two glared at each other until Saerry scowled at the both of them and hissed, a bit of a growl in her voice, "If you two don't act civil, I'll . . I'll . . . oh, bloody hell, I'll do something you don't want me to do."
Severus looked at his sister, who looked like a feminine version of him but with their mother's features rather than their father's. He sighed and growled, "Alright Saerry." Bringing his eyes up to meet Sirius' he held out a hand and spat, "Truce."
Sirius glared at him for a moment then took his hand. They shook hands, looking like they were going to their own execution. Harry noticed that they were trying to break the others fingers. Sirius growled, "Truce." He added softly, "But if you so much as think of harming a hair on Harry's head, I'll kill you."
Severus chuckled and replied, "I believe Harry would stop you from doing that."
Sirius growled then pulled back his hand. Scowling, he strode past Severus into the room.
Harry sighed and shook his head. He muttered, "Can't they just get along?"
Saerry shrugged and patted his shoulder before leading him inside. Severus shut the door behind them and followed them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Half an hour later the four of them were eating at a table set up in Severus' quarters. They had opened the presents first, most of them being Harry's. He had gotten another sweater from Mrs. Weasley (green with a gold snitch on it) and a chocolate cake. Ron had gotten him what looked like a small Quidditch Pitch. A tiny Firebolt kept zooming around the field after the even tinier Snitch. Hermione of course had gotten him a book, Great Seekers of Our Time. She had also added in a page in the back about him. He thought that was nice of her.
Harry had also gotten a box of rock cakes from Hagrid.
But the best gifts he had gotten had been the one's from his father, aunt, and godfather.
His father had given him an exceptionally sleek broom of dark brown, almost black wood. The word Seeker was stamped on the side in silver letters, along with a tiny Snitch. Harry had nearly fallen over when he had seen it. The broom was said to be ten times faster than the Firebolt and even easier to control. The thing was, it wasn't supposed to be out until next summer.
Sirius had gaped at the broom when Harry had lifted it up for all of them to see. Harry had gasped, "How did you get this?"
Severus had simply waved a hand and replied, "Oh, I just happened to come across it." But Harry could see a twinkle in his eyes and a smile threatening to curve at his mouth. He knew that twinkle. Saerry got that look in her eyes whenever she was thinking up some prank.
The last gift he had gotten was from Saerry. And she had given him a heavy silver ring, its face engraved with the same symbol that was on his father's ring and the worn medallion he had found out that Saerry wore.
"It's the Snape family crest," she had explained. "Every Snape has some piece of jewelry with the crest on it. The men mainly get rings and the women medallions. So, I thought I'd give you one."
Sirius had looked askance at the ring but Harry was overjoyed. He had been wondering for ages what the symbol he had seen on Saerry's robes that day had been.
Now he sat absently looking at the ring, which had resized to fit his finger when he had put it on.
"Harry?"
Harry blinked and looked up at Saerry. "Hmm?"
Saerry smiled and asked, "When do you want to go ahead with our . . ." She cast a glance at Sirius then continued, "Our special plans."
Harry chuckled and replied, "Today."
"Oooo, ready to go aren't we?"
"Of course."
Saerry laughed and Harry grinned, earning them a stare from Sirius.
"What are you two going on about?"
The two looked at each other then replied, "Nothing."
Sirius narrowed his eyes and waggled a finger at them. He said, "I know you're up to something."
"We're not up to anything, Sirius."
"No, not anything."
"Pish. You think I don't know when someone's planning a prank? I was the mastermind of most of the pranks that were played in my years."
Severus growled, "One of those could not be considered a prank."
Saerry elbowed her brother and growled, "Hush Sev. You know he only did it because you were annoying him and his friends."
Severus looked at her in shock. "My own sister. Black, you've turned my own sister against me."
Sirius chuckled and said, "Its my charming looks. No woman can resist me."
Harry snorted into his glass at that.
Saerry laughed and batted her eyes. "Why, Mr. Black, how did you know?"
"I know everything."
Harry clapped his hands over his mouth and ducked under the table. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Severus laughed and said, "Pish."
Sirius arched an eyebrow and said, "You question my all-knowingness?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"Because you are an insufferable idiot."
There was silence and Harry almost thought Sirius was going to fling himself across the table. But then his godfather started to laugh. Laugh.
By that time the rest of them had joined in and to anyone watching they would have been a family.
A/N: That was fun to write. But the next chapter will be even more fun to write. ^^ Yep, you guessed it. It's the Dursley's! *evil laughter*
A/N 2: Ah, and I may, may, start work on Harry Potter and the Dark Rising soon as ideas for it have started to pop up. It will be the prequel to my other HP story Harry Potter and the Dark Defenses.
A/N 3: Also, I've done a new picture of Harry, Saer, and Sev! Remember the game of tag on the Quidditch Pitch? That's what I did! It looks so cool! Check it out…
http://www.ebicom.net/~angiew/snape_family_quidditch_signed.gif
Flamma – Flame