Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
~~~
Monday, December 20, 1993
"Why aren't you in bed, how long have you been up, and what are you doing?" Severus asked Harry around eight o'clock the next morning when he found the boy in the kitchen.
"Couldn't sleep, half an hour, and making breakfast."
"Harry, you don't have to cook for us, you know." Harry held up a hand as he pointed his wand at three eggs, which cracked perfectly over a steaming pan.
"I don't care. I want to. It makes me feel useful, and it keeps my mind off of other things." He flipped some pancakes. "What's going on today, then? Is Draco still asleep?"
"He is still asleep, like any normal teenager would be at eight o'clock on the morning on vacation." Severus looked pointedly at Harry, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Nobody ever said I was a normal teenager."
"Point taken. Draco's looking a lot better than he was last night. I was thinking that, if you two wanted to, we could go into Hogsmeade for a couple of hours and buy any last-minute gifts that we might need."
"Is it safe for him?" Harry asked, concern showing in his eyes.
"Just as safe as it is for you," Severus assured him. "However, the two of you are absolutely not allowed to go anywhere out of my sight. Or Lupin's; he's going with us."
"So the evil Potions master and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher are going to protect us?" Harry asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Sounds good to me. I could think of all kinds of trouble to stir up for the two of you."
"But you won't," Severus said in a warning tone. Harry frowned and turned back to his cooking.
"You're no fun."
~~~
Early that afternoon, Snape and Lupin took the boys into Hogsmeade. Both boys were armed with a piece of parchment listing the people they needed to buy presents for.
"You haven't bought any gifts yet?" Severus asked Draco, who shook his head.
"I haven't been allowed to come to Hogsmeade," he replied. "And I certainly wasn't going to ask you to buy things for me. Besides, I only have seven people to buy for. I won't be too long."
"I have four more presents to buy," Harry commented. "I've already got presents for the Weasleys and the Grangers." He looked at Draco's list. "Get Ron something that has to do with Quidditch. Get Hermione a book. It doesn't really matter which one; she'll read it either way."
They headed into a store that sold books, posters, and many other things. Harry pulled Lupin away from the other two.
"I don't know what to get for Severus," Harry sighed. "Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't know, Harry, I'm sorry. I'm sure he'll like whatever you pick out, though." Harry's eyes lit up suddenly.
"Oh, I know what I can get for him! But I can't get it today. Hey, do you think you could bring me back here on Christmas Eve?"
"Sure," Lupin agreed, smiling at the excitement in the young boy's eyes. "Oh, Harry, I remember coming here for Christmas shopping with your mother and our friends. Lily was always so excited around Christmas; it was her favorite holiday." Harry smiled, sadly, and Lupin gave him a gentle hug. "Come on, cheer up. Who else do you have to buy for?"
"Dumbledore, Hagrid¼" Harry's voice trailed to an end. He knew that if he told Lupin that he still had to buy a present for him, the professor would tell him not to.
"Do you know what you want to buy for either of them?" Harry smiled a little.
"I know that I have to get Dumbledore a pair of woolen socks. It's a joke between us, don't ask. I'll probably get him something else to go with that, though. And for Hagrid¼ I don't really know. I saw this dragon carved out of wood, and I think he'd like it. I have to see if it's still in the shop. They're right next-door."
"I'd like to look in that shop, as well. How about I tell Severus that we'll meet him and Draco at The Three Broomsticks in an hour?"
"All right," Harry agreed.
An hour later, the two professors and the two boys were seated at a table in The Three Broomsticks. All were tired and cold, and they decided that after they got some warm drinks, they'd go back to Hogwarts.
"How'd you get your shopping done so fast?" Harry asked Draco, who had easily bought all the presents he needed. The blond boy shrugged his shoulders.
"I used to have a hard time buying presents for my¼family¼but this was just so easy today. I think it was easier because I actually care about the people I was buying for, instead of just buying them presents because I have to." Madam Rosmerta, the owner of the place, came up to their table.
"What can I get for you boys? Something to warm you up?"
"Hot chocolate all around, Rosmerta, thank you," Lupin said, smiling at the pretty woman.
"Sure thing, Remus," Rosmerta said. "How bad is it out there?"
"It's pretty cold," Severus replied, nodding his head. "I wish there were an easier, warmer way to get back to Hogwarts."
"I bet," Rosmerta said in a quiet voice, "if you ask real nice, you could probably use the 'secret' passage under Honeydukes." She turned and went back to get their drinks.
"There's an idea," Draco said. "We should try-"
"No," Harry said, suddenly. His voice was a little shaky. "No, I'm not going back in that passage."
"It's all right, Harry, you don't have to if you don't want to," Severus assured him. "Though it would be warmer, and quicker¼ But if you're uncomfortable with the idea, that's fine. Remus could take Draco that way, and I'll take you the normal way."
Harry sighed, taking note of how his body was shivering and his teeth were chattering from cold. Would I rather go through the snow and freeze, or would I rather go through the passage where I tried to kill myself and be warm?
"Harry?"
He lifted his head and looked at the three people coming towards him. He was leaning back against the wall, staring at the knife in his hands. His face was stained with tears, and his eyes were red.
"Harry, we've been looking for you for almost two hours." It was Draco. He knelt down by Harry.
"Has it been that long?" Harry asked in a weak voice. Draco nodded his head.
"The look in your eyes when you left¼ I was scared you were going to do something." Harry didn't reply right away.
Finally, he swallowed hard and said, "You're too late¼" With that, he gave in to the darkness.
Harry snapped from his reverie and looked at his teachers and Draco, who were all staring at him intently.
"I want to go back the normal way," he whispered. "I-I just can't go back in there."
~~~
Later that evening, Severus had some 'secret' business to attend to in Dumbledore's office. Draco and Harry decided to eat supper in the Great Hall with the teachers and students. Looking around the table, the boys saw four first-year students and a sixth-year. They didn't see Pansy Parkinson, however, and for some reason, that worried Draco.
"She's up to something," he whispered to Harry. "I don't know how I know; I just do." Harry changed the subject.
"What did you get for Severus?" he asked, quietly.
"A book on potions- something or other," Draco replied. "Nothing real big, but I couldn't think of anything else. You?"
"I had a great idea, but I couldn't get it today. Lupin's taking me back to Hogsmeade on Christmas Eve."
"What is it?" Draco wondered.
"I can't tell you. It's a surprise." Harry smiled, sneakily.
After dinner, and after the teachers had left the Hall, Pansy walked in. She grinned evilly at Draco and Harry as she carried something in her hand. As she came closer to where they were sitting, by the fire, Harry saw that it was a photo album.
The photo album that Hagrid had given him in Harry's first year. Hagrid had owled all of Lily and James Potter's friends and asked for pictures to put in the album, so that Harry could see his parents.
"How did you get that?" Harry asked in a trembling voice.
"Oh, I have my ways, but don't worry about that, Potter." She practically spat out his name. "Now I've been thinking¼ Ever since you survived the Killing Curse, you've been the Golden Boy of the wizarding world. Everyone wanted to know you. Everyone cared about you. And you were always in the spotlight, leaving nothing for the rest of us. We're all in your shadow. So I've been trying to think of ways to get back at you for that. Potter, say good-bye to your parents once again."
With that, she opened the album, revealing a pile of pictures that she'd ripped up. Before anyone could stop her or say anything, she threw the pieces in the fire.
"Oh, Pansy, you're in for it this time," Draco warned her.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her, saying a few words. She instantly turned into a rat. Then Draco ran to the fire and tried to extract any remaining pieces of pictures from the flames.
Harry could do nothing. He just sat completely still and silent, staring at the fire. His eyes were wide, filling with tears. Soon he began to tremble as he broke down, sobbing into his hands.
"No!" he cried. "No¼"
Draco gave up trying to save the pictures when he heard Harry. He crawled over to the boy, hugging him tightly, and then turned his head to look at the four first-years and the sixth-year, who were all watching the scene.
"One of you go upstairs to the Headmaster's office. Professor Snape is up there. I don't care what they're doing, just tell Professor Snape that he's needed down here." Nobody moved, and Draco glared at them. "Now, damn it!" The sixth-year, a Ravenclaw, ran upstairs and, not knowing the password to Dumbledore's office, began to shout for the Headmaster.
"Headmaster!" she yelled. After a moment, Dumbledore opened the door.
"Miss Mackenzie, what is the matter?" he asked, surprisingly pleasant after being interrupted by a student's shouting.
"Headmaster, is Professor Snape in there?" the girl asked. Snape appeared in the doorway, behind Dumbledore, when he heard the girl's frantic voice. "Professor, you're needed in the Great Hall. Something happened between Pansy Parkinson and Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy told me to find you. Headmaster, I think you should come, too."
Snape didn't hesitate in running to the Great Hall, but nothing prepared him for the sight he was met with. He stopped short when he saw that Harry was collapsed and sobbing in Draco's arms. Quickly getting over his surprise, he continued to run over to the boys, coming quite close to stepping on the rat that scurried across the floor.
"Draco, what happened?" Severus rested a hand on Harry's head.
"Pansy somehow got hold of Harry's photo album. You know, the one Hagrid gave him with all the pictures of Harry's family? She'd gone through and ripped all the pictures up, and then she brought them in here and threw the pieces in the bloody fire, right in front of him!" Draco shook his head, his face full of anger. "I tried to get anything I could out of the fire, and then I looked back at Harry. He wasn't moving or talking or doing anything; I thought he was going to faint or something. But then he just broke down, and I sent someone to get you."
"And where is Miss Parkinson now?" Severus asked, frowning in disgust as he spoke her name. Draco pointed at the rat.
"I did the first thing that came to my mind," he explained, sheepishly. Severus pointed his wand at the rat, changed her back into human, and put the Leg-Locking Curse on her.
"One hundred points from Slytherin, and detention every night for you, at the very least. Headmaster?"
Everyone was surprised when they saw the glare in Dumbledore's normally sparkling eyes as he looked at Pansy.
"Miss Parkinson, how could you possibly do something so cruel?" he asked her. He held up his hand as she opened her mouth. "No, don't answer that. We are going to my office, and I will decide the best course of action." Dumbledore led Pansy, no longer leg-locked, out of the Hall, just as Lupin rushed over to Severus, Draco, and Harry.
"One of the students told me what happened," Lupin said, kneeling down on the floor. "How is he?"
"Remus, help Draco take Harry downstairs," Severus instructed him. "I'm going to go discuss some things with Albus and¼Miss Parkinson."
"Sev, don't be gone too long, all right?" Draco said, looking up at Severus. The professor sighed when he saw the worry in the boy's eyes.
"I'll be back before you know it," he assured him. He reached over to gently squeeze Draco's shoulder, then Harry's hand. Then he headed back upstairs.
"Draco, can you let go of Harry, please?" Lupin asked, gently. "I'll carry him downstairs." Draco allowed Lupin to lift Harry up, but as soon as he was secure in the professor's arms, Draco grabbed the boy's hand tightly.
Once they reached Severus's chambers, Draco spoke the password and the door opened. He led Lupin to the boys' bedroom, and the professor lowered Harry to his bed. The boy was no longer crying, but he was frighteningly silent. He immediately lay on his side, facing the wall. Lupin pulled the blanket out from under Harry and covered him with it. Harry didn't acknowledge either Lupin or Draco when they spoke to him, and he kept his eyes fixed on a spot on the wall. He didn't even blink.
"Harry, please say something," Draco pleaded, softly. He sat next to Harry on the bed, gently rubbing his back. "We need to know that you're okay." No words were spoken by the other figure on the bed. Lupin motioned for Draco to come out of the room with him.
"Just give him some time, Draco," Lupin advised. "He just lost the one thing that probably meant more to him than anything else in the world. It's understandable that he's so upset." The two sat at the dining room table, and Draco folded his arms across his chest, frowning.
"I'm supposed to take care of him," he murmured. "I should have stopped her. If I stopped her before she threw everything in the fire, they'd still be ripped up, but at least they could have been fixed."
"Nobody ever said that you're supposed to take care of Harry, Draco. You're a good friend to him, and that's good, but we, the teachers, are the ones who are supposed to take care of him."
"He's more than a friend to me," Draco sighed. "He's like a brother. And older brothers protect the younger brothers¼" Lupin patted Draco's hand, comfortingly.
"Well, you're doing a good job so far, but you can only protect him so much. Don't worry; he'll be fine. If I'm not mistaken, those pictures can be fixed, even if they're ashes in the fire. And I know that Severus is going to make this Christmas great for the two of you." Draco sighed.
"I hope you're right," he said. He changed the subject. "What do you think Sev wants to do with Pansy?"
"Last time she did something to Harry, throwing his past in his face and such, Severus came to me and told me that if she does anything else, says anything else, to either one of you, he's going to make sure she's expelled." They heard the door open. "Speaking of Severus¼"
"Is he all right?" Severus wondered, his expression full of worry as he came into the room.
"He won't talk. He won't do anything. He's in bed, staring at the wall." Draco looked up at Severus. "What's happening with Pansy?"
"She's going to be expelled," Severus replied. "Dumbledore agreed with me that all the things she's done to Harry are cause for expulsion. Draco, I know you have homework to do. Why don't you go work on that for a while? I need to speak with Remus." Draco nodded and went to the living room, to work on his homework.
"Draco thinks of Harry as a younger brother," Lupin told Severus. "He thinks that it's up to him to protect Harry and take care of him."
"Well, he's done a damn good job, hasn't he?" Lupin nodded his agreement. "I need to do something about the pictures. I have an idea, but I could use your help." Severus told Lupin of his plan.
"You know it won't be the same, Severus. I'm sure Harry will like it, but it won't be the same." Severus nodded.
"I know. Will you help me?"
"You know I will."
~~~
Tuesday, December 21, 1993
"Harry," Severus said from the doorway of the bedroom the next afternoon. The boy hadn't moved an inch since the day before. "Come on, you can't stay like this forever. I know you're upset, but I have something for you that might make you feel better." I hope¼
Still, Harry didn't speak a word, and he didn't move. Severus sat on the bed and reached a hand out to touch the boy's face. He didn't even flinch at the touch.
"Harry, please. We hate seeing you like this. Please, just come out here for a few minutes. If you don't like what you see, then you can come back in here. All right?"
When Harry still didn't reply, Severus sighed and lifted the boy up. Harry didn't even struggle to get down as Severus carried him out to the sofa. Severus placed Harry on the couch, then sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Lupin and Draco were both present, and Lupin handed a book to Severus, who showed it to Harry. Severus opened the book, and in it were many pictures of James, Lily, and Harry Potter. Some of them were the same as the ones that had been burned, and there were also many new ones. Harry slowly reached a hand out to touch a picture, then looked up at Severus with tears in his eyes.
"How-" Severus smiled and shook his head.
"They're not the pictures that got burned," he explained. "Over the years that your mother and I were friends, she sent me hundreds of pictures; even more after you were born. I've kept every single one. Last night, Remus helped me put this together for you; he even threw in a few of his own pictures. Consider it an early Christmas gift. I couldn't stand seeing you so upset, so¼here it is."
"Thank you¼" Harry murmured, turning the pages and looking at the pictures.
"Do you feel better now?" Draco asked. Harry nodded his head.
"A lot better." Suddenly a thought came to his mind. "What happened to Pansy?" Draco snorted, laughing.
"I turned her into a rat. Seriously, I did. But then Sev and Dumbledore came down, turned her back, and expelled her."
"We thought that her actions in the past few months have been completely unjustifiable," Severus confirmed. "She's been expelled."
"I, personally, think that she should have to apologize to Harry in front of the entire school before she leaves," Draco commented.
"As long as she's leaving, I don't care," Harry replied.