Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
~~~
Saturday, December 25, 1993
"Harry! Wake up, it's Christmas!"
Draco shook Harry awake, then ran into the living room. Harry yawned, rubbing his eyes, and dragged himself out of bed. Wrapping a small blanket around himself, he made his way into the living room, where Draco and Severus were waiting for him. Severus smiled at the sight of Harry's unruly hair, sticking up in the air. Harry ignored the pile of presents in the floor and lay down on the sofa, with his head in Severus's lap.
"What time is it?" Harry grumbled.
"Almost nine," Severus replied, amused. "Late night, Harry?" He knew that Harry had stayed up late, waiting for the owls to bring in the gifts. He knew because he'd been the one to put Harry to bed at five o'clock that morning.
"Pillows aren't supposed to talk, so shut up," Harry muttered, punching Severus's leg. The boy crawled off the couch and sat on the floor, sleepily rummaging through the presents. "Severus, Draco, Draco, Severus¼ All right, where are the important ones?"
"Here's a whole pile for you over here, Harry," Draco said.
Harry moved to sit by Draco and saw that the presents in the pile were from the Weasleys and Hermione. From Hermione, he got a book, of course; Ginny Weasley got him some Quidditch figurines; Ron gave him candy from Honeydukes and a poster of Harry's favorite Quidditch team; the twins sent a supply of their newest tricks from Weasley Wizard Wheezes, along with a description of what each trick does.
"Oh, yes, thank Merlin for Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, suddenly, as he opened a package containing another knitted sweater. He immediately pulled the sweater on, snuggling up to its warmth. "If I didn't get one of these every Christmas, I swear, I would pay over five hundred galleons for it."
"You seem to have woken up quickly," Severus said, laughing at him.
"Why aren't you opening your presents?" Draco wondered.
"When the two of you are finished, I'll open mine," Severus promised.
The next half hour was filled with "oohs" and "ahhs" and comments like "that's bloody amazing." Finally, all of the presents were opened, and the wrapping had been cleaned up. Well, almost all of the presents were opened.
"I have one more surprise for you two," Severus said. "Sit right there. I'll be right back." He left the room and returned a few moments later with two small folders. He handed one to each boy. "Open them. I probably should have asked you both first, but I wanted it to be a surprise, and-" He was cut off by the two boys jumping on him and hugging him tightly.
The folders contained the future of the boys. The folders gave them a sense of security, a sense of family.
Those folders contained adoption papers for Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, signed by Severus Snape.
~~~
After breakfast, the new family went up to the Great Hall. There they met teachers and students, but specifically, Lupin. He came up to them, holding a small carrying case with bars on the opening. He handed it to Harry, who looked up at Severus.
"You told me a while ago that when you were in school, you had a black cat who died," Harry said. He handed the case over to Severus. "Professor Lupin has been keeping an eye on your present for me."
Severus opened the case and pulled out an adorable black kitten. He smiled as the kitten seemed to take an immediately liking to its new owner. Then he gave Harry a hug.
"Thank you, Harry." Draco reached up to scratch the kitten's head as it snuggled up against Severus's chest.
"Aw, it's cute."
"It's a girl. What are you going to name her?" Harry asked.
"I think I'll name her¼"
"Lily." Lupin, Draco, and Severus spoke it all at the same time. They all laughed a little.
"Lily," Severus repeated, smiling sadly.
The four of them sat down at the table and were soon joined by Dumbledore.
"Merry Christmas!" he greeted them, cheerfully. "Oh, Severus, lovely cat you have there." He winked at Harry. "And thank you, Harry, for the socks." Harry laughed.
"You're welcome, sir." Dumbledore sat down with them.
"So, boys," he said to Harry and Draco. "What was your favorite present this year?" Harry and Draco glanced at each other, then at Severus, before finally looking back at Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling knowingly.
"A family," they agreed.
"Severus? What was your favorite?"
"I'm not sure, I kind of like this cat," Severus replied, seriously. He smiled when the boys hit him. "I'm only joking! My favorite presents are my sons." He hugged both of them tightly.
"And Remus?"
"I like all my gifts," Remus replied. "I don't have a favorite."
"What was your favorite, Headmaster?" Draco wondered. Dumbledore thought for a moment.
"I received a very lovely flower this morning," he said, thoughtfully. "Blue, with just a tiny bit of red. It's sitting on my desk, and the best part of it is, it will never die!" Everyone just laughed at him.
Late that night, Harry stood in the doorway to Severus's bedroom. The boy was dressed in the new pajamas that Severus had bought him for Christmas; they were red and yellow, with a Gryffindor Lion on the back.
Harry watched silently as Severus lay on his bed, parchment strewn all over the blanket. He made marks and wrote comments on the parchments with his quill, barely pausing to read.
"I may not be looking at you, but I know you're there." Severus's voice suddenly rang through the room. He glanced up at Harry. "Is something wrong?"
"I can't sleep," Harry said, quietly. He fidgeted with with the hem of his pajama top as he looked at his new father, who proceeded to clean up the parchment and put it on his bedside table.
"You don't look so good, Harry. Come here." Severus patted the mattress, and Harry climbed up next to him.
"I don't feel so good," Harry sighed. "And I'm tired, but I can't sleep."
"Do you want some sleeping potion?" Severus asked, feeling Harry's forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"No, I don't like sleeping potions..." Harry mumbled. He leaned in against Severus's side, closing his eyes. "Where's Lily?"
"Sleeping with Draco," Severus replied. "Are your friends coming back tomorrow?"
"Hermione is," Harry yawned. "The Weasleys are...staying in Romania for another day or so..." He groaned. "I ache all over... My muscles are sore."
"That happens sometimes, when it's cold," Severus told him, gently rubbing his back. "I'd tell you to take a warm bath, but you might fall asleep in there." Harry snuggled up closer to his father. "Come on, Harry, you need to sleep. I'm going to get you some potion. Just for tonight, all right?"
"Fine," Harry sighed. He went back to his bed, curling up under the blanket, and Severus soon brought in a vial of Sleeping Potion.
"Drink up... There you go." Severus leaned over and kissed his son's forehead. "Goodnight, Harry."
"Night, Dad..." Severus then went to Draco's bed and kissed his forehead as well.
"Goodnight, Draco," he whispered. Draco just gave a content sigh. Then Severus scratched the cat's head. "Goodnight, Lily."
~~~
"DAD!!!"
Severus rushed into the boys' bedroom around three-thirty that morning. He found Draco sitting on Harry's bed, hugging the younger boy tightly. Harry had his arms wrapped around his older brother's waist, holding on for dear life, and Severus could hear the shaking in Harry's loud breathing.
"He had another nightmare," Draco explained, tiredly.
"Thanks, Draco. I'll take over from here. Go back to bed." Draco obeyed, and Severus took his place. He brought Harry into his lap, rocking him gently and trying to get him back to sleep.
"It-- It hurts to see in my dreams, what they did to me," Harry whispered, nestling his face in his father's chest. "It hurts almost as bad as when they did it... Like they were doing it all over again."
"Tell me what you saw, Harry," Severus whispered back, running his fingers through the boy's hair.
"They sent me up to Dudley's second room..." Harry sniffled and wiped his eyes. "I don't know what I did wrong, but it was Dudley's turn to punish me... They locked me in there with him and there were all kinds of things in there... Baseball bats...whips...chains...a bed... He chained my ankles and my hands to the posts of the bed; I was face-down. I couldn't fight him... I just let him do what he wanted to me... He did all kinds of things to me. Beat me...raped me... I thought he was going to kill me. I was only in there a few hours, but it felt like days. And I didn't scream. And I didn't cry..."
"You can cry now, Harry, you can cry as much as you want," Severus told him.
"I don't want to," Harry sighed. "I hate crying..."
Suddenly, Severus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the middle of the floor. Immediately a rocking chair appeared. Severus sat down in it, holding Harry tightly in his lap.
"When I was a child," Severus said, softly, "my mother would do this, the nights that my father was gone. Whenever I had a nightmare, or right after I'd been beaten, she would come into my bedroom and sit with me in a rocking chair, to calm me down. She'd tell me about her day, or stories about when she was younger. She'd give me a chance to say anything I wanted to say."
"Why didn't she take you away from him?"
"I'm not really sure, but I know that she had her reasons. I'm actually grateful that she didn't take me away so soon. If she had, then I wouldn't have become friends with your mother. I wouldn't have become the person I am now. And I probably wouldn't have two sons right now. I suppose everything happens for a reason."
"Where is your mother now?" Harry wondered, resting his head on Severus's shoulder.
"She passed away when I was ten years old," Severus told him, reaching his hand up to gently stroke the boy's hair. "I think you would have liked her, Harry, if you'd been able to meet her." Harry didn't reply. "Do you want to go back to bed now?"
Harry nodded, and Severus tucked him into his bed. Lily the cat jumped up onto Harry's bed and licked his face before curling up next to him. Harry gave a content smile as he fell asleep.