The Spirit of Christmas
By Phoenix Angel
A.N. Hi! Big thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'll try to update every week so there won't be a really long gap between chapters, though the chapters might be shorter... Enjoy the chapter! Hehe, just to warn you, Sev is very ooc in this chapter… I couldn't resist! J
Part Seven
Severus set the timer to let out a whistle to start the game and let out the Quaffle. Harry tensed up, waiting for the whistle. The timer flashed three, two, one, and there was a loud tweet. The game was on!
~~~
At the moment the whistle rang through the stadium, Severus shot up and snatched the Quaffle out of the air. He headed off with it towards Harry's set of hoops. Harry blinked in amazement at the speed Severus was going at. Before he could even move, the score was 10-0 for Severus.
Harry was surprised. He hadn't expected Severus to be such a good chaser. 'Well, he won't beat me! I won't let him!' Harry thought determinately. Harry shot to where the Quaffle was falling and grabbed it. He spun his broomstick around and found Severus blocking the way to the rest of the field. Harry had to think quickly. 'How can I get past him to score a goal? I need an opening…' His seeker eyes rapidly found a weakness in Severus' defense.
Harry angled his Firebolt down and went into an 180˚ dive, not unlike the dive required for the Wronski Feint. Once clear of Severus' range, he leveled his broom and shot off towards the hoops. He scored in the middle hoop, and turned around, grinning, to look at Severus.
The familiar scowl could be seen on Severus' face. Harry stuck his tongue out at Severus, who scowled even more. "This is war, Potter!" he shouted, a determined look in his eyes.
Harry grinned. "Of course, Sev, did you just figure that out?"
And war it was. The two players zipped around the pitch, each trying to outrun the other player. Soon, the score was 90-90, a tie, and the game became more frantic, each side trying his best to win. Both were startled out of their concentration by a loud beep that echoed throughout the stadium.
Harry turned to Severus in confusion. "What was that supposed to mean?"
Severus paled. "My potion! I forgot all about it!" He landed on the ground and ran towards the entrance of his manor. Harry watched as he disappeared inside the house and sighed. He flew a couple more laps around the stadium before heading back inside.
Harry trudged into the entrance hall, feeling depressed. He should have known, of course, that Severus would care more about his potions than about Harry having fun, but he thought that maybe… maybe someone had actually wanted to spend some time with him…
Harry was brought out of his thoughts when Severus came bouncing up to him. He stared. Severus Snape bouncing? Indeed, Severus was bouncing up and down, grinning cheerfully at Harry.
"Guess what!" he declared, rambling on before Harry could answer. "I've finally done it! I finally created the right potion!"
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Okay… What does this potion do?"
Severus smiled cheerily back. "It's been my life-long dream to create…"
Harry leaned in closer to listen. "Create…"
"Cotton Candy!" Severus burst out laughing at the look on Harry's face. Harry began to wonder what Severus had taken…
"Just joking! I created a potion that would allow the drinker to speak and understand parseltongue for 5 hours! It took years of research, but I've finally done it!" Severus grabbed Harry's hand. "Come on! You're gonna help me test it!"
Harry shrugged to himself and let this new, hyper version of Professor Snape lead him to who knows where. After all, he faced Voldemort and survived… How bad could this be?
~~~
Several hours later, Harry collapsed into his bed, exhausted. Once Severus had gotten hyped up, he would be like that for hours. It was unbelievable, really, how different Severus was from Professor Snape. Harry decided that he liked this new Severus better. After all, he did have fun today…
Harry curled up on his side and slipped into the dream world, too exhausted to have a nightmare. His last conscious thought was 'I wonder how Severus will react tomorrow…'
~~~
Harry awoke to the sound of loud chirping of the birds outside his window. He smiled and stretched, feeling well relaxed and happy. He took a nice, hot shower before getting dressed and heading to the dining hall for some breakfast.
He entered the hall soon after his shower and found Severus seated in his usual seat. He grinned happily at Severus, and in return received a small smile. He took a seat and dug in.
"Good morning, Harry. Sleep well?" Severus inquired, still feeling rather happy about his discovery.
"Yup! No nightmares!" Harry exclaimed brightly.
Severus raised his eyebrows. "Well, that's good to hear. Do you know what today is?"
Harry thought for a moment. "Um, no… I lost track of the days."
"Today's the 24th. Christmas eve," Severus patiently explained.
"Oh!" Harry's face lit up for a moment, then fell. "You don't put up Christmas Trees, do you?" he asked tentatively.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Severus replied.
Harry's head shot up in surprise. "You do?"
"Yes. It's already up in the living room. I was just about to ask you if you wanted to help me decorate it."
"Really?" Harry asked excitedly. "I've always wanted to decorate the tree!"
Severus stared in surprise. "You've never done it before?"
Harry shook his head slowly. "No… I was never allowed to celebrate Christmas with the Dursleys. The only thing they allowed me to do was pick up the wrappings after Dudley finished unwrapping all his presents," he explained sadly.
"Well, if you're done, we could get started right away," Severus stated, tucking the new bit of information he had just received to the back of his mind to think about later. Harry nodded eagerly. He pushed his plate away and jumped up, waiting anxiously for Severus to rise.
Severus couldn't help but laugh at Harry's enthusiasm. "Alright, let's go. The decorations are already waiting in the living room. This way."
He led Harry to the cozy living room, previously only used by the children of the Snape family. A bare tree was tucked into the corner of the room. A roaring fire was already lit in the fireplace. Boxes of decorations were scattered across the floor. "We've got a big job ahead of us. Let's get to work!"
A.N. It's kind of an awkward place to end the chapter, but I really don't feel like finishing the day off right now. I really should be studying for my history test tomorrow... Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Plz review! Thanx.
~Phoenix Angel