The Spirit of Christmas
By Phoenix Angel
A.N. Okay… I'm really sry for the late chapter. I've been trying to update for days now, but ff.net wasn't working properly. Now onto the chapter!
Part Eight
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!"
Harry nodded in agreement and started to rummage through the boxes. He organized them into piles while Severus untangled the Christmas lights. Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise when he uncovered a box full of pictures.
"Um, Severus..."
Severus turned to look at Harry. "Yes?"
"I found some old pictures. What should I do with them?"
Severus walked over to where Harry was standing. He bent down and picked up a photo. He stared at it in surprise. "I thought this was burned!"
Harry watched him curiously. He peeked over Sev's shoulder to glimpse at the photo, and was surprised to see a young Sev, maybe 10 or 11 years old, standing with a girl who looked to be around 5 years old. He was smiling down at her, and she was giggling at something off to the side of the picture.
"This is a picture of my little sister and me when we were young," Severus explained. "When my sister ran off to America, my parents burned all the stuff she left behind. I thought these photos were burned as well…" He trailed off, staring at the photo once more. Then he tucked the picture back into the box. "We can go through them later. For now, just push them off to the side." With that, he returned to the Christmas lights.
Once they had finished decorating the tree (too lazy to describe them putting up all the ornaments), it was time for lunch. As they sat at the table, Harry asked, "Severus, could I use your kitchen for a while?"
Severus raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What for? If you want anything, you can ask the house elves."
"I know," Harry sighed, "but I wanted to make some Christmas treats. The food the house elves make if fabulous, but, to me, food tastes better when you put the work into making it. So can I use the kitchens? Please?" Harry put on his puppy eyes. He doubted that it would work, but it was worth a try.
Severus couldn't resist the puppy eyes, but he didn't let that show externally. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and replied, "You can use them if the house elves say it's okay. They are the ones who work in the kitchen, after all."
Harry leaped up from his chair, and hugged Severus. "Thank you! Do you think the house elves will let me cook supper?"
"I don't know. Why don't you ask?" Severus snapped his fingers, and a house elf appeared.
"Yes, sir?" the elf squeaked, bowing to the pair.
"Mr. Potter was wondering if he could make supper tonight. Would that be all right?" Severus asked.
The elf bowed to Harry. "There is no need to, but if Mr. Potter would like to, he is more than welcome."
Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you so much! Can I get started right away?"
The elf nodded. "If Mr. Potter would follow me, I will lead you to the kitchen."
Harry smiled widely. "That's great!" He turned back to Sev, stated "I'll see you at dinner!" and bounced off after the house elf, leaving Severus staring after him.
'Okay…' Sev thought. 'I'll just work on a potion. I have a feeling that tonight's dinner will be very interesting…'
That night, Severus entered the dining room to find Harry already seated there, and the table laden with covered trays. Harry beamed up at Severus, obviously happy with the outcome of his afternoon in the kitchens.
"Should I be afraid?" Severus asked, taking in the mischievous twinkle in Harry's eyes.
Harry shook his head. "Nope. Though you might want to be careful…" Harry replied. He giggled at the alarmed look on Severus' face. "Just joking. There's nothing to be worried about, it's just food." He clapped his hands twice and all the tray covers disappeared.
There was a lot of food uncovered; turkey, chicken, beef, and a variety of other dishes. Severus looked at Harry in surprise. "You cooked all this food in one afternoon? It looks great, by the way. It smells good too."
Harry blushed. "Thanks. Yah, well, when I was at the Dursleys', I always had to Christmas supper. I had to learn how to cook quickly in order to be allowed to eat."
Severus uttered a single "oh" before tucking in to the food in front of him. Harry didn't eat a lot; instead, he watched as Severus tried dish after dish of Harry's Christmas Eve supper. At last, Severus wiped his mouth and pushed his plate away.
"Amazing, Harry! Where did you learn to cook like that? It was delicious. I'm so full, as stuffed as that turkey was!" Severus joked.
Harry laughed. Then he shrugged. "I learned it from cookbooks. I'm glad you liked the food. It was fun to cook."
"If you're done, why don't we go to the living room so we can sit in front of the Christmas tree?" Severus suggested. Harry nodded his agreement, and they went to the living room, leaving the house elves to clear away the dishes.
They took a seat side by side on the couch in front of the fireplace. Severus tugged the box of photos over to the couch, and took out a handful. He showed them to Harry, and told the story behind each picture.
"This is a picture of me, the summer before I went to Hogwarts. I was riding my horse, Midnight Blaze. My sister took it with a hidden camera. I didn't even know she took the picture till several months later," Severus explained, handing Harry a picture with Sev on a black horse. Harry studied the picture closely before handing it back, and Severus continued on to the next picture.
The rest of the evening was spent going through Severus' memories of his childhood while looking at the photos in the cozy living room at Snape Manor.
A.N. Okay, a really short chapter. Crappy too, in my opinion. Well, next chapter is Christmas day. Harry gives Severus his present, and in return gets… hehe, read the next chapter to find out! And plz leave a review!