A/N - JKR owns the idea, all of these characters etc.
A/N - Did I actually write a chapter that Moonlight didn't review???? Sometimes I have these chapters written but I don't post until someone reviews what I've already posted. How do I know that Moonlight read chapter number thirty?
A/N - Norway, flattery is always welcome. Thanks
Chapter 32
Boss Bash
Harry wasn't seeing the four on one attack that he was expecting. Instead what he saw was Snape attacking the Death Eaters making it more like a two on three battle. He was unsure what to do so he decided to remain hidden. That had served him well so far on this day and besides it made sense for him to do whatever was necessary to glean a better understanding of the battle and who exactly was fighting whom. He lay on the ground behind some trees and bushes watching the battle unfold before his very eyes.
He saw Snape not once but twice attack the Death Eaters. Harry didn't know what to make of this situation but he knew enough to know that he should continue to wait while he was hidden and see what else happened. He hated waiting patiently.
The situation was worse than Harry expected. Dumbledore was obviously hurt. Snape was trying to attack the three foes while defending not only himself but the headmaster as well. Snape managed to render unconscious one of his opponents at the same time that they did the same to Dumbledore. The tally was now two bad guys against one good guy --- and that was only if Harry could count Snape as a good guy.
"Petrificus Totalus"
One of the two wizards managed to put Snape in the full body bind curse while the other distracted him with a different hex. Meanwhile the same wizard that affected the curse was not about to waste this opportunity.
"AVARDA K ---"
"STUPEFY"
Harry shouted at the dark wizard who was about to kill Snape. Harry hadn't even had time to reflect on whether or not he should save Snape's life, it just happened out of reflex. The last remaining dark wizard was focused on finding out where the spell had come from so he wasn't really prepared when Harry shouted "Expelliarmus". Harry then put the body bind curse on the last remaining dark wizard standing and went to revive Dumbledore.
"Enervate" Harry commanded for the second time today.
Dumbledore woke up and immediately surveyed the situation. After a few seconds he shot various messages out of his wand in different directions. Harry wasn't exactly sure what messages his headmaster had sent to whom. Dumbledore's next action was to restore Snape. Harry had "forgotten" to release Snape from the curse.
"Come along Harry."
Without knowing where he was going or why, Harry followed his headmaster. Dumbledore was rounding up all the groups and telling them to go back to the place that they had come in and to wait for him there. His intention was to gather everyone for a head count before anyone apparated back to Hogsmeade. Harry followed the headmaster in silence as he walked the outer perimeter of the prison and studied the map to ensure he didn't miss anyone. When they had arrived back at the place that they had apparated in, Dumbledore told everyone to apparate to Hogsmeade but not to leave the park until they had talked again. Dumbledore consulted the magical map once more probably to ensure that no one was left behind. Dumbledore must have been satisfied because he looked up and nodded his head.
POP
Dumbledore had grabbed Harry by the shoulder and then apparated to Hogsmeade without even waiting to see if the teenager was ready. When it seemed that everyone had arrived at Hogsmeade Dumbledore got everyone's attention and began speaking.
"Listen everyone if you please --- I need all your help in escorting our prisoners down to the cells in the basement of Hogwarts. We will all go together and ensure that the appropriate precautions are taken care of. After that, however, I must insist that all except the aurors come back to Hogsmeade and finish their Christmas shopping and then return to Hogwarts or their homes for an evenings rest. We all deserve a massive rest and party for our actions. At eleven o' clock tomorrow morning we will all meet for the Christmas feast and exchanging of the gifts. Bring all of your presents here with at least one extra gift for a mystery recipient. Finally, I encourage everyone here to bring their families to celebrate with us, if they think it's appropriate."
Although there were quite a few wizards and witches here who wouldn't even think of inviting their families tomorrow, Harry gained a special pleasure by picturing the Dursleys at Hogwarts for the Christmas party. Harry wouldn't invite them and they wouldn't come even if he did but he hoped they didn't send him anything this year because their presents were worse than nothing and he didn't relish the thought of opening it in front of all these wizards and witches, especially the Weasleys.
Sirius had come up next to Harry to walk beside him on the way back to the school grounds. Although each of them had many questions for the other, they both remained content to walk silently back to the cells in the basement. Harry had already verified that Lupin, Hermione, Krum, the four giants, Hagrid and all the Weasleys were safe and he was glad enough to wait for another time to discuss tonight's events.
Hermione, however, being as sensible as always, couldn't leave well enough alone. She caught up with the headmaster on the walk back to the school grounds.
"Professor, did anyone get away?" Harry knew at least one wizard did but to his knowledge he and Tiny were the only ones that knew that. He was curious how the headmaster would respond to her question.
"Ahhh Hermione, you're as practical as ever. I assure you that we'll discuss that and many other things the day after Christmas. I beg you that you do me the favor of joining in a little Christmas pleasure. After all, if we're not enjoying our lives then what's the point of the fight? Please indulge me in this."
Harry saw Hermione nod her head. She kept in step with Dumbledore but she didn't ask the headmaster anything else. There was complete silence from the group, even the prisoners, as they all reached the school grounds. They went straight to the cells that some of them had seen earlier in the year.
"Where's Pettigrew?" Sirius asked surveying all the prison cells.
Harry's heart skipped a beat. Where was he? Harry had him last but where was the last place he had seen him?
"I got him," Tiny said. Everyone turned to watch Tiny digging around in his pockets. He finally pulled out the little petrified rat. Dumbledore conjured up a special glass box for Tiny to put the rat in. The box was placed in one of the cells before Dumbledore removed the curse allowing the rat to move once again.
After everyone was locked up, Dumbledore reminded everyone that the next day was Christmas and that Hogsmeade had everyone's holiday needs.
Most all of the wizards were numbly heading back to the village. Sirius, Lupin and Harry were walking together. Hermione and Krum were walking together. The four giants, who were impossible not to notice, were walking alongside Hagrid. The only other group that Harry noticed was the redheaded Weasleys and they were all walking together. Hermione was the only one to talk much on the way back to Hogsmeade. She had dragged Krum from group to group talking to the giants, the Weasleys and finally back to Harry.
"Hermione, what's gotten in to you tonight? You and Viktor look like a couple of boomerangs going from group to group." Harry was too tired to properly tease his friend but he was wondering what she was doing.
"Harry, don't be ridiculous. We were talking to Ron and the giants about buying gifts. Instead of each of us buying a gift for all four giants we're only going to buy a present for one. And they're going to do the same with us." Harry marveled at her ingenuity. He knew that she was mainly doing this for Ron's sake and he was glad that she had thought of it.
"How do I know who to buy for?"
"To keep it simple we're going to buy for the person --- or giant --- that we paired off with tonight." That, as usual, made sense to Harry. He wondered what Tiny would want from Hogsmeade.
Things got slightly awkward when the group reached Hogsmeade. Everyone was trying to buy gifts for each other while their friends where either right there with them or right outside. Twice Ron had walked in on Harry while Harry was shopping for gifts for Ron; the first time Harry was in the candy shop and the second time he was in Zonko's joke shop. Harry thought he was done shopping when he remembered that Percy and Bill would be there tomorrow and he didn't want to forget any of the Weasleys after all they had done for him. Even with Hermione's plan to buy only one gift each for the giants, Harry had bought more gifts than he ever had before. Eventually everyone managed to get all their gifts squared away and was ready to head back to the school.
"Let's stop in the Three Broomsticks. I know I could use a butterbeer." Sirius announced to the group. Most everyone was in too much of a follower mindset to argue with the man. Besides, everyone knew that he hadn't been able to properly celebrate his freedom yet and he certainly deserved that opportunity. Hermione, Krum, Harry, Lupin and all the Weasleys followed him into the bar.
Ten drinks later, Hermione had convinced Ron, Harry, Sirius and Lupin that it was time to head back. Krum and the rest of the Weasleys had long since left the area. It was actually Christmas day by the time they had left the bar for Hogwarts but Hermione was the only one who knew that and she chose to keep that little piece of information to herself.
She had also been thoughtful enough to convince everyone to drink plenty of water and set his or her alarm for ten am. None of the group would remember how swell they thought Hermione was that particular evening. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure that none of the group would remember much about that particular part of the evening.
At ten am sharp on Christmas Day the group was awakened by an alarm that they didn't even know that they had set. After everyone cleaned up, they gathered their gifts and headed down for the Great Hall. This was the first time since Harry had attended school here that he and Ron hadn't opened gifts in the common room. Harry didn't mind though, he was glad to be able to spend at least this one holiday among so many friends. He also had yesterday's mission and Sirius' freedom to celebrate this year. Harry was glad for the party that was going to take place today.
No one was disappointed when they saw the decorations in the Great Hall. The house elves must have started working on it the moment everyone left last night. The ceiling was enchanted so that you could see Santa Claus and his reindeer flying among the stars. It also had the effect of looking like it was snowing. The decorations were so immaculate down to the last detail that even every snowflake looked different. There were also decorated trees and ornaments hanging all over the place. The tables were set up in the same square formation that they had been for the past few weeks.
Dumbledore was telling everyone to put their gifts in the big pile in the middle of the tables. There was Christmas music playing softly in the background and everyone was milling around and talking idly passing the time while looking at the decorations. All the Weasleys were here except for Charlie. Sirius and Lupin were already here and no one from the drinking party looked any the worse from wear. When it looked like everyone had arrived who was going to, Dumbledore got everyone to take his or her seats.
"Merry Christmas and thank you all for choosing to celebrate the holidays here with us among friends. Almost everything related to the dark wizards can wait until tomorrow. We will have the interrogations tomorrow afternoon and I will speak no more of that subject today. There is one thing that cannot wait for tomorrow though. Severus, if you please."
Dumbledore called the potions master loud enough that he heard from his place somewhere outside of the Great Hall. Snape's gaze did not stray from Dumbledore as he walked up to the great wizard. Harry realized that he had forgotten to tell anyone about what he saw Snape doing yesterday. That was most unfortunate because Fred, George and Ron could be heard over the other conversations calling Snape names that were nasty enough to cause Mrs Weasley to yell at her boys and Mr Weasley to blush. Dumbledore had to wait for the noise to die down before continuing to speak.
"As he did last time Voldemort was trying to rise to power, Severus served us admirably by serving as a double agent at extreme personal risk. He risked everything to spy for our side including his reputation --- "
"What reputation?" Ron muttered under his breath. Ron wasn't the only one in the room that wasn't exactly jumping for joy to find out that Snape wasn't a traitor after all.
" --- as well as his safety. Last night he once again risked his life to save mine. It was only through the quick thinking of Harry Potter that Severus wasn't killed last night." Harry wasn't expecting that last part. He hadn't told anyone including Dumbledore what happened. Did that mean that Snape told him? He turned his attention back to the headmaster.
"Severus will resume his duties teaching here because after last night's events, he can no longer fool Voldemort and his followers into thinking that he is one of them. I beg of you all to raise your glasses to Severus to honor the risks he has taken for us."
Not many people around the tables looked particularly happy about it but everyone did as they were told and murmured "To Severus Snape". Snape then sat down next to the headmaster.
"Now then. First let us eat, then we shall exchange gifts and spend the rest of the day playing games and enjoying each other's company. But first, I think we could do with a slight change of decorations."
Harry couldn't tell what he mumbled as he waved his wand around but everyone was now wearing red Santa hats. The faculty was also bedecked in red Santa suits and a long white beard. As funny as Snape looked all dressed up as a jolly fat man, McGonagall was by the far the funniest sight around. Seeing her in a long white beard looked as out of place as Fred and George looked last year when they tried to get past the age line guarding the Goblet of Fire.
Dumbledore was smiling as he said, "There, that's much better. Now let's eat." The food was, as usual, scrumptious. Everyone was eating and laughing and eating some more. Sirius and Ron were putting away almost as much food as Sully and Tiny.
The table was full of trinkets and party favors. So far Harry had opened fireworks, a whistle that barked like a dog when you blew it, a ring that turned your finger different colors when you put it on, and an Exploding Snap card deck. Krum had opened a set of quidditch trading cards that had nothing but cards of him. George hadn't been able to open many trinkets because the first thing he opened was a set of muggle Chinese handcuffs. He had stuck his two index fingers inside the ends and he couldn't get free. Fred was enjoying the scene much too much to help out his twin brother. Mr Weasley was strangely drawn to the muggle invention and also seemed to be enjoying himself too much to help his son. Finally, Hermione set Fred free so that he could finish eating. Harry hadn't been able to see what the others had opened from the table but no one was looking disappointed.
The talk never turned to yesterday's events. As soon as everyone was done eating the plates vanished and were replaced by dessert dishes. Even though the desserts were always delicious, the teenagers weren't the only ones who were anxious to get down to some serious present opening.
Just as everyone was finishing his or her dessert, Harry heard the familiar sound of wooshing from the ceiling signifying the morning's mail call. Today though none of the owls were carrying any letters. Harry was surprised too see Hedwig fly past him without stopping to hoot hello. But then he realized that the owls were all heading towards the massive pile of presents in the middle of the tables.
"PRESENTS" Many in the room were shouting. Harry was sure that he had heard some adult voices also cheer excitedly about being able to open gifts now. Harry and Hermione were entranced by the show the owls were putting on delivering gifts to everyone. How could they possibly know which gift went to which person? Ron apparently couldn't care less about the delivery method because he was already tearing into his gifts.
Everyone at the tables had plenty of gifts to open. Harry briefly wondered how Snape had gotten so many gifts when he saw the former spy open a large box of chocolate frogs and ever lasting bubble gum. That was the extra gift that Harry had bought for Dumbledore's mystery gift idea. Oh well, Harry had gifts of his own to unwrap and that was much more important than trying to figure out why Snape had gotten Harry's extra candy gift.
"Thanks Sirius" Harry shouted over the noise. Sirius had given Harry a Nimbus 2003. Harry had also gotten a big box of candy from Ron and another one from Lupin, a sweater from Mrs Weasley, a set of quidditch balls from Hermione, an Exploding Snap card deck from Hagrid, some jokes from the twins that he was leery to touch, a quidditch book from Krum, one of those chocolate bars that was too big to hold in one hand from Tiny, and an envelope that read "Open me later."
The Great Hall was filled with cheers and shouts of gratitude from the receivers to the givers of various gifts. Everyone spent all afternoon showing off their gifts and in some cases, actually trying out their gifts. Harry wanted nothing more to go try out his broomstick but he knew that he could ride it later but he wouldn't be able to spend the day with all of his favorite people later so he stayed. He was glad that he did. Dumbledore had outdone himself today. One section of the Great Hall had been set-aside for people to have snowball fights. There were areas that were easily turned into snow forts and somehow there were charms so that you couldn't accidentally hit someone with a snowball who wasn't inside the area. That fact alone saved the twins from causing havoc because they immediately tried to launch snowballs at some of the professors across the room.
Also the tables had all been moved to allow room for dancing and other games. One table was set up with snacks and drinks. The Weasley twins were in their element here. They had obviously snuck some of their latest inventions onto the snack table because all kinds of interesting things were happening.
After taking a sip of pumpkin juice, McGonagall shrank down to the size of tiny little Flitwick and she couldn't even be seen behind her Santa beard. Krum ate something that made him chirp like a bird every time he tried to talk. Harry, Hermione and all the Weaslys had no trouble recognizing the all too familiar signs that told them the twins had spiked the food. They didn't go anywhere near the snack table.
"Arthur, come dance with me." His wife was demanding. Everyone standing within earshot was surprised when he told her no.
"What do you mean no? Don't be silly. You love to dance. Now dance with me."
Mr Weasley didn't answer his wife. Harry noticed that his ears were starting to turn bright red. The wizard seemed to be trying to resolve some internal struggle. He obviously didn't want to say any more but it was more than obvious to everyone that Mrs Weasley was becoming quite angry. Finally he spoke again.
"You see Molly dear, I'm a bit --- er --- stuck." Mr Weasley held up his hands to reveal his two index fingers stuck in the set of muggle Chinese handcuffs. Everyone laughed but someone set him free and he went to dance with his wife.
It was a great day and the rest of it passed in a blur of games and food and people turning into ducks or whatever particular hex they suffered from the twins. At midnight Dumbledore called an end to the festivities and told the same group of witches and wizards to meet here tomorrow afternoon. Harry was unlucky enough to bump into Snape on his way out of the Great Hall.
"Get away from me Potter!" Snape looked even more disgusted than normal to have to talk to him.
Harry couldn't help wondering what that was all about but he was too anxious to go open his envelope in private to think about why Snape was doing the impossible --- hating him even more than before.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me
A/N - You all have to have more faith in me about Snape. I hate him as much as anyone but I know that making him truly evil would be unfaithful to the books.
.
A/N - Did I actually write a chapter that Moonlight didn't review???? Sometimes I have these chapters written but I don't post until someone reviews what I've already posted. How do I know that Moonlight read chapter number thirty?
A/N - Norway, flattery is always welcome. Thanks
Chapter 32
Boss Bash
Harry wasn't seeing the four on one attack that he was expecting. Instead what he saw was Snape attacking the Death Eaters making it more like a two on three battle. He was unsure what to do so he decided to remain hidden. That had served him well so far on this day and besides it made sense for him to do whatever was necessary to glean a better understanding of the battle and who exactly was fighting whom. He lay on the ground behind some trees and bushes watching the battle unfold before his very eyes.
He saw Snape not once but twice attack the Death Eaters. Harry didn't know what to make of this situation but he knew enough to know that he should continue to wait while he was hidden and see what else happened. He hated waiting patiently.
The situation was worse than Harry expected. Dumbledore was obviously hurt. Snape was trying to attack the three foes while defending not only himself but the headmaster as well. Snape managed to render unconscious one of his opponents at the same time that they did the same to Dumbledore. The tally was now two bad guys against one good guy --- and that was only if Harry could count Snape as a good guy.
"Petrificus Totalus"
One of the two wizards managed to put Snape in the full body bind curse while the other distracted him with a different hex. Meanwhile the same wizard that affected the curse was not about to waste this opportunity.
"AVARDA K ---"
"STUPEFY"
Harry shouted at the dark wizard who was about to kill Snape. Harry hadn't even had time to reflect on whether or not he should save Snape's life, it just happened out of reflex. The last remaining dark wizard was focused on finding out where the spell had come from so he wasn't really prepared when Harry shouted "Expelliarmus". Harry then put the body bind curse on the last remaining dark wizard standing and went to revive Dumbledore.
"Enervate" Harry commanded for the second time today.
Dumbledore woke up and immediately surveyed the situation. After a few seconds he shot various messages out of his wand in different directions. Harry wasn't exactly sure what messages his headmaster had sent to whom. Dumbledore's next action was to restore Snape. Harry had "forgotten" to release Snape from the curse.
"Come along Harry."
Without knowing where he was going or why, Harry followed his headmaster. Dumbledore was rounding up all the groups and telling them to go back to the place that they had come in and to wait for him there. His intention was to gather everyone for a head count before anyone apparated back to Hogsmeade. Harry followed the headmaster in silence as he walked the outer perimeter of the prison and studied the map to ensure he didn't miss anyone. When they had arrived back at the place that they had apparated in, Dumbledore told everyone to apparate to Hogsmeade but not to leave the park until they had talked again. Dumbledore consulted the magical map once more probably to ensure that no one was left behind. Dumbledore must have been satisfied because he looked up and nodded his head.
POP
Dumbledore had grabbed Harry by the shoulder and then apparated to Hogsmeade without even waiting to see if the teenager was ready. When it seemed that everyone had arrived at Hogsmeade Dumbledore got everyone's attention and began speaking.
"Listen everyone if you please --- I need all your help in escorting our prisoners down to the cells in the basement of Hogwarts. We will all go together and ensure that the appropriate precautions are taken care of. After that, however, I must insist that all except the aurors come back to Hogsmeade and finish their Christmas shopping and then return to Hogwarts or their homes for an evenings rest. We all deserve a massive rest and party for our actions. At eleven o' clock tomorrow morning we will all meet for the Christmas feast and exchanging of the gifts. Bring all of your presents here with at least one extra gift for a mystery recipient. Finally, I encourage everyone here to bring their families to celebrate with us, if they think it's appropriate."
Although there were quite a few wizards and witches here who wouldn't even think of inviting their families tomorrow, Harry gained a special pleasure by picturing the Dursleys at Hogwarts for the Christmas party. Harry wouldn't invite them and they wouldn't come even if he did but he hoped they didn't send him anything this year because their presents were worse than nothing and he didn't relish the thought of opening it in front of all these wizards and witches, especially the Weasleys.
Sirius had come up next to Harry to walk beside him on the way back to the school grounds. Although each of them had many questions for the other, they both remained content to walk silently back to the cells in the basement. Harry had already verified that Lupin, Hermione, Krum, the four giants, Hagrid and all the Weasleys were safe and he was glad enough to wait for another time to discuss tonight's events.
Hermione, however, being as sensible as always, couldn't leave well enough alone. She caught up with the headmaster on the walk back to the school grounds.
"Professor, did anyone get away?" Harry knew at least one wizard did but to his knowledge he and Tiny were the only ones that knew that. He was curious how the headmaster would respond to her question.
"Ahhh Hermione, you're as practical as ever. I assure you that we'll discuss that and many other things the day after Christmas. I beg you that you do me the favor of joining in a little Christmas pleasure. After all, if we're not enjoying our lives then what's the point of the fight? Please indulge me in this."
Harry saw Hermione nod her head. She kept in step with Dumbledore but she didn't ask the headmaster anything else. There was complete silence from the group, even the prisoners, as they all reached the school grounds. They went straight to the cells that some of them had seen earlier in the year.
"Where's Pettigrew?" Sirius asked surveying all the prison cells.
Harry's heart skipped a beat. Where was he? Harry had him last but where was the last place he had seen him?
"I got him," Tiny said. Everyone turned to watch Tiny digging around in his pockets. He finally pulled out the little petrified rat. Dumbledore conjured up a special glass box for Tiny to put the rat in. The box was placed in one of the cells before Dumbledore removed the curse allowing the rat to move once again.
After everyone was locked up, Dumbledore reminded everyone that the next day was Christmas and that Hogsmeade had everyone's holiday needs.
Most all of the wizards were numbly heading back to the village. Sirius, Lupin and Harry were walking together. Hermione and Krum were walking together. The four giants, who were impossible not to notice, were walking alongside Hagrid. The only other group that Harry noticed was the redheaded Weasleys and they were all walking together. Hermione was the only one to talk much on the way back to Hogsmeade. She had dragged Krum from group to group talking to the giants, the Weasleys and finally back to Harry.
"Hermione, what's gotten in to you tonight? You and Viktor look like a couple of boomerangs going from group to group." Harry was too tired to properly tease his friend but he was wondering what she was doing.
"Harry, don't be ridiculous. We were talking to Ron and the giants about buying gifts. Instead of each of us buying a gift for all four giants we're only going to buy a present for one. And they're going to do the same with us." Harry marveled at her ingenuity. He knew that she was mainly doing this for Ron's sake and he was glad that she had thought of it.
"How do I know who to buy for?"
"To keep it simple we're going to buy for the person --- or giant --- that we paired off with tonight." That, as usual, made sense to Harry. He wondered what Tiny would want from Hogsmeade.
Things got slightly awkward when the group reached Hogsmeade. Everyone was trying to buy gifts for each other while their friends where either right there with them or right outside. Twice Ron had walked in on Harry while Harry was shopping for gifts for Ron; the first time Harry was in the candy shop and the second time he was in Zonko's joke shop. Harry thought he was done shopping when he remembered that Percy and Bill would be there tomorrow and he didn't want to forget any of the Weasleys after all they had done for him. Even with Hermione's plan to buy only one gift each for the giants, Harry had bought more gifts than he ever had before. Eventually everyone managed to get all their gifts squared away and was ready to head back to the school.
"Let's stop in the Three Broomsticks. I know I could use a butterbeer." Sirius announced to the group. Most everyone was in too much of a follower mindset to argue with the man. Besides, everyone knew that he hadn't been able to properly celebrate his freedom yet and he certainly deserved that opportunity. Hermione, Krum, Harry, Lupin and all the Weasleys followed him into the bar.
Ten drinks later, Hermione had convinced Ron, Harry, Sirius and Lupin that it was time to head back. Krum and the rest of the Weasleys had long since left the area. It was actually Christmas day by the time they had left the bar for Hogwarts but Hermione was the only one who knew that and she chose to keep that little piece of information to herself.
She had also been thoughtful enough to convince everyone to drink plenty of water and set his or her alarm for ten am. None of the group would remember how swell they thought Hermione was that particular evening. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure that none of the group would remember much about that particular part of the evening.
At ten am sharp on Christmas Day the group was awakened by an alarm that they didn't even know that they had set. After everyone cleaned up, they gathered their gifts and headed down for the Great Hall. This was the first time since Harry had attended school here that he and Ron hadn't opened gifts in the common room. Harry didn't mind though, he was glad to be able to spend at least this one holiday among so many friends. He also had yesterday's mission and Sirius' freedom to celebrate this year. Harry was glad for the party that was going to take place today.
No one was disappointed when they saw the decorations in the Great Hall. The house elves must have started working on it the moment everyone left last night. The ceiling was enchanted so that you could see Santa Claus and his reindeer flying among the stars. It also had the effect of looking like it was snowing. The decorations were so immaculate down to the last detail that even every snowflake looked different. There were also decorated trees and ornaments hanging all over the place. The tables were set up in the same square formation that they had been for the past few weeks.
Dumbledore was telling everyone to put their gifts in the big pile in the middle of the tables. There was Christmas music playing softly in the background and everyone was milling around and talking idly passing the time while looking at the decorations. All the Weasleys were here except for Charlie. Sirius and Lupin were already here and no one from the drinking party looked any the worse from wear. When it looked like everyone had arrived who was going to, Dumbledore got everyone to take his or her seats.
"Merry Christmas and thank you all for choosing to celebrate the holidays here with us among friends. Almost everything related to the dark wizards can wait until tomorrow. We will have the interrogations tomorrow afternoon and I will speak no more of that subject today. There is one thing that cannot wait for tomorrow though. Severus, if you please."
Dumbledore called the potions master loud enough that he heard from his place somewhere outside of the Great Hall. Snape's gaze did not stray from Dumbledore as he walked up to the great wizard. Harry realized that he had forgotten to tell anyone about what he saw Snape doing yesterday. That was most unfortunate because Fred, George and Ron could be heard over the other conversations calling Snape names that were nasty enough to cause Mrs Weasley to yell at her boys and Mr Weasley to blush. Dumbledore had to wait for the noise to die down before continuing to speak.
"As he did last time Voldemort was trying to rise to power, Severus served us admirably by serving as a double agent at extreme personal risk. He risked everything to spy for our side including his reputation --- "
"What reputation?" Ron muttered under his breath. Ron wasn't the only one in the room that wasn't exactly jumping for joy to find out that Snape wasn't a traitor after all.
" --- as well as his safety. Last night he once again risked his life to save mine. It was only through the quick thinking of Harry Potter that Severus wasn't killed last night." Harry wasn't expecting that last part. He hadn't told anyone including Dumbledore what happened. Did that mean that Snape told him? He turned his attention back to the headmaster.
"Severus will resume his duties teaching here because after last night's events, he can no longer fool Voldemort and his followers into thinking that he is one of them. I beg of you all to raise your glasses to Severus to honor the risks he has taken for us."
Not many people around the tables looked particularly happy about it but everyone did as they were told and murmured "To Severus Snape". Snape then sat down next to the headmaster.
"Now then. First let us eat, then we shall exchange gifts and spend the rest of the day playing games and enjoying each other's company. But first, I think we could do with a slight change of decorations."
Harry couldn't tell what he mumbled as he waved his wand around but everyone was now wearing red Santa hats. The faculty was also bedecked in red Santa suits and a long white beard. As funny as Snape looked all dressed up as a jolly fat man, McGonagall was by the far the funniest sight around. Seeing her in a long white beard looked as out of place as Fred and George looked last year when they tried to get past the age line guarding the Goblet of Fire.
Dumbledore was smiling as he said, "There, that's much better. Now let's eat." The food was, as usual, scrumptious. Everyone was eating and laughing and eating some more. Sirius and Ron were putting away almost as much food as Sully and Tiny.
The table was full of trinkets and party favors. So far Harry had opened fireworks, a whistle that barked like a dog when you blew it, a ring that turned your finger different colors when you put it on, and an Exploding Snap card deck. Krum had opened a set of quidditch trading cards that had nothing but cards of him. George hadn't been able to open many trinkets because the first thing he opened was a set of muggle Chinese handcuffs. He had stuck his two index fingers inside the ends and he couldn't get free. Fred was enjoying the scene much too much to help out his twin brother. Mr Weasley was strangely drawn to the muggle invention and also seemed to be enjoying himself too much to help his son. Finally, Hermione set Fred free so that he could finish eating. Harry hadn't been able to see what the others had opened from the table but no one was looking disappointed.
The talk never turned to yesterday's events. As soon as everyone was done eating the plates vanished and were replaced by dessert dishes. Even though the desserts were always delicious, the teenagers weren't the only ones who were anxious to get down to some serious present opening.
Just as everyone was finishing his or her dessert, Harry heard the familiar sound of wooshing from the ceiling signifying the morning's mail call. Today though none of the owls were carrying any letters. Harry was surprised too see Hedwig fly past him without stopping to hoot hello. But then he realized that the owls were all heading towards the massive pile of presents in the middle of the tables.
"PRESENTS" Many in the room were shouting. Harry was sure that he had heard some adult voices also cheer excitedly about being able to open gifts now. Harry and Hermione were entranced by the show the owls were putting on delivering gifts to everyone. How could they possibly know which gift went to which person? Ron apparently couldn't care less about the delivery method because he was already tearing into his gifts.
Everyone at the tables had plenty of gifts to open. Harry briefly wondered how Snape had gotten so many gifts when he saw the former spy open a large box of chocolate frogs and ever lasting bubble gum. That was the extra gift that Harry had bought for Dumbledore's mystery gift idea. Oh well, Harry had gifts of his own to unwrap and that was much more important than trying to figure out why Snape had gotten Harry's extra candy gift.
"Thanks Sirius" Harry shouted over the noise. Sirius had given Harry a Nimbus 2003. Harry had also gotten a big box of candy from Ron and another one from Lupin, a sweater from Mrs Weasley, a set of quidditch balls from Hermione, an Exploding Snap card deck from Hagrid, some jokes from the twins that he was leery to touch, a quidditch book from Krum, one of those chocolate bars that was too big to hold in one hand from Tiny, and an envelope that read "Open me later."
The Great Hall was filled with cheers and shouts of gratitude from the receivers to the givers of various gifts. Everyone spent all afternoon showing off their gifts and in some cases, actually trying out their gifts. Harry wanted nothing more to go try out his broomstick but he knew that he could ride it later but he wouldn't be able to spend the day with all of his favorite people later so he stayed. He was glad that he did. Dumbledore had outdone himself today. One section of the Great Hall had been set-aside for people to have snowball fights. There were areas that were easily turned into snow forts and somehow there were charms so that you couldn't accidentally hit someone with a snowball who wasn't inside the area. That fact alone saved the twins from causing havoc because they immediately tried to launch snowballs at some of the professors across the room.
Also the tables had all been moved to allow room for dancing and other games. One table was set up with snacks and drinks. The Weasley twins were in their element here. They had obviously snuck some of their latest inventions onto the snack table because all kinds of interesting things were happening.
After taking a sip of pumpkin juice, McGonagall shrank down to the size of tiny little Flitwick and she couldn't even be seen behind her Santa beard. Krum ate something that made him chirp like a bird every time he tried to talk. Harry, Hermione and all the Weaslys had no trouble recognizing the all too familiar signs that told them the twins had spiked the food. They didn't go anywhere near the snack table.
"Arthur, come dance with me." His wife was demanding. Everyone standing within earshot was surprised when he told her no.
"What do you mean no? Don't be silly. You love to dance. Now dance with me."
Mr Weasley didn't answer his wife. Harry noticed that his ears were starting to turn bright red. The wizard seemed to be trying to resolve some internal struggle. He obviously didn't want to say any more but it was more than obvious to everyone that Mrs Weasley was becoming quite angry. Finally he spoke again.
"You see Molly dear, I'm a bit --- er --- stuck." Mr Weasley held up his hands to reveal his two index fingers stuck in the set of muggle Chinese handcuffs. Everyone laughed but someone set him free and he went to dance with his wife.
It was a great day and the rest of it passed in a blur of games and food and people turning into ducks or whatever particular hex they suffered from the twins. At midnight Dumbledore called an end to the festivities and told the same group of witches and wizards to meet here tomorrow afternoon. Harry was unlucky enough to bump into Snape on his way out of the Great Hall.
"Get away from me Potter!" Snape looked even more disgusted than normal to have to talk to him.
Harry couldn't help wondering what that was all about but he was too anxious to go open his envelope in private to think about why Snape was doing the impossible --- hating him even more than before.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me
A/N - You all have to have more faith in me about Snape. I hate him as much as anyone but I know that making him truly evil would be unfaithful to the books.
.