Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, places, or items. (or anything else that she may own that I do not...)

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Chapter 16 – Home For Christmas

"HARRY!"

Harry jumped at the sound of his name. He and Silver were in the library, finishing an essay for History of Magic.

"HARRY, SILVER, LOOK!" Ron bellowed, waving a sheet of paper in the air as he ran toward them. He thundered into the library and handed them the paper, yelling, "Look! Look! The greatest thing ever!"

Madam Pince, however, promptly appeared at their side, looking furious.

"I will not have this in my library!" she screeched, "Out! OUT!"

"Ron," Silver complained, "We were doing our homework in there."

"So what? It doesn't matter, nothing matters! Read it!" he replied excitedly.

Rolling his eyes, Harry looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands. He held it slightly to the side so that Silver could read it, as well.

Attention All Students:

Due to some changes in school policies, this year Christmas break will be extended. It will now last from December 19th until January 8th. Please make arrangements in advance for this. A letter has been sent home to each of your parents. Students staying at Hogwarts this Christmas...

Harry didn't read the rest.

"An extra week?" he exclaimed, "That makes Christmas break a month long!"

"Professor McGonagall told Hermione that it had to do with some stuff for the Order," Ron replied, "But she wouldn't say what. Not that it matters! We get a whole extra week off for break!"

Harry grinned at the thought of keeping Lupin company in the old Black house. He couldn't wait to see how much they had gotten it fixed up.

"Order stuff?" Silver echoed, "I wonder what it is. Let's go see!"

"But what if we interrupt Dumbledore?" Ron asked, "We can just wait until Harry's next Occlumency lesson with him..."

"No, that's next Monday, and I wasn't talking about Dumbledore anyhow," Silver replied.

"Not the old git?" Ron groaned.

"He's not a git, and you don't have to come," Silver answered, setting off toward the dungeons.

Ron followed her and Harry anyway.

"Can't we go see McGonagall or something?" he insisted.

"You can go see whomever you wish," Silver answered smartly.

Ron rolled his eyes, but kept quiet. Harry grinned. He knew there was no way they could talk her out of going to visit Snape.

Silver pushed the door to Snape's dungeon open and Harry saw a look of disappointment cross over her face.

"He's not here," she said, a pout beginning to form on her face.

Ron tried not to look too happy.

Suddenly Silver began to walk further in.

"Where are you going?" Ron hissed.

Silver walked up to the board and tapped it three times with her wand before muttering something that Harry couldn't hear. Immediately glowing red words appeared on the board, reading:

Gone to Dumbledore's office. The new password is Fizzing Whizbee. Be back at six.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to go to Dumbledore's office anyhow," she announced.

"How'd you do that?" Ron asked, stunned at the message that had appeared on the board.

Silver tapped the board with her wand again and the words faded.

"He just put that there so I would know where he was if I ever needed him," she replied, as if this were the sort of thing Snape would normally do.

Harry and Ron gaped.

"So whenever he goes somewhere, he changes that just for you?" Ron asked.

Silver glared at him. "Well, I see how important you think I am," she said haughtily, "And yes, as a matter of fact, he does."

Harry and Ron exchanged astonished glances before they realized that Silver was heading off down the hallway toward Dumbledore's office. They had to run to catch up with her.

"So he thinks of you, like...all the time," Ron gathered.

"Nothing gets past you," Silver replied sarcastically as they arrived in front of the gargoyle, "Fizzing Whizbee."

The gargoyle sprang open and the three headed up the stairs.

"Where's Hermione?" Silver inquired.

"Writing a letter to her parents about the longer Christmas break," Ron replied.

Silver knocked on the door at the top of the staircase. After a moment, Dumbledore swept the door open for them and beckoned them in. Snape and Professor McGonagall were there, and both looked surprised by the interruption.

"Hello, students," Dumbledore greeted cheerfully, "What can I do for you today?"

"We wanted to know why the longer Christmas break," Silver answered, "If it had anything to do with the Order."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall smiled. Snape looked as if he could not fathom why they would come up just to ask such a simple question. Silver walked up behind Snape's chair and put her arms around his neck. He looked embarrassed, surprised, and pleased.

"Yes, Miss Riddle," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling as he watched her hug Snape, "As a matter of fact, we were just discussing that."

Silver straightened and backed up a step, listening intently.

"You see, the Order will be working on plans this Christmas, so we decided to give the extra week for personal business. The week before Christmas will be the only week during break the members of the Order will be at their respective houses and attending to their personal business, and the only week I have to prepare. You see, I will have to stay here during Christmas break, so I will only be sending a list of things to be covered to the members of the Order."

"Oh," Silver answered slowly, the smile fading from her face, "I suppose I'm staying here the first week, too, then."

"On the contrary, Miss Riddle," Dumbledore replied brightly.

Silver looked up at him hopefully.

"We were just discussing the matter of appointing a guardian that is a member of the Order to take you to their respective house during Christmas break. They will bring you back to headquarters with them at noon on Christmas day."

Dumbledore looked up at a very hopeful looking Harry, and added, "Yes, Harry, you will be staying with Remus."

Harry was elated. He really hadn't seen Lupin in a long time – the Hogsmeade weekend hadn't counted; he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to Lupin properly then.

"So...who's taking me?" Silver asked.

"Well, we're not quite sure yet," Dumbledore answered slowly.

Harry exchanged glances with Ron. They had both assumed that she would be going home with Snape. In a second, all of the eyes in the room were focused on Snape. He glared back at them.

"Seeing as Severus can't take you..." Dumbledore began.

"What?" Silver asked.

"No, Silver," Dumbledore said gently, "Severus won't be taking you home."

"Why?" she asked, looking confused.

"Well, it doesn't fit in to his personal schedule to..." Dumbledore began, but Silver interrupted once more.

She was staring at Snape accusingly and sadly.

"You...you don't want me?" she asked him in a small voice.

"It...It's not that," Snape said, "I just...I'm not...I can't..."

"You don't want me," Silver confirmed, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Silver," Snape said, almost reprovingly. He stood up, but she backed away from him, shaking her head. She turned and fled past Harry and Ron out of the room. Harry saw tears pouring down her cheeks as she went. He and Ron stayed put, both of them too astounded to go anywhere.

Snape looked frustrated.

"Why won't you take her, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired curiously.

"Because!" Snape snapped, his patience lost when Silver left the room, "I'm not a parent! I can't be a parent! She drives me crazy as it is, worrying me half to death all the time!"

Dumbledore observed Snape piercingly for a moment before replying.

"So you won't take her, because you're scared you won't be able to take care of her," he said finally.

"I'm not scared of anything," Snape hissed, eyes flashing with anger.

"Oh, but Severus, you are," Dumbledore said, "And I won't have it. Not in this situation."

Dumbledore sounded oddly stern. Snape gaped at him for a minute.

"What?" he said finally.

"I absolutely won't have it! You will overcome your fear and take the girl home!" Dumbledore answered, sounding angry.

"I don't have any fear," Snape sneered in response.

"Oh, but Severus, you can't hide it from me. No, not me," Dumbledore answered, talking faster than Harry had ever heard him talk before.

Snape gave Dumbledore a venomous look. "I won't take her," he declared, "She will go with someone else and have a better time than she would have had with me."

"Severus, listen to me," Dumbledore commanded, "That girl chose you. I never would have believed that you, who knows her situation better than anybody, would push her away when she is so openly pouring her heart into you."

"She is not pouring anything into me!" Snape roared, "I'm an old git!"

"And it's times like this I believe it!" Dumbledore replied, his voice rising as well. "However, the girl does not." Dumbledore's voice quieted back down at his last statement.

Snape glared at Dumbledore but appeared unable to say anything.

"Severus, it's simple really," Dumbledore continued, "Just as you...yes, you...have the power to open up her future, it is she that has the power to unravel your past. Deny it you may, but you belong to each other."

"I don't 'belong' to anybody," Snape hissed back. He spun on his heel and left the room.

Dumbledore sighed and dropped into his chair.

"After all the fuss he put into being with her every waking moment during guard duty, you'd think he'd jump at the opportunity," he commented, his blue eyes half angry, half amused.

He glanced up at Ron and Harry.

"Please go get Silver and tell her I wish to have a word with her right now. Do not leave her until she comes," he instructed.

The two nodded and walked out of Dumbledore's office.

"Where do you reckon she went?" Ron asked.

"Well, she wouldn't go to the common room or to the dorms," Harry said carefully, "Because she wouldn't want to be seen or bothered. I bet she's hiding in the library somewhere."

"What an old git," Ron said angrily, "He had to have known he was going to hurt her, he had to have!"

Harry agreed but didn't say anything. He was wondering why Snape would do something like that.

The two made their way to the library, where Madam Pince gave them several suspicious looks as they walked through the racks. Suddenly they heard a sniffle coming from the corner of the room. Exchanging glances, the hurried over. Silver was sitting with her arms around her knees and her head resting on top of them, sniffling.

"Hey," Harry said, sitting down beside her.

"Harry, nobody wants me," she sobbed.

"Yes they do," he soothed.

She shook her head and continued to cry.

"Come on," he said, taking her arm, "Dumbledore wants to talk to you."

She stubbornly resisted.

"Snape's not there," Ron told her.

She reluctantly allowed herself to be led back to Dumbledore's office.

When they arrived, Professor McGonagall was gone. Harry gently pushed her down into a fluffy armchair.

"Silver," Dumbledore said.

She refused to meet his gaze.

"Silver, I need to know that you are listening to me," Dumbledore said nonthreateningly.

She began to sob anew.

"No...Nobody...w...wants...me," she sobbed.

"Silver, please look at me," was Dumbledore's patient reply.

Silver sniffled up her tears and looked up at him.

"Severus does want you, my dear," Dumbledore said, holding out a tissue, "But he's scared."

"Of...what?" she sniffed, not using the tissue.

"Well, to put it frankly, you," Dumbledore answered.

"M...me?" she repeated.

"He doesn't think he'll be able to take care of you," Dumbledore explained.

Silver burst into sobs once more as she replied. "W...well he c...can," she cried, "I'll b...be r...really good."

"I know," Dumbledore told her, "Believe me, I do."

Silver continued to cry for a good ten minutes before quieting down to random sniffles. Harry put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't even seem to realize it was there.

"Silver," Dumbledore said gently, "I'm sorry."

"It's not you," she replied, her voice and gaze distant, "It's me. Nobody is ever going to be able to love me, are they?"

"Silver," Dumbledore chided, "There are many people who love you."

"No," she replied, still sounding as if she were in some other world, "They're just saying that...waiting until they can hurt me. But it's okay. I don't need anyone. Nobody."

"I don't want you thinking that," Dumbledore scolded, "Because it's not true."

Silver didn't reply. She seemed to be drawing herself in, leaving only a shell of what she had been just an hour ago.

"Silver?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" she replied, her voice oddly hollow. She didn't smile, but neither did she frown. Her face was utterly emotionless.

"This is what I was afraid of," Dumbledore said quietly.

Suddenly the door burst open. Snape was standing there, looking as if he might bite all their heads off at any moment.

"Silver," he said.

She looked up at him, and her essence came pouring back. Rather than looking emotionless, she now looked as though she were going to burst into tears.

"I've changed my mind," he announced, "You will be coming home with me for Christmas."

He turned to Dumbledore. "Any other plans you've made for her, you will just have to cancel," he announced, as if he had been cheated out of getting a chance to take her home.

A smile spread over Dumbledore's face. Silver looked up at Snape questioningly, and he looked back down at her, the menace gone from his face.

"Because I do want you," he admitted, looking as if he were trying very hard not to show how attached he was to her.

Slowly, a smile lit her features. She jumped up from her chair and threw her arms around him.

"Thank you," she breathed, "I promise I'll be really, really good, and I won't disappoint you, or disobey you, and I'll do anything you want me to. I promise."

Snape looked as if he were about to reply, but he glanced briefly up at them and then said, "We'll discuss it later." He then looked up at Ron and Harry, as if daring them to repeat what they had just witnessed to anybody.

"Alright," she replied breathlessly, squeezing him so tightly Harry was surprised he could still breathe.

"Off you go now," he told her, trying to sound annoyed. She nodded and walked down the stairs, followed by Harry and Ron. She didn't say anything until they passed the gargoyle.

"Somebody wants me!" She sounded amazed and happy at the same time.

"Yeah," Ron sniggered, "But he'd never admit it in public. Did you see the look on his face, Harry? He totally didn't want us to see what a softie he is!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"Now, you two, don't go..." she began.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone how parental Snape can be," Ron assured her, "Except for Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George."

Silver rolled her eyes and Harry laughed.

"So," he teased, "Are you actually going to be good?"

Her eyes widened. "Am I really that bad all the time?" she asked worriedly.

He laughed. "I was just kidding!" he exclaimed.

She looked relieved. "Good, because I already try hard to stay out of trouble," she replied.

Harry and Ron both burst out laughing.

"Doesn't work very well, does it?" Ron asked, "Whether you're sneaking out of Snape's class or going for a casual stroll through Hogsmeade, you somehow end up in trouble all the time."

Silver glared at him. Then, she suddenly looked worried all over again.

"I haven't bought him a Christmas present!" she exclaimed, alarmed.

"I don't think he's used to getting them anyway," Ron replied, which earned him a venomous look from Silver.

"Why don't you make him one?" Harry suggested.

"I can't make anything," Silver answered, "But you said you knew a secret way to Hogsmeade, didn't you?"

"No," Harry answered firmly, "You are not going to Hogsmeade and risking your neck just to get Snivelly a Christmas present!"

"Don't call him that, and yes I am!" she answered stubbornly.

"Fine, go ahead and try," he answered, "But you're not getting any information out of me."

She scowled at him and refused to look at him the rest of the way. He ignored her. He was not going to tell her how to get into Hogsmeade – he knew it would only result in trouble, if not danger. Her good mood returned when they arrived in the common room, where Hermione was waiting for them.

"Hermione, I have a home for Christmas!" she exclaimed happily before bouncing off in another direction while Ron and Harry filled her in.

After they had finished explaining, Harry looked over to see Silver folding up a letter.

"I'm going to go down to the Owlry to get this delivered," she informed them innocently, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

They all dismissed this as normal, when suddenly Ron asked, "Wait a minute – who does she have to write to?"

When Silver returned, that was the first thing they asked her.

"Just somebody," she replied, "What does it matter?"

"It matters because you have a knack for getting into trouble nearly as bad as mine," Harry answered.

"Harry, I wouldn't go doing anything dangerous," she informed him in a voice that was too full of sugary-sweetness.

He regarded her suspiciously for a moment, and then suddenly heard snatches of Ron and Hermione's conversation.

"I'll, well, really miss you," Ron was saying.

"That's so sweet, Ron, I'll miss you too," Hermione gushed back in a voice most unlike her own.

"I'll write you every day."
"I'll write you twice a day."
"And you'll try and come back to headquarters the last two weeks?"
"Of course."

"Is it just me, or are they not arguing?" Harry asked Silver.

Silver grinned. "Let's just say somebody can't wait to stand under the mistletoe together," she replied.

"Ron's never told me anything," Harry said, feeling a bit left out.

"Well, have you been telling him every little thing that happens between you and me?" Silver inquired.

Harry remembered that as far as Ron knew, he and Silver had only hugged once and stared at each other a lot. He was sure Ron suspected something had happened between them, but he didn't really know.

"Uh, not exactly," he admitted.

"Well, there you have it," she told him.

He frowned. "Guess I'll talk to him tonight," he muttered.

"Good, you two need to talk," Silver replied, "Almost as much as I need to get some sleep. I'm going to bed, night!"

"Sleep tight," he replied playfully.

She giggled. "Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"I forget the rest," he informed her.

She grinned. "How about a 'sweet dreams', then?"

"Sweet dreams, Silver," he obliged eagerly.

She beamed at him. "Sweet dreams, Harry," she replied, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek before walking up the stairs.

Harry grinned long after she disappeared into the girl's dorms.