Getting home by walking through the town of Hogsmeade at the close of the evening, especially on Christmas Eve, was no laughing matter for Severus. Folks were still out, milling about in their jolly fashion. It was extremely difficult for him to make it home without being jumped on by a horde of happy-go-lucky charity collectors, or without being stalked by a mob of caroling fiends.
"But please, sir won't you be kind enough to donate any small amount to St. Mungo's Fund for Inj---"
"Not a Sickle!" snarled Severus, growing agitated. Picking up an airy sense of nobility, he importantly pressed on, quite aware of the teenage carollers following him, singing some kind of tortorous song... a song about peace, love, happiness, joy, and hope--- hmmm! There was no such thing as peace, love, happiness, joy, OR hope, thought Severus. He droned them out by humming his own desultory tune in his head.
"Hmmmmmmmm..."
"Siiiiiiiilent niiiiiiiiiight, hooooooly niiiiiiiiight..."
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." his song was growing louder, with every higher note of theirs...
"All is caaaaaaaaaalm, all is briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight..."
"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM..." soon the disconnected tune was wailing from his mouth... louder and louder...
"Round yon viiiiiiirgin, mother and chiiiiiiiiiiiiiild..."
"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!..." ... now screaming... people all around him turned to stare...
"Hooooooooly infaaaaaaaaaaant... so teeeeeeeender and miiiiiiild..."
"STOP IT! STOP WITH THE SINGING ALREADY!" he shouted as he twisted around in the manner of a madman to face the quartet of children. He was clearly enraged, and his anger was portrayed in his pale, twisted face. The village all around him fell silent at his outburst; all heads turned towards him. Admist their harsh whispers and vengeful stares, Severus managed to get to One-Eighteen Crackwallis without further assault. Home at last! Well... if you could call this home, (which he hardly could, for although its cold stone walls held him away from the rest of the world, he never had truly made himself at home anywhere he'd been, let alone here.)
He let out a deep sigh before fumbling with the key and lock. That was strange- for as he slid the rusty brass key into the lock then turned it, he noticed something- or at least he thought he did. Could he have REALLY seen it? No. There couldn't have been...at last, he managed to open the door. He hung his cloak up on the hanger near the door, then couldn't help questioning himself as he undressed and climbed into bed: had he actually seen what he thought? For if he was to make a guess, one wild crazy guess, he would say that for just one brief moment, his door knocker, normally the shape of a winding brass snake, had taken the form of the face of his former schoolmate - Sirius Black!