Chapter One
By Juxtaposed
Severus stirred at the sound of a familiar voice, and opened his eyes just in time to see Lucius Malfoy leveling his wand at him. "What in the -"
"Viator memoriter," Lucius whispered before Severus finished his sentence, his ever-present smirk gracing his features. A flash of light flooded the room and left Severus feeling like he'd gone blind, seeing only little spots of color dancing in front of him.
"Lucius, you bastard," Severus growled, raising a hand to rub at his eyes. "What the hell?"
Malfoy simply raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired man and spoke in his most pleasant tone of voice. "Enjoy your night, Severus. I know I will."
"You bastard," Severus spat out again, as he regained his vision and coherent thought then slowly began to decipher the meaning of the words. "What have you done?" he asked apprehensively as a thrill of horror washing over him. After all, he reasoned, nothing that Lucius Malfoy was involved with could ever be good.
"Only what needs to be done, Severus, dear." There was no masking the glee in the blonde apparition's voice.
"You would think," Severus sighed heavily, "that when you died, you would have ceased to be the royal pain in my arse that you are, and always have been."
"But where would the fun be in that?" Lucius gave him a wicked grin. "Unless, of course, you meant literally, in which case I do believe a certain Harry Potter has taken over. Unless the Golden Boy enjoys it up -"
He paused, much to Severus' relief, as the room suddenly began to turn fuzzy. However, much to Severus' anxiety, Lucius perked up. "Ah, I do believe we're starting. I wonder when we'll end up. I do hope it's that Christmas I spent at your house, and your grandmother -"
Again, Severus was only too grateful for the spinning that began abruptly, cutting Lucius off, even if it was making him rather nauseous. Colors, light and sound began to blend together, faster and faster. Severus squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it all out as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Wind whipped around him, and Severus was suddenly only too aware that he was only dressed in a nightshirt in front of Lucius Malfoy, no less.
And then it all stopped and Severus was left swaying unsteadily on his feet, his head spinning. Gingerly he opened his eyes, and blinked. And then he blinked again.
He spun on his heel to glare at Lucius. "Lucius," Severus' voice was tightly clipped. "What in the name of Hades am I doing here?"
Lucius was wearing an equally sour expression as he surveyed the scene around them. "Frankly, Severus, I have no idea. I told you, I was hoping for that Christmas back in your third year. Something amusing. Not…this."
They were standing in the middle of the Burrow, and all around them were redheads, eating, talking, and laughing. The only exceptions to the sea of red were one mop of messy black hair, and one perfectly coiffed platinum blonde.
"Harry!" Severus tugged self-consciously at his nightshirt. "Can they see us? They haven't said a thing."
"Don't fret so, Severus. We're invisible to them." Lucius' lip curled as he observed Draco, who was curled up in a couch with Ginny on his lap. "We're intangible as well, unfortunately, or else I'd hex that disgraceful spawn of mine. Honestly, fraternizing with Weasleys." The elder Malfoy shuddered. "Copulating with Weasleys. If I weren't dead, I'd kill myself."
Severus ignored him. "Lucius, why am I here?" he asked once more, impatiently. "What was the spell you cast?"
Lucius brightened up. "Oh. That!"
"Yes, that." Severus scowled.
"Well, you see, Severus," Lucius began, a wide smirk crossing his features. "You're a rather cranky git during Christmas."
Severus' scowl darkened.
"Yes, like that. And I, among others, have been sent to sort you out.""Sort me out," Severus repeated flatly choosing, for the time being, to ignore the words 'among others', because he felt that if he acknowledged it his brain would explode.
"Yes. Somehow, by taking you to your past, present and possible future Christmases, it's supposed to help you get over your issues. No, I don't quite see the point either," Lucius shrugged at Severus' eye-rolling. "But it got me out of being dead for a while, and I couldn't ever resist a chance to make you suffer. Ergo, this," He waved his hand in mild disgust at the scene before them, "decrepit redhead central."
very bad Latin translation "travel memories"