Chapter 3
By Amanda Saitou
Severus was awoken by a cold breeze brushing against his face and a laugh that he hadn't heard for a very long time. A truly disturbing one, though he still couldn't remember to whom it belonged. He forced his drowsy eyes to focus on the ghostly form standing beside him. "Who are you?"
The ghost was wearing a cloak and a hood hid his face, though locks of black long hair could be seen over the ghost's shoulders. His clothes were those of a noble wizard, like the ones Lucius Malfoy had worn during his lifetime.
"Who do you think old git? I'm the ghost of the Christmas Present and I'm here in hopes of slipping some reasoning into your head since you've always lacked it!"
The ghost giggled while speaking to Severus, making the Potions master angrier as each minute passed. He made no attempt to hide it, though, as he approached the ghost rudely. "What I lack or not is none of your damn business. Take me to whatever little show you need to bring me to or get out of here!"
This time the ghost of Christmas Present laughed out loud. "For Merlin's sake, I really don't know what my godson sees in you." He sighed and took off the hood. "Once a bastard, always a bastard right, Snivellus?"
Severus froze. "No, not you!" Very suddenly Severus began to panic already anticipating what was to come.
The ghost noticed that his 'mission' was terrified at the sight of him and he could not resist laughing heartily again. "What's the problem, Snivellus? I thought you would be happy to see me after that Malfoy bastard visited you. I'm much better looking, aren't I?" With that the ghost laughed louder and this annoyed Severus a lot more.
"Sirius Black! Go back to what ever hellhole you came from!"
"Nah, I'm sorry to inform you, Snivellus, but I'm not in hell like Malfoy. I just volunteered to come because Harry's happiness in on the line. I wouldn't have imagined that he would fall for you!" Sirius face changed from ironic to very serious. "My poor godson, Voldemort didn't manage to curse him, but you did!"
Severus braced himself protectively at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "Potter came to me not the other way round, Black! If you want to blame someone, you can go to the Burrow and meet your precious godson there!"
Sirius stared with a malicious grin at the other man before speaking again. "In fact, the Burrow is where we're going right now!"
"What?! Impossible, Black, I'm not going there, no matter what you say. I..."
Sirius smirked. "You don't have a choice, Snape. Viator memoriter!"
The fuzzy sensation returned as the scenery around them began to change. Soon the silence of Severus' quarters was replaced by the noise of a crowd filled with well known voices and a scene very similar to the one Lucius had dragged Severus to see earlier. They were again at the Burrow.
"Is it familiar to you, Severus?" Sirius had rested his back in a nearby wall, arms folded across his chest, staring deeply at Severus.
The Potions master just nodded, his attention all focused on the young black haired man talking to Hermione and Ginny. Severus realized as he watched that this was happening at this very moment and this was the party that his lover wanted him to come to so very much.
Their conversation must have been amusing since the two girls smiled at each other all the time, but Harry didn't seem that happy. He returned the smiles cheerfully, but there was some sadness in his green eyes. Severus couldn't shake the look in Harry's eyes out of his mind for the longest time and a feeling of guilt crept up on him, which started to annoy him. Severus was curious about their conversation and tried to get closer in order to hear what they were saying. When he managed to get in a position to do so several small explosions came from the kitchen, followed by the Weasley twins running away from a very angry Molly Weasley. The crowd's attention was on the identical boys now and Ron asked Harry's help to calm down his mother before she could catch Fred and George.
Looking around, Severus spotted his godson talking with Tonks and Arthur Weasley. He smirked at the scene, wishing that Lucius still were with him to see that.
"It seems that Malfoy junior is not going to meet his father when he dies after all! At least you were able to handle the boy well, Snivellus!"
Severus turned to Sirius and scowled. "Can't you just stop calling me that, you mongrel?"
Black gave his unwilling companion a mock smile. "Easy, Snape. That was a compliment! Let's try being civil to each other, at least for Harry's sake."
"You're dead, Black, and I don't have to be civil to ghosts!"
"Again, I really can't understand what Harry sees in you... Snivellus!"
"Humph, you..."
Severus was distracted from snapping at Black by Dumbledore's imposing voice. "A toast to all of us present here today, alive and free from the Dark Lord! Let's thank Merlin ..."
"And Harry Potter here!" The twins shouted.
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, a toast to our dear Harry, for this blessing, for allowing us to have a celebration with all our loved ones and for not fearing the darkness that threatened to fall over our lives once more."
All the attention of those gathered was focused on Harry, who smiled and blushed slightly. Dumbledore approached him, closing the distance between them, and gave Harry a tight embrace. Before letting him go the older wizard whispered into his ear. "Don't be sad, my child. He is not here personally, but his heart follows you wherever you go." Then the headmaster looked straight into Severus' eyes and winked at him. "I believe he's much closer than you believe, Harry!"
"How...? How did he...?" Severus had been caught off guard and was speechless.
"Dumbledore is a real smart oldie!"
"Do you think he really can see us, Black?"
"For what I know, Snape, there's nothing Dumbledore can't do. You are his disciple; you should know that better than anyone else."
Draco and Ginny started some music with a spell and started dancing, calling the others to do the same. Ron and Hermione soon followed, as did Arthur and Molly, but not before hexing the twins. They were now tied to a chair until they decided to apologize for spoiling Molly's pumpkin cake.
The people gathered at the Burrow were a family, no matter what ties bound them together. The Weasleys, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore, Tonks, Minerva, Neville, had all fought together in the war against Voldemort, all had gone through terrible moments and each had lost something important to them. Everything they experienced connected them together as a family, a spiritual one, but a family none the less. This was a concept that Severus found difficult to understand. His painful past had hardened his heart making him believe he would never have a family never mind being loved by someone and loving in return.
Severus noticed that Harry seemed very happy among those people and recalling Black's words, he asked himself if staying with Harry was really the best thing for the younger wizard. Severus wondered if he could ever love the boy as much as Harry deserved.
Severus glanced at the door just as a very handsome young man was arriving. And his heart sunk to his feet.
"Charlie! Oh, my baby, I'm so happy you managed to come!" Molly was the first to run over to and hug the new arrival, but soon all his brothers and his father had surrounded him.
Severus felt a wave of jealousy surge through him again when Charlie went straight to Harry and embraced him tenderly. It was obvious that the older Weasley still was fond of his former boyfriend.
"Harry, I'm so glad to see you again!" He looked over Harry and his smiled widened. With a mischievous grin he asked, "No old git around?"
Harry frowned at the comment. "Severus is not here, Charlie. But we're still together; if that's what you want to know."
Charlie laughed. "That's a real pity, Harry. You should have stayed with me, you know. Younger, hotter, better lover..."
Harry blushed and tried to change the subject. Charlie apparently understood the hint and soon he was talking to his father, giving Harry the opportunity to run away and hide in the garden.
Sirius stretched and pointed to Severus, indicating that they should follow the younger man outside. Harry was sitting on bench hidden by Molly's bewitched roses. The green-eyed wizard was apparently lost in thought as he stared at the night sky. The young wizard remained like that for what seemed an eternity. It was a beautiful sight from which Severus couldn't look away and before he could control himself he had reached out a hand to caress Harry's hair.
"Harry! Harry! Oh, there you are! Everyone was asking about you, why are you here alone?"
"Hi, Hermione! I just wanted to be alone for a while."
Hermione sighed and sat beside Harry at the bench. "Let me guess... You were praying for a miracle to happen and hoping for a certain greasy Potions Master to appear at the party. Weren't you?"
"You know me too well, Hermione." Harry kept staring at the sky. "Having Severus here with me tonight would be the best gift I could have gotten. Better even than defeating Voldemort!"
"Harry, Snape has been this way all his life. What made you think he would change?"
This time Harry faced his friend. "I don't want Severus to change. I love him the way he is. I just... Well, I believed he loved me too." Tears start to stream down his face while Hermione entwined her hands with his.
"Have you told him the good news?"
Severus arched an eyebrow. What is she talking about?
"No. I had planned telling him tonight at the party. I was so sure he was coming with me. It's our first Christmas together and I though it would be a wonderful gift. But now I'm so confused Hermione. I really don't know what I'm going to do about it."
Hermione smiled and held Harry tight. "Whatever your decision is, Harry, Ron and I will be always by your side! Now, let's go to dinner before people asking more questions."
"Thanks, Hermione! Let's go!"
Severus turned to Black, confusion evident in his eyes. "What they were talking about, Black?"
"Curiosity killed the cat, Snivellus. Let's go back inside!"