Hey again! I am terribly sorry for the long delay but I came across a bit of writer's block. It is kind of hard to write a Christmas chapter in the middle of August as one of my reviewers also put it.
Don't worry, my updates will NOT be this far apart. The other chapter is probably a quarter of the way done.
So once again thanks to all my reviewers and sorry for the wait!
Thanks once again to my beta-reader, Badbugz!
Chapter twenty four- Home is where the Heart is.
"Are you positive that you want us to go, Damien?" Hermione asked for
the
third time as she hugged him.
Damien sighed, feeling slightly touched by his friend's thoughtfulness.
"Yes, I'm positive! Now go home to see your family, Hermione," he told
her
and she grinned. "After all it's not like I'm going to be alone or
anything,
I actually have family now," he said as he hugged Ginny.
"You've always had family, Damien," Ginny told him and kissed him
before
trying to load up her trunk.
Damien picked it up for her and loaded it in Ron, Hermione, Ginny,
Pansy,
and Draco's compartment.
"Bye, Damien..." Ginny whispered as she hugged him once again.
Ron clapped him on the shoulder, "See ya later, mate! Have a good
Christmas
with Snape!" the Weasley grimaced slightly at the last comment he had
made.
Draco repeated the gesture, "Don't mind Weasley, he's an idiot," Draco
smirked as Ron glared at him. "See you next year."
Hermione gave him another hug and muttered, "Have a good Christmas with
your
father! Sweeten him up a little over the holidays so he won't give us
any
homework!" She smiled at him in a rather uncharacteristic display of
the
'goody goody' Hermione Granger.
Ginny kissed him for the third time and hugged him again, "I'll think
about
you on Christmas, okay?" she told him. "And have fun! Have fun with
your
family!"
Damien grinned and nodded, "I will. See you, Ginny, Ron, Hermione,
Draco...." he nodded to each of them, hugging Ginny once more before
the
whistle blew up above to signal that they needed to be boarding now.
"Don't forget about me!" came a voice and a moment later Pansy stumbled
out
of one of the train doors. She surprised Damien by throwing her arms
around
him and giving him a brief hug before saying, "Have a good Christmas!"
and
disappearing back onto the train.
Draco shook his head as he stared in the direction she had disappeared
in,
"She's crazy...." he muttered, "I have no idea why I put up with
her..."
Ginny giggled, "Because you love her, right?"
A faint blush appeared on the blonde's face but the boy snapped, "Oh
mind
your own business!"
Damien smiled as they boarded the train. He waved to them until the
train
disappeared around a corner and sighed before walking back inside the
castle. It was rather empty for the holidays, mainly because of the
rising
war and children wanted to spend as much time as possible with their
parents. The only other students who had stayed for Christmas break
were a
first year Ravenclaw, a seventh year Hufflepuff, and Terry Boot.
Damien made his way up to the Astronomy Tower, where he and Ginny had
spent
five hours together the last night. He sighed as he looked out onto the
sparkling hills that surrounded Hogwarts, all of them glistening with
snow
in the sunlight. He watched the Hogwarts express disappear into the
mountains before heading back down to the dungeons to see his father.
The man was busy at work, as usual. He was grading what looked like the
most
recent potion's essay that he had assigned Damien's class. Damien
noticed
that he was grading Neville Longbottom's, and was surprised to see that
not
many red blotches were scribbled over Neville's messy writing.
"Do you have to work now? It's holidays," Damien said as he walked up
to his
father's desk. The man scowled, without looking up. Severus finished
grading
Neville's paper and set it aside, reaching up to rub the spot between
his
eyes tiredly.
"Then what, pray tell, do you propose we do?" he asked Damien with an
arched
eyebrow.
"Well, I need to get to Hogsmeade to get my presents for everyone..."
"Yes, I need to pick up a few things as well," Severus murmured
thoughtfully.
Damien grinned, "Those things wouldn't happen to be for me now would
they?"
he asked innocently.
Severus rolled his eyes, "As if I'm going to tell you that."
Damien scowled, "You're no fun..."
"I take it you are not going to the Yule Ball?" Severus asked as he
stretched. Damien nodded and mumbled, "Well, Ginny, Ron, Hermione,
Draco,
and Pansy have all gone home for the holidays. There really is no
point."
Damien grinned mischievously, "Maybe YOU could find a nice lady-friend,
Dad?"
Severus snorted, "No, I doubt it."
"Why? Because you're too evil?"
"No, because no woman would be willing to put up with a brat like you."
"Well, people do always tell me that I take after my father..."
"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade or not?"
"Okay, okay, let's go..."
&&&&&&&&&&&
Half an hour later, Damien and Severus were heading down to Hogsmeade.
Surprisingly, the small village wasn't that crowded, compared to
Hogsmeade
weekends, that is. Everyone already seemed to be settling down for the
holidays and the few that were out doing some last minute shopping
didn't
look in any hurry to leave.
"I will meet you at five for dinner at the Three Broomsticks," Severus
told
him as they approached Zonko's. Damien nodded briefly before heading
into
the joke shop.
Severus groaned as he watched Damien walk in Zonko's. "I was hoping for
a
quiet school year without those damn Weasley-twins," Severus mumbled to
himself before sweeping down the street at a fast pace.
Damien glanced around at all the items on the shelves. He sighed before
running over the list of people he needed to buy for this year.
Hermione,
Ron, Ginny, Draco, his father, and....should he get Pansy a gift as
well?
Damien shrugged nonchalantly before pulling out the money he had gotten
owl-delivered from his vault. He thought about getting Ron some
dungbombs or
stink pellets, but remembered that Severus was going to be one of the
people
Ron would use them on. Damien chuckled slightly before loading up on
each
item.
&&&&&&&&&&&
At exactly five o'clock, Damien hurried into the Three Broomsticks,
teetering slightly off balance due to the heavy load he had been
hauling
around for the past couple hours.
He spotted his father seated at a booth toward the back of the pub,
reading
the latest issue of 'Brewers,' and sipping on a butterbeer. Damien
dropped
into the seat across from Severus. "Finished my shopping!" he said
cheerfully to his father.
The man looked up from the magazine, his lips twitching slightly. "Let
me
see them, please," he said.
Damien blinked, "Why?"
"I just want to make sure they're safe…"
"No, you just want to see your present!"
"You got me a present? Let me see it!"
Damien grabbed his bags from reaching distance of his father. "You have
to
wait just like everyone else."
Severus arched an eyebrow, "And here I thought I was supposed to be the
adult…"
"You're acting too childish!"
"It's the holidays, what do you expect?"
"You've never acted like this during the holidays before…."
Severus smiled, "Before, I had no one to celebrate it with that I cared
about."
Damien felt warmth in the pit of his stomach at his father's words. It
must
have reflected on his face because his father's smile grew.
They ate in comfortable silence, both thinking about what the holidays
would
be like with someone they actually cared about.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Christmas Eve was a bright and sunny day. A fresh blanket of snow had
settled on Hogwarts overnight. Even though it was sunny, it was still
only a
couple degrees above zero. The whole day was a silent affair. The Yule
Ball
was meant to take place on Christmas, but, because of the lack of
students,
it was going to take place the weekend after the students returned from
Christmas break.
Damien spent most of the day wrapping presents in the Slytherin Dorms
(which
he had to himself).
For Ginny he had gotten a gold locket. On it, it said, 'Till death do
you
part,' written in tiny emeralds. In the left part of the inside of the
locket, was a picture of the two of them sitting on the Astronomy
Tower, her
sitting in his lap. In the right part was a clock similar to Mrs.
Weasley's.
On each of the four sides were, 'It's all good', 'Be aware', 'Watch
your
back', and 'You're in trouble.' It had only one hand, which was of
course
meant for Ginny. It was currently pointed on, 'It's all good.'
For Hermione he had gotten her 'Hogwarts, a History,' though, unlike
the one
she owned now, it magically updated anything new about the school. The
Room
of Requirement was even explained in this copy.
For Ron he had gotten at least a hundred dungbombs and stink pellets,
with a
note that said, 'Give Gred and Forge hell for me.'
For Draco he had gotten a necklace that had a dragon's tooth on it.
Though
it looked like a normal necklace, it really had a charm on it, which
made
half of the pain from a harmful spell (like the Cruciatus) affect
Damien
instead of Draco. Damien had the other necklace, though it was only a
one-way thing, in other words, Draco wouldn't feel any pain if Damien
got
hit by a harmful spell. Damien wasn't going to tell Draco about the
charm on
the necklace, because he knew that the blonde wouldn't allow it. He had
put
a note with it that said, 'Keep it on you always; it's supposed to
bring
good luck.' People would think that Damien was stupid for getting a
thing
that was supposed to cause him pain but it was really only meant for
Death
Eater meetings, which Draco now had to attend by himself. Draco may not
be
Ron or Hermione, but he was still his friend and Damien didn't want him
to
feel the full extent of the Cruciatus. He would do just about anything
to
protect his friends.
He hadn't really known what to get Pansy; he didn't know her that well
but
she did seem to like jewelry. He had gotten her a simple
charm-bracelet,
which had tiny, silver snitches, stars, crescent moons, and sand
dollars on
the band of it.
Now his father had been the hardest to shop for. Yes, he knew the man
better
then before but he hadn't known what to get him at first. His first
impulse
had been to get him something to do with Potions but he had wanted it
to be
special, something that Severus would really like.
He had gotten Severus two different things. The first one was similar
to the
clock in Ginny's locket. It had two hands on it, for both Damien and
Severus. On it, it said, 'At school', 'At home' 'With friends', 'Mortal
Peril', 'Ministry of Magic', and 'Dead'. Severus's hand was pointed at,
'At
home,' and Damien's was pointed at, 'At School,' due to the fact that
he was
in his dorm.
The second present was a picture of the two of them at the Snape Manor.
It
had been after the charms had been taken off Damien, about a couple
days
before school had started. They were sitting across from each other in
the
living room, both engrossed in a game of Muggle Chess. Every once and a
while, one of them would move a piece before concentrating again, or
look up
to glance at one another whether it be a scowl or a grin.
Dumbledore had taken that picture and neither Damien nor Severus had
known
about it. Damien had asked Dumbledore about any pictures of a younger
Severus that he might have and the headmaster had given him this
picture
instead. Damien had been glad; he liked the picture. It had been one of
the
first times they had actually started to respect one another.
Damien headed up to the Owlrey to deliver the gifts.
It was after dinnertime when Damien made his way back to his father's
quarters. He walked in and immediately thought that he had came to the
wrong
room. Garland and lights were draped across the mantle of the
fireplace.
Holly was placed here and there; the paintings that had hung on the
wall
were now wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper, complete with a large,
red
ribbon, making them look like presents. Off to the left side of the
room was
a large Christmas tree, which already had its lights wrapped around it.
Severus was in front of the tree, carefully unwrapping ornaments.
Damien
beamed at the man before clearing his throat slightly. He took slight
pleasure in seeing his father jump in surprise before turning to look
at
him.
"You weren't supposed to be back until later!" Severus scolded
good-naturedly. Damien shrugged, "I finished wrapping my gifts early,"
he
paused, his brow furrowed, "What's all this?"
"Christmas decorations," Severus said with an arched eyebrow. "I know
you
lived with muggles but you have to know what Christmas decorations
are!"
"I do know what they are," Damien said as he eyed the old, looking
ornaments
Severus was unpacking. "I just never thought of you as a decorating
person…."
Severus snorted, "Neither did I, thought you might enjoy them though."
Damien smiled at his father's thoughtfulness, "I love it," he breathed
as he
gazed longingly up at the tree. "I've never decorated a Christmas tree
before…."
Severus grimaced before smiling warmly at his son, "Well, this can be
your
first time."
Damien blinked as Severus stood up and made his way over to him,
holding out
an ornament. "You want to help me?"
Damien felt a lump rising up in his throat as he looked into his
father's
dark eyes. Decorating a tree with his father……he never would have
thought
that it would be possible. He had always seen the Dursley's decorate
their
tree at Christmas. He remembered peeking in on them from the stairway,
feeling an ache in his heart as he watched Aunt Petunia hand Dudley the
star
to put on the top. He had always wanted that, even if it had been
something
as simple as decorating a Christmas tree with his parents, it was those
moments that he had always longed for, those family moments when you
could
practically see the love radiating off of the family members.
Damien returned to the presence before slowly taking the ornament out
of his
father's hand. He handled the figurine of an angel as if it were glass
and
slide it onto a branch of the tree.
Severus smiled as he watched Damien's face light up with happiness,
making
his emerald eyes twinkle. Together they both continued to decorate the
tree,
until it gradually became crowded with the many ornaments that hung
from its
limbs.
Damien stood on his tiptoes to put the gold and silver star on top of
the
tree before standing back to admire their work.
The tree's main colors were gold, white, and silver. The lights were
white,
the ornaments were either gold or silver and the tinsel was gold.
Damien
personally thought that the tree was one of the most beautiful
Christmas
tree's he had seen, including all the ones the Dursley's had decorated
and
Damien went to bed that night with a smile on his face.
&&&&&&&&&&
Damien stirred as he slowly awakened. He sat up, blinking the sleep
from his
eyes and looking around to see sunlight pouring through the window.
Damien
had slept on the couch in the living room and could see the pile of
presents
under the tree.
He felt joy well up inside of him like never before, threatening to
burst
out of him. He settled on letting out a quiet whoop as he stood up and,
not
bothering to change out of his nightclothes, dashed into his father's
room.
Severus was asleep still, snoring loudly as he held onto a pillow.
Damien
chuckled slightly at the sight before jumping onto the bed. Severus
shot up
immediately, his wide eyes darting around frantically as if expecting
to be
ambushed.
Damien burst out laughing; things seemed ten times funnier this
morning.
Severus immediately smiled, feeling a sense of pride well up in him as
he
watched Damien laugh. To him, it sounded like the most wonderful thing
in
the world.
"Merry Christmas!" Damien announced cheerfully as his father slid out
of
bed.
"Merry Christmas," Severus returned, equally happy as his son but not
near
enough awake to respond with as much enthusiasm.
"So, what did Santa bring you?" Severus asked teasingly. Damien rolled
his
eyes and arched an eyebrow as if to say, 'Are you serious?' "Okay, so
maybe
you're a little to old for that…" Severus grinned at Damien's annoyed
look.
They both headed into the living room and sat on the couch as Severus
summoned up some tea for the two of them. Damien sat there, staring at
the
tree and presents as if mesmerized, sipping on his tea. Severus looked
at
him for a moment before clearing his throat and saying, "Well, what are
you
waiting for? Open them!"
Damien smiled appreciatively at him before slowly dropping to his knees
beside the tree. "Come on! I'm not opening these alone," Damien told
the
man. Severus sighed before giving in and sitting on the floor beside
his
son.
Damien opened his first present, which was from Ginny, it turned out to
be a
watch, which had not only the time but also had a built in map of
Hogwarts.
According to the note Ginny had sent with it, you were to press the
blue
button on the side of the watch and a map would appear along with
everyone
in Hogwarts, like a portable Maurader's Map. 'Hermione helped with the
map,'
the note had read, 'It was a complicated charm and I'm sure it will be
useful.' Damien smiled and slipped it on his left wrist before
continuing on
with the presents.
Ron had gotten him a pair of leather Quidditch gloves that were
supposed to
protect his hands from blistering completely. Along with that was Mrs.
Weasley's usual package of mince pies and Fred and George's newest
items.
Hermione had gotten him a book called, 'Defense Against the Dark Arts:
Charms and Potions,' which turned out to be a pretty useful book.
Draco had gotten him the newest Quidditch book, 'Balls and Broomsticks,
an
Unlikely Combination?'
Damien opened the book to see Krum doing an impossible looking
twist-move as
he caught the snitch. Damien smirked and decided to try the move later.
He
looked over at Severus, who was staring at him; the man hadn't even
made to
open his own presents.
Damien frowned as he set down the book. "What's wrong, Dad?" he asked.
Severus shook himself from the daze he was in. Damien smiled, "There
are
some presents under here for you too, you know."
His father blinked and reached out to take a present from Dumbledore
out
from under the tree. It turned out to be a bottle of wine.
Damien looked at the bottle, noting the year (1989) with satisfaction.
"Good
year…." He commented to his father. Severus's head snapped up, "And how
would you know?" he asked suspiciously. Damien merely smiled.
Damien reached for Pansy's present. It turned out to be a necklace with
a
phoenix feather on it. 'To bring you good luck in dark times…' her note
had
said. Damien admired the golden feather before slipping it on also. He
felt
tranquility wash over him and closed his eyes as he savored the
feeling.
Severus opened another present, which turned out to be from Ginny,
Hermione,
Ron, Draco, and Pansy. It was a green robe and they had even dared to
put in
a note attached to it, 'To bring some color to your closet, Professor.'
Damien busted out laughing at the look on his father's face. "They're
right,
you know," he told the man.
Severus rolled his eyes before smiling slightly and setting the gift
aside,
only to pick up a smaller package that was from Hermione. "Miss Granger
sent
me another present…." Severus said as he turned to Damien, who
shrugged. It
turned out to be Boomslang skin. When Damien realized what it was, he
started laughing once again.
"What?" Severus asked as he watched Damien laugh. "What's so funny?"
Damien shook his head and said nothing as he thought about his second
year
when Hermione had stole the Boomslang skin from his father for the
Polyjuice
Potion. Obviously, she still felt a little guilty about the whole
thing.
There was five more presents left under the tree, two for Severus and
three
for Damien.
Damien reached under to pull out Severus's two gifts and handed them to
his
father, who looked at them with a surprised look.
"Open them!" Damien demanded, smiling at the shocked look on his
father's
face.
Severus shot him a thankful look, "You didn't have to-"
"Yes," Damien interrupted impatiently. "Yes I did need to, now open
them!"
Severus took his time as he slowly undid the wrapping, careful to not
tear
the wrapping.
Damien groaned impatiently, "Just tear it!"
His father smirked, "But it's such a pretty wrapping, I don't want to
rip
it."
Damien rolled his eyes in response.
Severus stared at the picture of the two of them, an odd expression on
his
face. Damien shifted, hoping his father liked it. "Where…" Severus
began
quietly, "Where…who took this?"
"Dumbledore," was the simple response.
His father's lips twitched and curled into a smile as the man reached
out to
trace a finger over the photo. Damien looked over his father's shoulder
to
see Severus and he waving up at them in the photo.
"Thank you…" Severus whispered and stood up, putting the photo on the
mantle. Damien smiled, "That's not all, there's another one."
Severus took the other present in his hand and opened it. "You got one
of
these…?" the man asked as he stared at the clock.
Damien smiled, "Yeah, I thought it would be nice to know where the
other
was." Damien watched the emotions crossing his father's face as he
stared
down at the clock; both hands were pointed at, 'At home.'
Severus looked up at him, smiling. He pulled Damien into a hug, "Thank
you;
it's been so long since someone besides Albus has given me anything."
Damien melted into the hug, gladly returning it, feeling a slight
sadness
for his father. They sat there like that for a couple of minutes before
Severus pulled back and snatched the three remaining presents from
under the
tree, handing them to Damien.
Damien unwrapped the first one, which was also the biggest. It was a
photo
album; similar to the one that Hagrid had given him in his first year.
"I
know you've already got one with Lily in it but this one has pictures
of her
in our younger years at Hogwarts," Severus explained as Damien flipped
through the pages.
There were pictures of his mother at eleven through seventeen in there.
A
couple even had his father with her. There was a picture of her sitting
on
the stool in her first year, the sorting hat on her head. Not only were
there pictures of his mother, but also there were a couple photos of a
pale
woman with black hair and blue eyes.
"This was your Grandmother," Severus told him quietly. "My mother…..she
was
a wonderful person, she loved everything. I wish you would have known
her…"
Damien smiled weakly as he stared at a picture of his sixteen year-old
mother, her arm around his sixteen year-old father, both waving and
smiling
at him. He fought back the burning rising up in his eyes. "Thank you…"
he
whispered.
Severus smiled before handing him the other two presents. One was very
small
and the other looked like a flat book. He opened the bigger one first.
Damien swept the paper off of the book and his eyes widened as he read
the
title, 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Graduating Class of
1978.'
"Is this-"
"Yes," Severus said. "It was my old yearbook."
Damien eagerly flipped through the pages. It had a list of the names of
the
graduating students and a picture of the student beside their name. In
the
yearbook was comments made by teachers about random students, many more
pictures, and the most unforgettable people listed.
"Your mother received an award for Charms and was voted the most
kindest
person of our class," his father said quietly as he stared at Lily's
seventh
year picture. Damien's lips quirked, "Bet you got an award for Potions
didn't you?"
Severus nodded.
Damien gently set the old yearbook aside before picking up the smallest
and
last present. It was a ring. It was silver and had a green jewel,
carved in
the shape of a 'D'.
"It was my Grandfather's," Severus said as he took the ring from Damien
and
gently rolled it between his fingers. "He gave it to my mother, but as
she
was a girl, she never wore it and passed it on to me; it's yours now.
Kind
of like a family heirloom."
"What's the 'D' stand for?" Damien asked.
"It was my mother's maiden name, Denanman," Severus told him. Damien
frowned.
"Never heard of that name before…."
"Yes, we are the last of the Denanman line, which is one of the oldest
pureblood family, about as old as the Weasley's and the Crouch's."
Damien slipped it on his finger, "Thank you…" he looked at Severus with
twinkling eyes and hugged him once again.
Severus smiled at the boy.
"Merry Christmas, my son…."