For the disclaimer see previous chapters

A/N: I just want to thank all of the people who have read and reviewed this story so far. Your encouragement makes me want to keep going. I hope that you are all enjoying this story and please continue to review!

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Days, weeks, months flew by with surprising monotony and before Harry knew it, Christmas had come upon them. During this time, the schedule was pretty much the same for him. Up at 7, breakfast and immediately into wandless magic, followed by Snape teaching him more countercurses and jinxes and defense charms, lunch, then about an hour of him and Snape playing quidditch together (these were the times that Harry cherished the most), followed immediately by animagus practice (also on the quidditch field because of the size of what Harry was trying to transform into), followed by supper, immediately followed by more practice on techniques to defeat Voldemort. It was generally during this last time that Harry and Snape would practice dueling. Harry could now defeat Snape 9 times out of 10, but still that was not good enough. Harry knew he must be at his peak when facing Voldemort. Harry could feel the time was growing near, but knew not how long he had left.

Alas Christmas morning arrived. Harry woke up earlier then his usual 7, but unlike past Christmas there were no packages at his feet. Harry, puzzled, got out of bed and went into the living room. There he found Snape already awake and saw that the pile of packages he was expecting were in the corner. Harry looked over at his father and saw what looked a small smile on his face.

Instead of heading straight for the presents as was his normal custom, Harry went over and timidly hugged his father. Snape immediately responded in a way that rather surprised Harry. He embraced him in a firm manner. Harry pulled back a little and looked into his father's eyes. There he could see only love and affection. It was clear to Harry how much Snape had changed. He feared that if they were still back at the school, he would not have been able to keep up the façade.

"I love you, father. I'm sorry I was not able to go out and get you a present." Said Harry ashamedly.

"Harry, there are far more important things that you need to be concerned with. I am greatly impressed by how far you have come in such a short time. I know that you will be ready to defeat the dark Lord when the time comes. But for now, you need to take a day to forget about him and the coming days. Go, open your presents, Harry."

The first present Harry opened was from Mrs. Weasley. It was her typical present, a sweater with the initial S on the front. 'Must be Ron told her about everything,' thought Harry. The next present he opened was from Hermione. He noticed that it was the same size and shape as a book. 'Typical,' he thought. 'At least I know that things outside of this house are fairly normal.' The book was entitled, "How to become a master quidditch player." There was a note inside from Hermione that said:

Harry, we miss you a great deal. I know how much you love quidditch and this was the best thing I could think of to get you. I know you'll come out on top of this.

Hermione.

At that, Harry almost started to cry. 'What's wrong with me?' he thought. 'I must be getting weak. I have to work on that if I'm going to defeat the Dark Lord.' Next he saw a present from Ron. When he saw what it was, he just started laughing. It was a box of sweets from Honeydukes. He then saw a package from Dumbledore. Inside the package was a small vial on a chain. Inside the vial there was a substance that kept morphing and changing. It looked like the most beautiful colors Harry had ever seen. Inside there was a simple note that said:

Harry, keep this close to you always. It may help you defeat Lord Voldemort.

D

'Puzzling,' Harry thought putting the chain around his neck. He looked over at his father, but his father could offer no explanation. As he turned back to his pile of presents, he noticed that there was only one package left. It was from Snape.

"How did you manage to get me something? You've been here all the time, the same as me!"

"Well, I have secrets that you will never learn." Said Snape with a wink. "Open it, Harry!"

Harry carefully studied the box. The box was huge – almost half the size of himself. The wrapping paper was green and silver snakes and they seemed to be moving around on the paper. Harry carefully unwrapped the box – setting aside the wrapping paper to save. Inside was a brand new cauldron (which looked state of the art.) Inside the cauldron were jars and jars of all kinds of ingredients. Everything he would need to make any potion he ever wanted. With wide eyes he look over at his father.

"I know how much you have come to enjoy potion making since your change. I figured you needed a proper set of ingredients and a proper cauldron. After this is all over, I know you will find it as soothing and enjoyable as I did. And if you are to become an auror, this will come in handy. I will show you some advanced potions that will make your head spin later."

"Oh father! Thank you!" said Harry.

"And now, I have one more treat for you. As today is Christmas, I thought it might be nice for you to go and have dinner at the Weasleys. Hermione is spending Christmas break with them as well. So you would get to see all of your friends. Would you enjoy that?"

"Oh yes, father, it's been so long since I've seen them. I need to catch up on the news. But what about you? You can't spend Christmas alone! I insist that you come too!"

"There would be no point in me going. You will spend the whole day talking to your friends. Besides, there is some business that I need to take care of." Snape said solemnly.

"Business? What business? You can't be sneaking around with out me. It's nothing dangerous is it? What's going on that you're not telling me?"

"Son! You know what dangerous times these are. There are some things that must be taken care of. I promise you that I will be as careful as possible. You must know that, I love you and that having you back in my life has been wonderful. Everything will be fine, son."

"But you promise that you'll be back right? You promise that when I come back from the Weasley's you'll be finished?"

"Everything will be fine. You go and have a good time. You'll just be fluing there. Off with you!"

"Alright," Harry said feeling excited that he was going to see his friends. It vaguely bothered him that his father didn't exactly answer his question, but he put that out of his mind and focused on the food and fun he was to have today.