Warning

This story is not suitable for readers under the age of sixteen. It contains sexual content, including some non-consensual, and may offend some readers. If this subject is offensive to you, please do not read this story.

Chapter 25 – Thoughts of Christmas

Harry and Ron drew their cloaks about themselves as they crossed the grounds to Hagrid's hut, discussing the rose that Hermione had found on her pillow. They had not managed to find out anything at all about the identity of the mystery admirer, and had no idea how to change this. Hermione had told them about it – and about Snape's denial – and it seemed that she was as much in the dark as they.

"I wonder what Snape thinks about it," wondered Ron. "I can imagine him being the jealous type."

Harry agreed, hoping, for Hermione's sake, that this was not too much the case. "Maybe it's a good thing," he suggested. "Hermione might change her mind about him if there's someone else sending her roses!"

Neither was happy about their wish to disrupt Hermione's love life, but they could not help feeling this way about the man they both hated. They had agreed that they would never deliberately sabotage things, but she couldn't expect them to approve or encourage her.

"The only problem, though," said Ron, "is that it had Slytherin colours. It could be someone worse than Snape!"

Harry didn't see how this could be possible. "No way! The only person that could be worse than Snape would be ..."

They looked at each other, horrified, and said, in unison, "Malfoy!"

For a moment, they stared at each other, then began to laugh uncontrollably at the thought. Malfoy had reacted badly to the events of the previous year and, while he had lost a little of his cockiness, he was probably more malicious and loathsome than he had ever been. True, they had had no idea that the apparent hostility between Snape and Hermione had been to cover their real feelings, but the idea of Hermione and Malfoy was simply too far fetched.

They were still laughing as they reached the door to Hagrid's hut.

"What you two up to, then?" he asked them, as he gestured them in, but before they could answer, he had turned to the corner of his hut and was beckoning them over, excitedly. He was pointing to the dark space under his bed, from which was coming a faint snuffling noise. Every few seconds, this would erupt into a loud banging and screeching, as though something was trying to get out, and the two boys could just catch a glimpse of something hairy and fast spinning around in the darkness. "Look wha' I got!" Hagrid told them proudly.

Past experience made Harry and Ron extremely wary. It was only the fact that neither wanted to risk offending their friend and teacher, that prevented them both from edging back towards the door. "What is it, Hagrid?" Harry asked, cautiously, not at all certain he wanted to know.

Hagrid beamed. "No idea!" he said with a happy shrug. "It came in last night when I let Fang out, and it won't leave. I'm calling him Marmaduke!"

"Erm ...Oh... !" said Ron, not quite sure what else would be appropriate. It was only then that he noticed Fang in the opposite corner of the hut, as far away from the unidentified guest as possible. He whimpered at Harry and Ron from behind Hagrid's armchair, and they could quite see his point! Still, Marmaduke, whatever he – or she, or it – was, seemed quite content to stay under the bed, and no-one except Hagrid would object to this arrangement. They sat down in the huge armchairs by the fire, and drank the hot tea that Hagrid poured for them.

They talked about the upcoming Christmas holidays, which they were both spending at Hogwarts, and their hopes of finding the hidden passage to the lake. Hagrid, seeming more and more the experienced teacher each year, reminded them about their sixth-year projects, and the draft report that they had to hand in immediately after the holidays.

When asked about Hermione, they felt guilty about having to say that they still didn't know who her new boyfriend was. They told him about the anonymous rose, though, and he seemed to enjoy the mystery. "Well, o' course she's going t'ave boys around 'er, Hermione is!" he told them. "Prettiest girl in't school! I'm surprised it wasn't one o' you two sendin' 'er roses!" He chuckled. "But after seein' yer dancin' at Halloween, I suppose you've got other girls on yer minds!"

Ron was forced to take desperate measures to change the subject. "Oh, look," he said brightly, pointing under the bed. "I think I saw a claw!" It was an effective diversion, and the names Parvati and Ginny were, thankfully, avoided.

Before leaving, they took a romp outside the hut with Fang. "Don't worry, boy," sympathized Harry. "I'm sure Marmaduke won't stay too long!" Fang did not seem too convinced, but licked Harry and Ron's faces before heading back to the hut at the sound of Hagrid's voice.

Snape surveyed the classroom from his seat behind his desk. All was silent as the class worked with heads down. They were a pathetic lot, he mused – not a decent potion-brewer between them. Most were barely competent, with a couple almost as bad as Longbottom. Still – they were keen enough. A small knot of them tried hard – it was a pity that they had no aptitude in the subject, and could never hope to master its intricacies.

The movement of a head caught his attention. "Graves," he rumbled, "keep your eyes on your own work. Besides, the quality of Parker's work scarcely merits plagiarism."

A silent lesson with students working on a test suited him well today. His mind had been wandering, and he wanted some peace in which to enjoy his thoughts. A little over a week would see the students leaving for Christmas, and for a change he would be leaving with them. As soon as Hermione had suggested the idea of spending the holidays together, he had known immediately where they should go. He had not been to his own home for almost three years, but it would be the perfect place.

Home. He hardly thought of it as home, really – Hogwarts had long since claimed that title – but there was still a connection. It was a place that he had spent so little time in that he could hardly remember ever thinking of it as a base for his life, but it was his own. His seclusion. His haven. Since he had bought it several years ago, he had never once had a visitor, nor wanted one. Few people knew of its existence, and the magic and solitude around it ensured privacy. The old stone building stood in a large clearing surrounded by dense trees, sloping down from the main door to a small lake. The area was completely deserted for miles around, but if anyone, magic or muggle, should happen to stray that way, they would see nothing but trees. In all, he had barely spent more than a few weeks at the place, but they had been peaceful times. He had been able to relax completely – undisturbed by the commotion of the outside world.

He wasn't quite sure why he had left it for so long. He told himself that it was because the less time he spent there, the more he appreciated it, but he knew, at the back of his mind, that he sometimes found the quiet a little too much so. Being left alone with one's thoughts is not always a good thing, he reflected, cynically, when those thoughts are as dark as mine.

But this visit would be different. Instead of isolation and solitude, it would become a place of perfect happiness. Picturing Hermione sitting in the room he liked to term 'the library', in front of a blazing fire, he felt that she belonged there – that somehow the place had never been complete before, and he had only just realized what had been missing. He saw her in his arms, and in his bed – nestled in the warmth and comfort ...

He forced himself quickly to his feet. He had to stop thinking about this, while he was teaching! Prowling round the room, he watched the students in his care, glaring critically down as he looked over their shoulders to review their work.

"Agnew," he snarled softly. "I believe I requested silence!"

Keep your mind on your class, Severus, he told himself sternly. It will be Christmas soon enough. He realized, with a carefully restrained smile, that for the first time since he joined Hogwarts, he was looking forward to Christmas and the end of school as much as the students were.