A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, everyone! Really made my day.

I've received a few questions from readers asking why Snape never recognised Hermione and Mel as the same person. Well, Hermione changed her looks using a few spells. Hermione is a brown-eyed, bushy-haired girl and Mel has sapphire coloured eyes, is a short, straight haired brunette who wears glasses. The change was drastic, and Severus wouldn't have recognised her.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Christmas in the Past

Severus glowered at the smiling man entering his office. Lupin had always discussed with him the effects Severus' potions had had on his transformation the day after, and today was no exception. He had grudgingly appreciated Lupin's willingness to approach him each time. After all, the Potions Professor of Hogwarts could not be seen inviting too many non-students into his office all the time; Dumbledore and the rest of the staff might think he had developed a social life. Today, however, the last thing Severus wanted after enduring a sleepless night fuelled by longing and jealousy was to exchange pleasantries with the very cause of his misery. He had entered the Great Hall that morning, tired and grumpy, and just in time to witness Mel give Lupin a peck on his cheek before the werewolf nodded to Dumbledore and McGonagall in greeting and sat himself down beside Mel on Severus' usual seat. The envy that had consumed him last night manifested again at the sight.

As Lupin took a seat across his desk, Severus wondered how he would see himself through the discussion without allowing personal feelings to interfere with his actions. Lupin was never a person to antagonise him for fun, but Severus wasn't sure that he would be able to refrain himself from looking for offence where there was none. However, to his surprise and relief, he was soon drawn deep into a discussion about prolonging the effects of the potion, and both men had been coolly professional. Just when Severus thought he could wrap up the interview with his usual aloofness, there was a knock on his door and Mel stepped in with a gleam in her eyes.

"Remus, Dumbledore said I would find you here," she said with barely contained excitement. "I asked him, and he said you could come for Christmas. It'll be so much fun!"

Severus would have rolled his eyes at her childish enthusiasm, had he not been consumed with an overwhelming desire to tear Lupin into little pieces and feed him to the giant squid in the lake. His whole body stiffened to prevent his emotions from gaining a voice and form while Lupin smiled at the girl standing at the door and replied, "I look forward to it, Mel. Now, if you'll excuse us, Severus and I still have important issues to discuss."

"Oh," Mel said and looked from his own contorted face to Lupin's mildly amused expression. "Sorry." She smiled apologetically and closed the door softly as she exited the room.

Lupin quietly locked the door with a spell and Severus allowed himself to morph into a green-eyed monster the moment he was sure they would not be disturbed again. He growled and snarled and hissed at the other man. Lupin looked back at him with barely concealed glee.

"You really like her, don't you?"

Severus decided the question didn't deserve the dignity of an answer.

"Well," Lupin continued pleasantly, "she couldn't stop talking to me yesterday and the whole of today, as you could see. And I gleaned some information about her that I thought a man helplessly in love with her would kill to find out." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the darker man, infuriating Severus even more. "Of course, it would not be easy to persuade me to give up the information so easily. After all, she's like a little sister to me now, so I suppose I'll need to be the overprotective older brother." He looked at the agitated man pointedly.

Severus stood very, very still, Lupin's words echoing around his head. He glanced at Lupin's deceivingly calm face, and hoped that the information would be worth the loss of his dignity; the man would demand him to pay hell.

He sat down with a sigh. "Please?"

Lupin smirked.

"Pretty please?"

Severus supposed the werewolf was enjoying the fact that his high school nemesis was shredding his self-respect into tiny pieces right in front oh him. "Pretty please with icing and sugar on top of a pumpkin ice-cream topped with Every Flavoured Beans?" There, he thought viciously. May your teeth rot.

Lupin winced. "Too sweet, Severus," he said, but leaned forward towards him. He noticed the other man balancing precariously on his seat as he eagerly awaited Lupin's information.

"Why hadn't you talked to her about this before?" Lupin asked.

Severus sneered. "In case you haven't noticed, Lupin, she's got a pretty little ring on her finger."

"So? It doesn't necessarily mean that their marriage is a happy one. Listen," he said when Severus frowned. "I asked her about it yesterday, and she was very reluctant to discuss it. What kind of woman would do that if she was in a happy marriage?"

Severus looked unconvinced, and Lupin continued, "Don't you think it is strange that Mel's husband was willing to let her stay as long as she did here? And she's never, ever talked about him, has she?" Severus considered briefly and shook his head. "See? There's something wrong."

"I don't steal another man's wife, Lupin." Severus replied.

Lupin shook his head in disgust. "There are so many ways you could interpret this information, and you chose to see it as stealing. If I were you," he said in a conspicuous voice, "I would see it as providing her with a chance to escape a lifetime of unhappiness, saving her from a marriage that is crushing her spirit, destroying her…"

"All right already!" Severus hissed, holding his hands involuntarily over his ears. "There's no need for the dramatic, Lupin, I get your point."

"Finally!" Lupin rolled his eyes. "I need to leave Hogwarts after I said goodbye to Mel. And play nice, Severus, she doesn't need your snarkiness around her." Lupin turned to go, and Severus suddenly realised something. "Stop!"

Lupin turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. Severus took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you doing this for me?"

The other man considered his question for a moment before answering. "Payment for the Wolfsbane Potion, Severus," he said. "And amends for the Whomping Willow."

Even with the information given by Lupin, it still took a long time before Severus acted on his attraction to Mel. He passed the next few days before Christmas in a whirl of confusion; intoxicated by Mel's excitement at the coming celebrations. All too soon, the students streamed out of Hogwarts to return home and Lupin arrived in time for the staff's Christmas dinner. He sat himself down beside Mel, casting an inquiring glance over her head at Severus, who returned his look with a trademark sneer. Lupin chuckled silently to himself, amused at the other man's reluctance to make a move.

Halfway through dinner, Severus realised that Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were sitting across the table, had lowered their heads together. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he saw the both of them cast a glance at him before they straightened and Albus pulled his wand out from under the green and red party hat sitting on his head. Minerva called for silence as the Headmaster cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, Minerva has kindly reminded me that it is time for our Christmas dinner Musical Mistletoe!" He paused and waited for the hoots to die down. "I'm sure that most of you would agree with me that it is very seldom indeed that we have an opportunity to indulge ourselves in this Hogwarts tradition every Christmas, due to the fact that we've always had a few students staying for the holidays for the past ten years." Severus noticed that most of his colleagues nodding solemnly. "However, it is my pleasure to reintroduce the tradition this year, and also explain the rules for the benefit of some of you."

Severus listened to the explanation in silent horror, not missing the implication of the rules of the game. He knew he could never bring himself to allow the people sitting on either side of him to kiss him in front of everyone else. For Merlin's sake! Sybil Trelawney was sitting right next to him! Severus saw the Headmaster looking intently at him as he finished speaking, and saw the twinkling warning in his eyes. He did not care, there was no way he was going to lower himself to such childish amusement. He pushed his chair back and tried to stand up. To his dismay, he found own his legs refusing to move. He raised his head to look accusingly at the Headmaster and saw, to one side of him, Professor McGonagall smiling smugly at him. She was fingering her own wand, telling him effectively that she was into whatever scheme Albus had conjured up. Severus wanted to wail in despair; he tried and he tried, but he could never win against those two. He heaved a sigh and resigned himself to the inevitable.

Albus waved his wand merrily and a bunch of mistletoe appeared to hover over Sprout's head, and twirled it to fill the Hall with music. The mistletoe started to dance. Severus watched in disgust as the first victim accepted his kiss from the two sitting on either side of him amid the cheering of everyone else. The game proceeded and each time the music stopped, Severus would thank his lucky stars that he was spared from the humiliation.

Everyone was still laughing at Hagrid, who had toppled over in his attempt to kiss Professor Flitwick on the head when the music resumed and stopped suddenly over Mel's head. Severus cursed inwardly. Trust fate to provide him with the chance to kiss the girl of his dreams under the watchful eyes of everyone else. Not knowing what to do, he sat stiffly and glanced sideways at Mel, trying to discern her reaction to the situation, praying that she would refuse so that he would be spared from the mortification. However, he soon realised that she had happily accepted the kiss Lupin placed on her blushing cheek, and everyone was looking at him to do the same. Severus crossed his arms and steadfastly refused to give in.

Lupin spoke up, "If Severus does not want to kiss Mel, I'm willing to do it for him!" He smiled as everyone clapped their hands in excitement.

Severus stilled at those words, his heart clenching painfully, his old, irrational jealousy of Lupin flaring up. Had he really meant it when he said he wasn't interested in Mel the way Severus was? Did Mel like his kiss? Severus turned to glare coldly at Lupin, daring him to steal the kiss that was rightfully his. With his eyes still on the other man, he grasped Mel by her forearm and turned her face towards his, and kissed her full on the lips. Severus did not hear the roar of approval from everyone else, nor did he notice Mel when she stiffened in his arms, all his attention was focused on wiping the mockery off the werewolf's face.

Belatedly, he released Mel, only to discover that she was staring at him with an expression akin to horror. Severus wondered briefly whether he was really that bad a kisser before Mel stood up and left the table swiftly. The table was silent, and Severus felt the embarrassment radiating off himself like a ball of fire when he saw the sympathetic looks his colleagues gave him. Lupin reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder before he stood up and went after Mel.

He was still numb with disbelief when Lupin found him in his room some time later and dragged him away from the Firewhisky, sternly telling him that he should not be drunk when he apologized to Mel. They reached Mel's room and Severus found himself being propelled into the room. The door slammed shut behind him and he found alone with her.

Mel was sitting on her bed, her eyes on the floor. Severus noticed that she had wrapped her arms around herself, and she was shivering slightly. He took a step towards her. "Mel?"

Mel looked up at the sound of her name, and Severus saw that her eyes looked haunted. He gulped, unsure of how to proceed.

Mel spoke, "Never do that again."

Severus nodded trancelike. "I'm sorry."

"It's like the first night all over again," Mel muttered, her eyes looked away to focus on the table in the corner of the room. Severus had to strain to hear her words. There were a few moments of silence and Severus supposed her thoughts have drifted away from himself.

"I thought it wouldn't hurt me anymore." Severus heard her voice start to waver when she spoke again. "But it did."

He didn't know how to reply to that, but Mel clearly wasn't expecting a response. She went on talking. "You remind me so much of him, you know that? The way you kiss, it's the same."

Severus wasn't sure he liked being compared to an unknown man, but he had no time to dwell on it. Great, wrenching sobs had started to shake through Mel's tiny frame. He stood there, staring at her and feeling at loss. He mentally cursed his inexperience in dealing with women. Mel clearly needed some comfort, and he did not know how to provide it. Hesitantly, he approached her and sat down on the bed next to her. He extended his arm slowly behind Mel's back and placed it around her. To his surprise, she leaned into him, still sobbing, and effectively soaking his expensive black robes. "Why did you have to kiss me?" she whispered. "Why did you have to remind me?"

Severus brought his lips close to her ears and replied without thinking, "Because I love you so much."