I do not own Harry Potter. Enjoy this Chapter!
Also - side note, I have re-uploaded this chapter. I accidentally uploaded the last chapter again. Thanks to those for notifying me of the mistake. So sorry!
Harry woke up the next morning at 7. It was Christmas! Maybe he'd get a present or two. Grabbing his robe, he raced to put it on as he ran to the living room where the large Christmas tree was. He couldn't wait to have a real Christmas for the first time in his life. As he got to the living room, he saw Severus sitting by the fire, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Happy Christmas, Harry," he called from his spot by the fire.
"Happy Christmas, Dad," Harry grinned. "Is Hermione down yet?"
"No," Severus said, turning to face Harry. "Would you like to wake her up with me?"
Harry nodded eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for Severus to get up. Severus was still wearing all black, and Harry sighed. Standard Severus. Severus walked out the door with a smirk on his face and Harry wasn't that far behind him. They made their way through the maze that was Prince Manor, stopping in front of Hermione's door. Severus placed a finger to his lips, signaling that Harry should be as quiet as possible.
Severus quietly opened the door and crept over to the window, pulling open the curtains as the bright morning sunlight beamed through the window onto Hermione. Hermione was sleeping peacefully with a small smile on her face. Severus gazed down at his daughter, with a small smile upon his features. He still couldn't believe that he had two kids that loved him as much as he loved them. They still had their moments of course, but they were what he needed to pull himself out of his dark past.
Lowering himself to his knees, he gently shook Hermione's shoulder and stroked her hair.
"Hermione," he mumbled. "Time to get up, it's Christmas."
Hermione groaned and turned away from Severus, pulling the covers over her head. Clearly, she was still very sleepy, and didn't want to get up.
"If you don't get up, Harry will get all of your presents, and I will be forced to tickle you."
There was no response.
"Very well, Hermione, you asked for it," Severus said, amused.
He began to tickle Hermione, who was now very much awake. A loud shriek ran through the room as Severus continued to tickle her. She tried to push his hands away, but did not succeed.
"Okay, okay, I'm up," she said, failing to contain her giggles.
Severus stopped and looked at her.
"Happy Christmas Hermione. Let's go open presents," Severus said, standing completely and holding his hand out for her to take.
"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Harry yelled, sprinting from the room.
Hermione gasped and practically jumped out of bed.
"So not fair, Harry!" she yelled, running after him. Her robe was flying like a flag as she ran through the hallways trying to catch up to her brother. Severus merely laughed as he followed them down the hallway. He, however, was walking, not running. As he walked, he realized that was the truest laugh that he had had in years. He would often make an amused smirk if Minerva or one of his students made a funny comment, but he rarely laughed. Those two kids had really brought out his kinder, calmer side. He was more than Severus Snape- Double Spy now. He was a father. A person. Something more than what he was 6 months ago.
Severus was deeply entranced in his thoughts, not registering that he had indeed arrived at the living room, where he knew Harry and Hermione were anxiously waiting. He might have spoiled them too much this Christmas, but he wanted them to have their first Christmas where they truly belonged to be special.
"You can start by handing out presents," Severus said as he walked into the room. "I shall sit by the fire and observe."
Harry and Hermione nodded, walking to the tree and handing the presents out as noted. Within five minutes, all the presents were handed out. Harry and Hermione had 8 each, while Severus had 5. He had wondered where all of his had come from, but as he looked at the tags, he had gotten one from Harry, Hermione, Narcissa, Draco and Lucius. He felt strangely touched. He rarely got presents from everyone nowadays. He was simply the Dungeon Bat who didn't give a damn about anyone else.
He knew that he himself had given 5 presents to Harry and Hermione each, but he could only assume the other three were from the Malfoys. He was almost certain that there was another present under the tree, but he didn't want to say anything to the children quite yet. As they tore into their present (Severus was more dignified than Harry and Hermione), he was quite pleased that they had gotten him something useful, and nothing cheesy. Hermione had gotten him a journal to help with writing down potion's ingredients for certain potions, and Harry had gotten him a book about potions that surprisingly, he did not have. Lucius had given him a pensieve, while Draco had gotten him a new quill that used red ink for grading. Narcissa's present was probably the most touching. It was a picture of the three of them on the first day of term. Hermione and Harry were smiling and waving at him through the picture frame, while Severus held the smallest smile upon his face. It was their first family picture. He would treasure it always.
As he observed Harry and Hermione opening their presents, with various 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. He felt content. He had hoped they would love their presents, and they did. Harry loved his new broom and kept admiring it. It had been the last thing that he had opened, and Severus could see the longing in his eyes to ride it. Hermione teared up when she saw the violin sitting in the box. Severus had sent Lucinda out for it last night, and she had come back with the most beautiful violin he had seen. Harry and Hermione had both gotten books, a new cloak, and newer quills from him, and they had each received a game. Hermione got wizards chess, while Harry had received his own game of Gobstones. Harry had gotten books more centered around Quidditch/Flying, and Defense, while Hermione had gotten Charms and Potions. Draco had both given them candy, Narcissa had given them each a new sweater in Slytherin's colors, and Lucius had gotten Hermione a necklace with a snake, and he had gotten Harry a new set of glasses that would adjust to his eyesight and would never break. Severus was pleased that his first Christmas had gone well.
Looking under the tree again, the package that was still there was bugging him. Standing up, he walked over to the tree to take a look. Bending down, he picked it up. To: Harry Potter the note read. He turned the note over to see if there was a sender, but to no avail.
"Harry," he called. "This one is for you as well. I'm not sure who it is from."
Harry took the lumpy package from his father and placed it on his lap. He pulled on the string to undo the packaging, and the object in question fell out onto his lap.
"It looks like some sort of cloak," Hermione commented from her chair next to Severus'. "Put it on!"
Harry whipped the cloak around his body, fastening it. Hermione gasped and Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, my body's gone!" Harry exclaimed. "Is this a cloak of invisibility, Sev?"
"It appears so," Severus drawled. "Is there another note?"
Harry looked down at the package, and rifled through it, before finding it.
Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was passed on to you.
Use it well.
"That's odd," Hermione said, glancing at her father.
"Indeed," Severus said.
Harry shrugged. "It's cool, but I don't know what I'd use it for. I don't really want to sneak anywhere. Hermione would only use it to go to the library. I'll put it in my trunk and we'll go from there."
"Very well," Severus said, stirring his coffee.
"Thank you for the presents, Daddy," Hermione said, sweetly.
"Yeah, thanks Dad!" Harry said.
"Of course. We have cinnamon rolls for breakfast," Severus commented, wanting to change the subject. He was feeling awkard.
"Oh, cinnamon rolls sound amazing," Hermione said, setting down her potions book and getting up from her chair. Harry, of course, nodded and joined Hermione as they walked out of the room towards the dining room. Harry never said no to food.
The minute they had left, Severus stalked over to the cloak that lay forgotten on the couch. He picked up the packaging that it had come in and manipulated it so that way he could see things better. Alas, to no avail. There was no tag to whom this was from. Severus could only assume Dumbledore, but he had no idea how right he was.
The remainder of the day was spent joyously. They had a large Christmas dinner that was cooked by Lucinda. It included both ham and turkey, with dressing, potatoes, peas, and some freshly made rolls. It was the nicest Christmas dinner that any of them had ever had before, and Severus suspected that Lucinda was trying to impress him. This was the first real Christmas dinner that she has been able to make in almost a decade. Severus either never really celebrated Christmas or he went over to Malfoy Manor to 'celebrate' Christmas. He never really celebrated though. He was a bitter man.
The afternoon consisted of a large amount of reading, playing with their games, in the snow, or watching Harry fly around on his new broom. By nearly 3 in the afternoon though, they were all curled up by the fire, reading their books and drinking hot cocoa. They were all content with their first Christmas as a family, and although it passed quickly, they wouldn't have wanted the day to be any different.
Severus tucked both of his children in bed tonight. Normally, they were sent off to bed by themselves, but tonight was different. They had all broken through personal barriers sometime in the last 6 months. Harry, although still jittery at times, was getting over his abuse from the Dursley's and the number of nightmares that he was having had dropped to nearly 1 a week. Harry was genuinely surprised that someone loved him and wanted to take care of him, but once he accepted that, Severus saw immense improvements in his daily attitude towards life. He was largely welcomed around the school, and was the third best in his year. Severus was proud of him.
Hermione didn't have many barriers to overcome, but she became more of an academic scholar and less of a know it all. She was no longer jumping out of her seat to answer professor's questions, and was raising her hand to fewer questions. Although she still loved the attention and the praise that she had gotten from other professors from answering all of their questions, she had learned ways to get praise and positive attention elsewhere. Many of the other students had stopped teasing and talking about her behind her back, and Severus was pleased to see that.
Severus himself was the other who started to overcome his personal barriers most recently. He was never truly over Lily's murder, and he was always self-pitying himself for it. There was no term besides depressed that fit the lifestyle of Severus Snape for the past decade. He was still known around the school as the Bat of the Dungeons, and he still was a harsh grader when it came to potions, but he was overall a kinder and more patient person. His children had changed him, and he knew it. It was harder for him to admit this, because a year ago, he had thought that no one could change him, but here he was, kissing his kids on their foreheads and tucking them in. They had wormed their way into his heart, and he knew that he was a changed man. He was different. Better. Loving.