Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you enjoy! I don't own any of Harry Potter!
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A pot of cardamom soup simmered on the stove while Lily Evans Snape poured a cup of sugar into the bowl that sat waiting on the kitchen counter.
While she began to stir the bowl's contents with a large, wooden spoon, the small toddler who sat on the kitchen floor looked up and frowned at her as he asked, "Mummy, when will Daddy come?"
"Daddy will be home soon, sweetheart. He had to go to the castle and fight the dragon, remember?" Lily replied with a patient smile.
"Is the dragon going to hurt Daddy?!" The dark-haired little boy asked worriedly as his green eyes widened in horror.
"No, Harry! Your Daddy's far too smart to be hurt by a dragon." Lily laughed.
Harry looked towards the window and frowned at the darkness of the street outside.
Lily watched him carefully for a moment.
After she saw her little one begin to play with his toy hippogriff again, she smiled softly to herself as she finished stirring the bowl's contents into cookie dough and began to spoon the mixture onto a baking sheet.
Once a dozen glistening, sugary blobs sat on the metal tray, Lily lifted the baking sheet, turned, and placed it into the oven.
For a split second, the smell of the cookie dough combined with the scent of the soup and Lily forced herself to ignore the fleeting wave of nausea that rolled through her stomach.
She closed the oven door, turned back to Harry, and smiled as she said, "Will you be a good boy and come with Mummy while she changes her clothes?"
"Why do you have to change your clothes, Mummy?" Harry asked curiously as he blinked up at Lily.
Lily's robes were covered in olive oil and flour from the hours that she had spent preparing the holiday's food for her family.
"Because Mummy got her clothes all dirty when she was cooking today and Daddy doesn't like things that are dirty." Lily answered her young son with another smile.
Little Harry's small face melted into an adorable scowl as he considered his mother's statement.
He eventually nodded in acceptance of her reasoning and pouted, "Alright, Mummy…….I'll come with you to make sure the snernals don't get you."
"Thank you, sweetheart. That's very kind of you." Lily chuckled at Harry.
Harry clutched his toy hippogriff before he moved his favorite storybook off of his lap and onto the floor.
The book's title read:
Habits and Happenings of the Snernals
Harry stood to his tiny feet and Lily smiled down at him as she asked, "Do you want me to carry you, love?"
"No, Mummy." Harry refused as she shook his head, "I don't need you to carry me anymore. I'm a big boy!"
Lily's smile widened as Harry reached up and placed his little hand in hers before they left the kitchen and walked down the hallway together.
The Snapes were very comfortable in their cozy cottage that sat on a side street in Hogsmeade.
Their humble dwelling had been the place of many firsts for the family.
It was Lily's hope that as the years passed, their home would continue to be filled with warmth and love.
When they made it to the bedroom, Harry played with his toy hippogriff while his mother ducked behind the closet door and quickly changed out of her soiled robes.
Lily's red velvet dress was festive for the occasion, but that particular garment also happened to be one of her husband's favorites.
The dress's skirt reached just above Lily's knees, its long, elegant sleeves came to her wrists, and it boasted ruching across the front that delighted her lover's dark eyes by highlighting her figure.
While Harry busied himself with his toy, Lily stepped out from behind the closet door, walked over, and sat down at her vanity.
She quickly brushed her crimson, wavy hair and had nearly finished applying her best lipstick when the front door to the house opened suddenly.
Lily glanced over at Harry as his green eyes widened and he shrieked, "DADDY'S HOME!"
Before Lily could respond, Harry pounded out of the bedroom and back down the hallway.
She chuckled to herself as she heard the front door close and her husband's low voice mingle with Harry's excited chattering.
Lily's husband wasn't the most popular wizard, but since the moment that Harry had been conceived, she knew that he was the best father.
Her emerald eyes shimmered as she looked into the mirror and smiled softly at her reflection.
One of her hands ghosted across her flat abdomen as she thought…….
Love.
No one could love like Severus Snape, so fiercely, so deeply.
Lily drew blissful contentment from her certainty that her husband's devotion to their family would never waver.
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Professor Severus Snape had endured a very trying day.
Instead of being allowed a quiet Christmas Eve with his wife and son, he had been summoned to Hogwarts early that morning, after a letter arrived that requested his urgent presence.
Hagrid, the castle's gamekeeper, had been caring for a dragon who had managed to escape and find its way into the castle.
The dangerous magical creature had then proceeded to do its best to destroy everything in its path.
The dragon had made its way down to the dungeons and with Professor Dumbledore abroad for the holidays, Hogwarts' other staff members had needed to come together to capture the surprisingly stealthy beast.
Severus had worn a scowl on his pale face the entire day.
That scowl lifted, along with his eyebrows, when little Harry came pattering down the hallway to launch himself at his father upon his return home.
"DADDY!" Harry shouted as he threw himself around Severus's legs.
"Good evening….." Severus replied stoically as he watched Harry cling to him.
"Did you fight the dragon, Daddy?! Did you fight the dragon?!" Harry asked urgently as he stared up at Severus with his large eyes widened by wonder.
"It wasn't much of a fight, son...However...the danger has passed now." Severus cryptically answered his little boy.
"Did you get hurt, Daddy?" Harry asked with a worried frown.
"Of course not." Severus scowled as he removed his black cloak.
"I'm glad." Harry replied as he laid his face against Severus's knees and tightened his grip on his father.
Severus frowned down at his son.
As he watched the touching concern that Harry displayed for him, it surprised him how much his little boy reminded him of Lily.
Harry's loving nature softened Severus's heart as he patted his son's back gently and assured him in a low drawl, " You needn't concern yourself with my safety. I've faced creatures worse than dragons before."
Severus thought that his words would be calming, but Harry's head snapped up towards him as his eyes widened again and he exclaimed, "WOW! Really, Daddy?!"
"Hey, Sev~." A soft voice called out.
Severus looked up.
It soothed his soul when he saw his beloved Lily standing across the room.
To Severus, his darling flower was unconditionally beautiful, but his black eyes did admire the supple velvet that covered her curves and the red cream that she had skillfully applied to her plush lips.
"Lily….." Severus greeted his wife in a reverent voice that was barely above a whisper.
His mouth fell open slightly in silent admiration while she walked towards him.
"You're just in time, love." Lily smiled as she stood in front of him, closed her eyes, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, careful not to let her lipstick smudge onto him, "Dinner's nearly ready."
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Surrounded by the pleasant scent of the dinner that Lily had prepared, the soft glow of the candles that burned on the mantle, and the shining bulbs that hung on the decorated tree, Severus was at last able to place the trials of his day behind himself and enjoy Christmas Eve dinner with his little family.
After Severus had regaled his wife and son with a detailed account of the dragon's capture, Harry had happily informed Severus about all of the adventures that he had undertaken with his toy hippogriff.
Severus sat there and listened to Harry with the utmost seriousness, as if he took each word out of his son's mouth about his fantastical play as irrefutable truth.
It amused Severus that the rapt attention he showed Harry made his little boy beam with pride.
Once the family had finished their meal, Severus helped Lily clean the kitchen with a few waves of their wands.
A short while later, the Snapes all sat on the sofa in front of the tree with the warm cookies that Lily had baked waiting for them on the coffee table.
Harry had managed to place two cookies and a glass of milk out for Santa Claus before he collapsed into a deep slumber on his mother's lap, cuddled against the soft velvet of her dress.
Severus sat behind Lily, with her and Harry pulled tightly against him.
He wrapped a warm blanket around them all while he fed his lover one of the cookies that she had skillfully baked.
"They're delicious, my love." Severus praised Lily as he sampled a bite of the cookie for himself.
Lily chuckled as she looked at her husband while she replied, "Thanks, Sev. They're sugar leaf shortbreads, my mother used to make them when Tuney and I were very small. I've been craving them lately…."
A small spark of excitement ignited in Severus's heart.
Craving…..?
"...Oh?" He asked hesitantly.
Lily looked at Severus with a bright smile as he scanned her face and searched for confirmation of his unspoken question.
"Lily……..?" Severus asked.
Her smile widened as she laughed nervously while she kept one hand on Harry's back and tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear with the other.
"Lily…….?!?!" Severus repeated, "Have-"
"-Yes!" She cried excitedly as tears of happy relief welled in her green eyes, "Yeah, Sev, we have!"
Severus made a soft noise that broke Lily's heart as he raised a hand up to cup her face, furrowed his brow, and crushed his lips against hers in a tender, loving kiss.
Lily put her palm on what she could reach of Severus's pale cheek while he snaked his other hand down between her and Harry to splay protectively over what he could reach of her flat belly.
Harry had turned three in July.
Severus and Lily were only in their early twenties but after they had suffered several disappointments, they had feared that they would never have another child.
As the frigid winter wind blew outside, Severus succeeded in smearing his wife's red lipstick all over himself while he deepened their kiss in an attempt to thank Lily and remind her of his love.
Presents sat wrapped under the tree, but as Severus gently rubbed his wife's abdomen, knowing that a new life bloomed within, he didn't care what his packages contained.
Family was the greatest gift of all.