15

The next morning saw Snape enter the Great Hall even before the house elves had put food on the table. He was well rested for a change and ready to eat a whole platter of ham and eggs. He sat in his new spot – beside the Dark Lord's seat – and waited.

It took the house elves almost a half-minute to realise that somebody had arrived but once they had, food started to appear. Snape helped himself to ham and eggs, mushrooms and baked beans and tomatoes. He even helped himself to a generous portion of bubble and squeak. A small plate of already buttered toast appeared beside his plate along with a steaming mug of black coffee.

Snape sighed blissfully and dug in.

The potions master was halfway through his second portion of eggs when Lucius Malfoy turned up.

"I knew you were going to be here early after you missed dinner yesterday," the blond said as he sat down. "What were you up to yesterday anyway? Our Lord and the headmaster were a bit under the weather, too."

"Pet trouble," muttered Snape between two bites of bacon.

"The Dark Lord has a pet?" Lucius raised his brow. "He doesn't seem the type."

"He doesn't need a pet, he has Bella," chuckled Snape.

Malfoy snickered. "True. But then whose pet was it?"

"Mine," Snape confessed. "It turned out that the lizard which came from that advent calendar egg is quite magical. There was a little mishap and Hagrid ended up invisible."

"So the two most powerful wizards of the millennium forewent their sleep to get the oaf back? I say good riddance if he can't be seen." Malfoy sneered.

Snape reached for another slice of toast. "Personally, I'd say it'd be unwise not to know where the man is. Just imagine what he can do by sheer size and mass."

"True," conceded Lucius. "Why do you get bacon and all I get is porridge?" he glared at the bowl which had appeared in front of him as if it had offended him personally.

"The house elves are quite fond of Hagrid," Snape pointed out.

"May I have some of your bacon?" Lucius asked.

Snape pulled the plate away from the blond. "And anger the house elves? Remember that I eat here every day and will continue to do so for years to come!"

Malfoy looked ready to fight for the bacon but then he thought better of it and started to eat his porridge. "This is quite good, actually," he pointed out to the empty hall at large.

"What brings you to breakfast so early?" Snape asked. He knew Lucius and the man was not an early riser.

"I was going to ask you a favour, to be honest." Lucius took a sip of tea. "I haven't had an opportunity to talk to Draco in private. I'd like to spend a little time with my son but since this whole advent calendar thing is supposed to distract the students from the fact that they cannot go home this year, it would be unwise to share some father-son time in plain view."

Snape acknowledged Lucius' reasoning with a nod. "Thank you for taking the situation into account. I'll think of something."

"I'm a Slytherin," the blond reminded the potions master.

"And a model one!" the Dark Lord praised his right hand man as he sat down beside Snape. "Morning, Severus!"

By the time all students and teachers had arrived, Snape was delightfully full. The bad thing was that he was now ready for a nap. He really was getting too old for nights with no sleep at all.

The wizards watched the students open their gifts before they opened their own.

George Weasley had got one of Snape's hair changing potions and was now a blonde. His twin made fun of him mercilessly but only until the new blonde pointed out that he had only drunk a sip and kept the rest for analysis. The brothers agreed that it was a great opportunity to work with a prank potion made by a master brewer.

Harry Potter got glasses. They were silver and when he tried them on, the girls at the Gryffindor table shrieked. The glasses made those famous green eyes look red.

The Ravenclaws were excited because one of their own, Terry Boot, had got a small muggle book which held the secret how to make chocolate. "I bet they will start cooking by lunch," Snape told the Dark Lord. "Ravenclaws are very curious."

The dark wizard chuckled. "I bet that Flitwick will get them the ingredients."

"And he will be the first to try the result of their work," added Dumbledore. "For a Ravenclaw, Filius is quite adventurous."

The three wizards agreed.

Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff got a tea mug with legs. It ran to the pot when it was empty and stepped aside when the girl reached for something and the mug was in the way.

The most exciting gift at the Slytherin table, received by Vincent Crabbe, was a cap which gave the wearer a fresh haircut. The Slytherins eyed it suspiciously and the Dark Lord had to go down to their table to explain that the cap did not change the hairstyle but only gave the person wearing it a little trim.

Vincent Crabbe nearly burst with pride when he realised that he had gotten a gift given by the Dark Lord. He thanked the older wizard profusely as if the man had personally chosen him to be the recipient of his present and not Dumbledore's random distribution magic.

Dumbledore got a bag of pearl clips for his hair and promptly put them into his beard. He looked dashing.

The Dark Lord received a flute. When he tested it, the hair of the people near him stood on end and started to swing in rhythm with the music. It looked marvellous with most adults at Hogwarts wearing their hair long. The Dark Lord laughed and started to play a jig and then a tango. Some students moved nearer to have their hair dance, too.

Snape found a small box of after dinner mints in his parcel. Wonderful, these were his favourite.

The potions master used the day to arrange a visit with Draco for Lucius. He invited the older blond to look at his new highland dragon after dinner and gave the younger blond detention for touching a shrivelfig irreverently. The boy protested but shut up when Snape looked at him pointedly.

Father and son met in Snape's living room. Lucius came through the official entrance, Draco through the classroom.

The two blonds hugged happily when they met and Lucius gave the potions master a bottle of fire whisky as a token of his gratitude.

Snape busied himself with his terrarium to give the two Malfoys a little time to chat.

The highland dragon was now visible and awake. It looked like a common lizard a lot but for the pinkish hue of his snout and the fact that its claws were burgundy. Snape decided that his highland dragon was a girl and started hunting for a name for the beast. He couldn't call it 'dragon' forever.

Snape spent almost an hour going through various Scottish names for one thing was sure, a Scottish highland dragon needed a Scottish name. At last, he settled on Eilidh. Firstly, because he found it fitting because it meant 'radiant' and his dragon was a radiant beauty, at least for a dragon, and secondly, because the little lizard had blinked when he whispered the name to her.

By the time Snape had named his dragon, the Malfoys were done with their little tête-à-tête and came to the terrarium to see the potions master's new pet. They admired the beast and congratulated Snape for now being the owner of such a fine specimen. Draco then took his leave because it wouldn't have been appropriate for a student to stay at his teacher's quarters longer than necessary.

Lucius sat down to enjoy a glass of wine with his old friend before he went back to his own quarters. Snape brought out a bottle of elf-made wine and they had a pleasant evening, almost as if this was a normal year.