Christmas

Severus had been beyond relieved when it was found that he had given Lily the potion in time to suppress the wolf that was inside of her. He found himself vowing that he would find a way to free Lily from the curse that Remus had passed onto her, a curse she should not have to carry because she was so sweet. 'Even with this, I will never abandon her.' Severus thought as he sat on the bed in the hospital wing still cradling Lily in his arms while she slept even though it was well after dawn at this point. He stared down at her perfect angelic face as he found he could no longer imagine or even remember fully his life before she had come into it. "I would not have it any other way…" he whispered as he held her closer only for the distant sound of the door opening to find its way to him as he glanced toward the door to see that it was Dumbledore. Out of a subconscious reaction, Severus held Lily closer as the older wizard approached and sat on the chair beside the bed, his blue eyes holding a bit of their usual twinkle this morning as they took in Severus and Lily over the half-moon spectacles that Dumbledore wore.

"How is she doing this morning?" Dumbledore asked as a worried smile could be seen on his face as his eyes went to Lily who was still sound asleep in her father's arms.

"She drank all of the potion and managed to fall asleep and has been resting." Severus said looking down at the sleeping face of his daughter as a part of him began to plead that she would open her eyes and smile at him the way she always did. "I just wish she would wake so that I could know she was alright." He said in a worried tone as his dark eyes remained on his child.

"If she is still breathing, she will wake soon enough." Dumbledore said as Severus looked up at him with a hate filled glare. "It is the truth, Severus." Dumbledore said in a distant tone looking to the sleeping child. "Though I think once the Christmas holiday is done, Harry will be sent to live with another family for his own safety." He said as Severus gave him a look of shock. "Now that the wolf in Lily is beginning to stir, it is best that they be separated until we can be certain that she will not pose a threat." At this point Severus shifted and laid Lily on the bed and tucked the blanket about her small shoulders, even going so far as to reach out and gently brush a lock of her black hair out of her pale face.

"I do not want our discussion to interrupt her resting." Severus said as he straightened and inclined his head toward the door to the wing as he and Dumbledore headed out of the wing only to close the door behind themselves, Severus stealing one last glance at his daughter before the door closed. At which point he rounded on the headmaster. "Why would you remove Harry from my care because of this? You know Lily would not harm anyone, especially not Harry!" Severus growled in a low tone as he noticed the sparkle that usually resided in the headmasters eyes had faded completely.

"It is already decided. After Christmas, Harry is to be moved to the Burrow to live with the Weasley family." Dumbledore said as Severus looked even more infuriated. "It will be better this way for Harry, and also for you and Lily." Dumbledore said as though hinting that there was no arguing on the matter. "Arthur and Molly have a son the same age as Harry, so he will be better off there so that you can focus solely on Lily for the time being." Dumbledore said in a calm tone as he knew the anger of the young man before him was about to boil over.

"What about what Harry wants?" Severus demanded as he glared at the headmaster in a way that would have made students cringe or run for cover, however the older wizard was completely unaffected by it. "Harry has never once been upset being raised by me along with Lily. You know full well the two of them are always together." Severus said as it was becoming more and more like a plea for Dumbledore to not take Harry away from him because of how he had moved past his hatred for Harry's father and treasured the boy like he treasured his little Lily.

"He will come to like living with the Weasley's." Dumbledore said disregarding what Severus was saying. "I have my reasons, which is why the day after Christmas, Harry will be sent to live with the Weasley's until he comes of age." The older wizard said before he turned and walked away, leaving no room for Severus to try and challenge the decision.

Feeling defeated, Severus turned and went back to the door that led to the Hospital Wing and opened the door before heading across the room to where Lily was, not noticing the pair of bright blue eyes watching him as he approached, or even as he sank into the chair facing the bed. Not until a small voice called to him. "Dad? What's the matter?" the small voice asked as he looked up to see that Lily was awake, resulting in a wave of immediate relief flooding over him as he stood and moved to the bed gathering Lily up in his arms as she hugged him in return but her hug was lax, hinting that she was not fully recovered from the night before. At the thought that Lily would be one to suffer through this curse and then losing one he had been gradually starting to view as a son overwhelmed Severus as he held Lily closer only for her small voice to ring in his ear again. "Dad…you are squishing me…" Leading to Severus quickly loosening his hold on his daughter as he looked at her, sadness reigning in his eyes. Though as his dark eyes met the bright blue he found he could not say what he had just been told.

"It…it is nothing." Severus choked out after a second before shaking his head. "I will go talk to Madame Pomfrey to see if it is alright for me to take you home, since I am sure Harry and Twinkle are both anxious to see that you are alright." He said as he put Lily back on the bed as he went to walk away only to hear the small voice once again, saying something that tugged at his heartstrings so much that he was near in actual physical pain.

"I am sorry for worrying you, dad. I'll try to not worry you so much anymore…"

/

Later on that day Severus got to take Lily to their rooms in the dungeons of the school, he knew that today was the twenty third, meaning that he would only have Harry just over a month before he was taken away. So Severus opted to go home so that Harry and Lily could spend one last Christmas together at home before being separated until they started school. The time flew by until it was time for them to leave along with the students shortly before Christmas. Though while Severus had been inside packing, Harry and Lily had gone down to Hagrid's to visit with the half giant groundskeeper. So it was in complete silence that Severus was gathering all of Harry's belongings and packing them away since the boy would not be returning with Severus and Lily after the holiday. Something that Severus had only told Twinkle since she was at the house the small family lived in packing Harry's belongings there and also prepping the house for them since they had not been there in a while.

Not long after Severus had finished packing and sent the bags to the house by use of a spell, he heard a knock coming from the door at the entrance to his quarters. 'Must be Hagrid.' He thought to himself as he went to the door and opened it before sliding the portrait aside to see Hagrid in the corridor looking oddly large compared to the stone walls and ceiling.

"Thought yeh would want them back." Hagrid said in a gruff voice as Severus could tell he was smiling, as his shaggy hair and beard were caked in half melted snow, and in his arms were Harry and Lily sound asleep meaning they had played until they completely wore themselves out.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Severus said as he took Lily first and carried her over to the couch then he came back over and got Harry. "Though we are about to head out so I was just about to lock up my quarters." He said in a way dismissing the groundskeeper who took the hint and nodded before heading back up the corridor as Severus shut the portrait only to do a charm on it to insure it would stay closed until he returned as he even locked the door behind it out of habit since he did not care for the thought of anyone trying to get into his personal quarters. Once he was done he walked over to the couch and gently shook Harry and Lily until they woke as he told them it was time to go as they were traveling by floo powder.

Once they stepped out of the fireplace into the small house, Severus felt his right eye twitch ever so slightly. 'How can one elf do this much damage to this house!?' he thought to himself as he felt Harry and Lily move away from him to go see the decorations up close. There was tinsel hanging from the ceiling, a large tree decorated to rival the trees used to decorate around the great hall at Hogwarts. After a second, Severus dared to turn around to glance at the fireplace only to see that tinsel was hanging with mini reefs where it angled up. "Twinkle!" Severus called as there was a small pop signaling the small elf had appeared by him. "I said to do some decorating, not to rival the decorations at Hogwarts!" he said in a weary tone almost afraid to see the rest of the house.

"But Twinkle is not done yet, Master Severus." She said as Severus looked down at her with a look of horror on his face. "Twinkle still has young Master Harry and Mistress Lily's rooms to decorate." The elf said with a smile spreading across her face as Severus felt like someone had dumped cold water over him.

"You did not do anything to my room, correct?" Severus asked with a slight hint of worry and horror in his voice as he spoke looking down at the house elf before him who was still smiling. Something that made him worry anew until Twinkle shook her head to show she had not violated his room the way she had the living room…and possibly every other room in the house with her obsessive decorating. 'Note to self, never let her handle decorating for the holidays again!' Severus thought to himself as Twinkle spoke.

"Twinkle did not decorate the master's room. Twinkle just cleaned so it would be ready for Master Severus." She said as Severus let out a sigh of relief. Mainly because he did not mind the house being like this…to an extent, but he drew the line at his room. His one sanctuary in this house.

"Good." Was all Severus could manage to say as he caught sight of Lily and Harry who were both running around the house beyond fascinated with the decorations around the room. "Go get situated in your rooms." Severus said as he knew this would not be the case anymore because of how after Christmas, Harry would be taken away. Though he was keeping that from Lily and Harry at the moment thinking it was better that they just remain happy for a bit longer.

/

The days flew by, even more so when on the eve of the twenty second, Severus gave Lily the wolfsbane potion even though she protested the entire time saying it tasted icky and gross. He had truly felt bad for making her take it, but he could not help but smile slightly at the faces she was making while downing the potion. However, even with the potion, the following day she was extremely pale and weak so Severus had tried to make her rest but instead she had wanted to be carried down to the living room and sit right beside him with Harry on the other side begging Severus to tell them a story. So he had gotten out a book that Twinkle had once picked up, Grimm Fairytales. Something Severus could not understand fully, but he stomached it because it made Harry and Lily happy.

All too soon for Severus, it was Christmas Eve and he was putting both Lily and Harry to bed. The boy had been easy enough to put to bed, but Lily was insistent that Severus stay with her until she fell asleep to help her figure out how the presents always appeared. And while Severus was happy that Lily was so curious and keeping awake would help insure that they would have more time with Harry since the time moved so fast when one was asleep, he soon convinced Lily to go to sleep after several attempts. Promising to not be grouchy when the inevitable happened. For the last three years every Christmas or birthday morning Harry and Lily would come charging into his room and jump up and down on his bed until he woke up and then proceed to pull and push him from bed until he got up.

Thinking on that as he stood from the chair beside Lily's bed he saw she was already sound asleep with a peaceful smile on her face as he could not help but wonder if things would continue as they were once Harry was taken from them. 'I will do everything I can to insure her smile does not fade.' Severus thought as he walked down to the kitchen where Twinkle was cleaning up to let her know what to fix for breakfast the next morning before he went back upstairs to his room and sat up for a while thinking of how the house and even the quarters at Hogwarts would soon feel slightly empty without Harry there. 'I hope Lily will not be too lonely without Harry…' he thought to himself as he removed his sweater he had been wearing and his pants before pulling on black pajama bottoms before getting situated on his bed staring up at the ceiling for so long. 'Lil…' he thought to himself thinking of Lily Evans.

'Had I not made the worst mistake of my life by calling you that horrible word…could it have turned out with us being together? Where you would have been safe and still alive by my side? Possibly with us raising our own children?' he thought to himself as he knew he would not trade his Lily for anything, but he found himself wondering if it was actually a bad thing that she never knew the love of a mother. Though with that thought, Severus slowly drifted off to sleep.

/

Severus was sleeping peacefully for what felt like only a few minutes before he was awoken by his bed jolting around as he groaned into his pillow knowing what it was. It was Christmas morning and it was time for him to get up according to his daughter and Harry. However as he opened his eyes he heard a small alarm go off from downstairs as he was up out of bed in half a second since that meant someone was trying to come through the wards without permission. "Twinkle!" he called as he only vaguely noticed that Lily and Harry were now knelt on the bed looking at him with confusion evident in their wide eyes. While Severus was grabbing his wand form his nightstand there was a pop signaling the arrival of the house elf. "Stay with Harry and Lily and should something happen, get them out of here back to Hogwarts." He ordered as he saw the elf nod from the corner of his eye as he rushed out of the room, his wand held before him ready as he locked his door behind himself figuring if nothing else it would slow anyone down long enough for Twinkle to flee with the kids.

He slowly descended the stairs as he headed to the living room only to see after a second that the alarm was from the floo network. 'Who would be trying to come through?' he thought to himself as he walked over closer to the fireplace and mutter a simple spell to allow whoever was coming through to be seen. 'Narcissa?' Severus thought to himself as he opened the network completely only for the wife of Lucius Malfoy to step out followed by a young boy with sleeked back unnaturally blonde hair and steel blue eyes. Though Severus looked to Narcissa to see that she had not changed much in the few years since he had last seen her, she still had long blonde hair, and had an air about her of superiority. "Narcissa." Severus spoke in greeting though his voice was weary due to how the Malfoy's were a family that believed more than any other besides the Black family in what Voldemort had once been doing before he was defeated.

"Ah, Severus." Narcissa said as she finished brushing soot from her black traveling cloak as she gave him a somewhat welcoming look before looking down to her son as she saw that he was busy brushing himself off. "So sorry to drop by unannounced." She said in a way that seemed a bit unlike the Narcissa that Severus remembered, even more so when she continued. "I figured it was best that my son spend time away from the manor for today, more so since his father has been one to try and pressure him when he is only a child." She said showing that despite how she had once been, she was a mother first and foremost.

"It is no problem, but I must ask that you wait here since I have two children of my own to attend to." He said casually before he went to turn away to head up the stairs as he stopped. "Twinkle!" he called as the small house elf appeared beside him doing a curtsy. "Prepare tea for our guests, and breakfast for Lily and Harry, along with some coffee for myself." He said as Twinkle nodded only to vanish again to the kitchen to start with the breakfast and drinks for Severus and their guests. With that Severus went back up the stairs to his room to find Harry and Lily sitting close, both staring intently at the door when he entered. "Go get dressed, we have company." He said as both children slid off of his bed and ran toward the door. Though as he watched Harry go into his room he felt a small hand tug on his own that was down at his side. He glanced down to see Lily there looking up at him. "What is wrong?" he asked as Lily shook her head.

"This is the last Christmas…isn't it?" She asked as Severus felt a tug at his heart due to how he had been doing his best to keep the truth from his daughter. Though from the look on her face, he could tell that she did already suspect something.

"No need to worry about anything like that." He said as he knelt down resting his other hand on her head. "Even if it does go back to being just the two of us, you know that you will never be alone because you have me and of course Twinkle who lives to see you smile." Severus said with a smile to try and assure Lily that everything would be alright. Something that she seemed to accept fairly easy as she nodded at her dad and smiled a little as he messed her black hair a little before removing his hand as she giggled. "Now go get dressed." He said as Lily ran into her room and shut the door so that she could get dressed. 'I hate lying to her…' he said as he knew full well that things would not be the same after Harry was taken away.

Pushing that thought from his mind, Severus went into his room and grabbed a change of clothes and got changed into a Slytherin green sweater and black pants before he walked out of his room only to find that Lily and Harry were both still in their rooms so he stood there waiting for the few minutes until they both came out of their rooms. Harry was now wearing a red sweater he had picked out and blue jeans. Lily on the other hand was wearing a royal blue sweater and light blue jeans and her black hair was down but the front tucked behind her ears to help keep it from falling in her pale face.

Severus walked over and messed Harry's hair slightly as he found it hard to believe that he was wishing today would drag on so that Harry would not be taken away, but he banished that thought from his mind. "Come, we have guests." He said letting his hand fall from Harry's head only to turn and head down the hall only to feel one of the kids catch his hand, glancing down he saw that it was Lily as he could not help but smile at her. They headed down the stairs with Harry following behind them only to find Narcissa and her son sitting drinking tea that had been placed on the small table between the couch and the fireplace as to the side there were two plates with eggs toast and bacon along with small glasses of orange juice for Harry and Lily. Not too far from the breakfast was a mug of coffee for Severus, something he picked up as he sat down in the arm chair while his daughter and Harry started eating their breakfast. "So, what is the real reason behind this visit?" Severus asked as he kept an eye on the boy that was with Narcissa due to how he was staring at Lily. 'If the boy is anything like his father I will not tolerate him being anywhere near Lily…' Severus thought as he watched Narcissa as she seemed to struggle with words for a brief second.

"I…I just thought it was best that I get Draco away from his father due to how things are going at the moment." Narcissa said as she glanced toward her son and smiled as the boy, Draco, smiled back at his mother before she had looked back to Severus and continued to speak. "I know that we were both raised to believe pure bloods are the only ones who should possess magic and be allowed to really matter, but I think it would be better if my son not be exposed to that but rather be allowed to make his own choices." She said as Severus inclined his head in a faint nod. "So I thought that it would be best that Draco be allowed to meet a family that seems to embody that." She said as Severus narrowed his eyes in a dangerous manner. "I mean nothing against it, just with how you are raising your daughter knowing nothing of her lineage, a sign of true love." Narcissa said as she looked toward Lily with a gentle expression as Lily looked toward her and smiled shyly.

"That is because I do not care about what lineage she has, because she is my child even if she had been born to muggle parents." Severus admitted as he reached out and rested a hand on Lily's head before noticing Narcissa give him a surprised look. "Though I will be the first to admit that I do not care for muggles, but even with that, Lily is my treasure." He said only for Lily to laugh a little as Severus allowed his hand to move away from her head.

"And that is the type of thinking I am hoping to instill in Draco." Narcissa admitted once she had seen that Severus was genuine in what he had said to her. "Because I know that his father and I made some bad choices, but I am hoping that he can lead a life without repeating our mistakes." She said as Severus nodded at her only to watch as Draco moved from where he was by his mother and walk over closer to Lily and Harry.

"May I sit with you?" he asked showing that he was a very well mannered.

Lily and Harry both looked up at Draco as he spoke as Harry seemed to hesitate but Lily on the other hand smiled sweetly at Draco. "Of course you can." She said as she scooted over closer to Harry to make more room for Draco where they were sitting on the floor around the table. "My name is Lily, and this is Harry." Lily said as Draco smiled slightly at the kindness that seemed to radiate from Lily as she smiled at him.

"I am Draco Malfoy." Draco said as he sat down on the other side of Lily as the look on his face towards Lily made Severus a little uneasy. All due to how he had a feeling that in that moment the seeds of various feelings had been planted in the blonde haired boy. Something he was sure had also happened when Lily had first extended her hand to Harry when they had only been five years old.

Though after breakfast was done, Twinkle came back in and cleared the dishes only to disappear back into the kitchen as Severus walked over to the tree and knelt down as Narcissa called Draco back over to her while Harry and Lily moved over closer to Severus so they could open presents. However when Lily noticed the sad look on Draco's face she grabbed one of her own presents and walked over to him and held it out smiling at him. "Happy Christmas." She said as she continued to smile at Draco even though he was giving her a shocked look even as he accepted the gift with shaking hands as he stuttered a thank you before Lily went back over to her father and Harry.

When he had watched the exchange, Severus could not help but wonder to himself how it was even with him knowing the truth of the past Lily had before she had come into his life, that she was able to remain so pure of heart. Shaking his head as Lily had come back over he handed Harry a heavy package that was from Hagrid. Treacle fudge and what looked like odd colored rocks along with a card. "You might want to be cautious when you eat that…" Severus cautioned as Harry laughed and nodded at him. There had been a matching package for Lily, then books from Minerva McGonagall that were more geared towards children. Then there was the presents from Dumbledore, something that sent Severus through the roof with anger. For Harry a child size broom that of course could not go as high as an actual broom nor as fast. Then for Lily a quill and parchment with a charm on the quill to record her thoughts or her words. He was not as upset by Lily's gift, just Harry's. The boy was already reckless enough without adding a broom!

Once all of the gifts were open, including a hand-made picture frame with a magical picture of Harry, Severus and Lily with the occupants all smiling and moving around playing together, which had been a combined gift from Harry and Lily. Though Severus suspected that either Minerva or Dumbledore had helped with getting the picture when Severus had not been paying attention, but even with that as a possibility, Severus found he would not trade this gift for anything.

He was just about to go upstairs to get Lily's final gift for her when there was a tapping on the kitchen window followed by Twinkle calling for him saying it was an owl with a message for him. "Can you keep an eye on them?" Severus asked Narcissa as she nodded only for Lily and Harry to rush over and encourage Draco to open the gift that Lily had given him. It was during this that Severus took his leave to go to the kitchen where the owl was sitting on the back of one of the chairs with a letter tied to its leg. Severus gave it a questioning look before going over and taking the letter as the owl took off out the window as Twinkle scrambled to close it so to not let a draft in. However Severus was occupied with the contents of the letter that he had just opened.

Severus,

I have spoken to Arthur and Molly about when they want to take Harry. They said they will be by your house this afternoon around 3p.m. to pick him up. Please have Harry ready to go so that they can take him and be on their way since they are wishing to have him settled by this evening into his new home.

Albus Dumbledore

"Master?" Twinkle asked hesitantly due to how Severus looked like he was near seething with rage as he read the letter, even more so when he clenched the letter in his hand and looked toward the clock to see that it was nine. Meaning that Harry would only be with them for another six hours.

"Twinkle, go start preparing Harry's things in his room because he will be leaving at three o'clock this afternoon." Severus said in a low tone before he turned and walked out of the kitchen leaving a sad and confused house elf behind him. More so because he and Twinkle had been under the impression that Harry would not be leaving until the following morning, something that was obviously not the case. Once he returned to the living room he saw that the gift that Lily had given to Draco was a new chess board from an unknown sender.

He settled down to enjoy a good visit with Narcissa while Harry, Lily and Draco played in the living room with their new gifts. Harry begged to be allowed to go outside so they could test his broom but Severus had turned that down due to how it was snowing outside and it was hard to see very far and he did not wish for Harry to get hurt. Around noon, Twinkle brought out turkey sandwiches for a light lunch along with warm tea and hot cocoa for everyone. Once everyone had ate their fill, Severus relented and allowed Harry and Lily to go outside, as Narcissa also granted Draco permission so that they could have a snow ball fight. Something that Draco was not as familiar with, but that did not stop the three children from having fun. They kept going until Severus and Narcissa called to them saying it was time to come in as Severus noticed the time, it was five before three.

"Narcissa, is it alright if you wait in the other room or leave for a little bit?" he asked as Narcissa gave him a confused look but she opted to wait in the sitting room not too far from the living room. Once she stepped out of the room with her son, Severus took out his wand and muttered a small charm that dried Harry and Lily off instantly as Twinkle appeared in the room with Harry's bags.

"Dad, why does Twinkle have Harry's stuff?" Lily asked as both her and Harry looked at Severus in confusion as the flames in the fireplace turned green only for two people to step out one after the other. The first was a tall man with red hair that was thinning on the top with horn rimmed glasses balanced on his nose hiding just a few of the many freckles on his face. He was wearing a worn looking green cloak as he smiled at the people before him as a woman stepped out behind him. She was a bit shorter with a more homely look to her with red hair just like the man. She looked very kind and warm hearted as she smiled toward mainly Harry and Lily. However this was not a time that Lily returned the smile as she and Harry moved closer to one another as they both looked up at Severus searching for an answer. "Dad?" Lily asked again as the man walked over and gathered up the bags.

"This everything, Severus?" he asked as Severus nodded while the woman walked over and leaned down slightly as she smiled at the children but they refused to be separated.

"Hello, Harry." She said as she held out a hand to him. "We need to get going so that we can get you settled before dinner with everyone." She said as Lily shook her head and spoke what both she and Harry were thinking.

"Settled? But he lives here with me and dad!" she said only for the woman to give her a sad look as Severus leaned down and forced Lily and Harry away from one another.

"Lily!" Harry yelled but the woman caught his hand before he could move closer to Severus who was holding back a struggling Lily. "No! I want to stay here! I want to stay with Severus and Lily!" Harry said as the woman steered him toward the fireplace as her husband went through first.

"You will see her again when the both of you start at Hogwarts in few years." The woman said as she tossed in some floo powder and stepped in with Harry who looked toward Lily with sadness evident in his eyes before he vanished along with the lady.

"Harry! HARRY!" Lily cried as Severus knelt only to turn her and pull her close as she sobbed into his shoulder. "H-Harry…" she sobbed in a shaking voice as Severus wished there was something he could do, but there was not anything he could do. He knew that the adoption of Harry to the Weasley family was finalized.

"Lily…" Severus whispered as he held her close holding back his own feelings due to how he was wishing to remain strong for her. "It will be alright…" he whispered slowly calming his daughter as he heard footsteps approaching and a hand on his shoulder. He leaned back from his daughter slightly and looked up to see that it was Narcissa.

"What happened? Why did the Weasley's take your son?" she asked even though she knew full well that the boy had been Harry Potter. She was sure from the way Severus treated the boy and how he was obviously torn apart at the moment that he cared for him as though he were his own, the same way he cared for the small girl in his arms.

After a few seconds of silence Severus shifted and stood holding Lily in his arms as she continue to softly cry into his shoulder. "Due to some things, the headmaster of Hogwarts determined that it was in Harry's best interest to be placed with the Weasley's." he said as he felt Lily shake her head against his shoulder. He glanced to Narcissa's to see that she looked like she was about to ask what could have led to such a rash decision but Severus shook his head. "I would rather not say…" he said as he walked over to the couch only to sit down still cradling Lily to himself as she continued to softly cry.

Narcissa and Draco stayed for dinner that night as even though they had only just met Lily, they both aimed to try and help the smile return to her face but it was no use. She was heartbroken that Harry had been taken away from her the way he had, more so when she asked if she could go visit Harry and Severus said no. Justifying it as at the moment that it was better for some distance to allow Harry time to adjust, that and he was sure if he took Lily to see Harry that he would kidnap the boy to have him back.

After dinner, Narcissa and Draco used the Floo network to return home, saying they would visit again in the next few days. Severus took Lily to her room but she refused to be left alone, so he admitted defeat and carried her to his room and sat her down on the bed, calling Twinkle to fetch one of Lily's night gowns, something the house elf did quickly as Severus left Lily alone with Twinkle to get changed into her pink night gown that was sleeveless and went down to her ankles. When he came back into the room he saw that Lily was sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up with her arms wrapped around them as she did not even acknowledge that he had come back into the room.

"Lily…" Severus whispered as he sat down on the side of the bed as she did not acknowledge him. "There is one last gift for me to give you." He said as she still did not respond bringing a sigh from Severus as he reached out pulling her closer. Once she was beside him he gently got her out of the little ball she had curled into and got her to look at him, showing that in her bright blue eyes, that they were dull and full of tears. "Will you accept the gift I have not given yet?" he asked in a gentle voice as Lily hesitated but nodded.

Severus moved over to the nightstand beside his bed and opened the door in the front only to pull out a long narrow box wrapped in sparkling red and green paper with a curly bow on top. He moved back over to where he had been as he sat down and held out the box to Lily. "Happy Christmas, Lily." He said as he smiled sadly at her as she accepted the box and removed the paper and bow before lifting the lid of it to reveal a silver looking chain with a crescent moon of matching material hanging from it. "It is white gold." Severus said as Lily stared at it. "It is also charmed so that when you wear it, it will help protect you." He said as he smiled at her as Lily looked toward him, the usual light in her eyes not showing but she smiled.

"Thank you, Dad." She said as she hugged him. "Is it okay if I wear it now?" she asked as Severus smiled at her reaching out and lifting the pendant from the box and placing it around her neck as it came to rest against her pink night gown.

"Promise me you will always wear it." He asked as Lily nodded and spoke her promise to him. He then went to get situated as he felt Lily curl up beside him. He reached out wrapping an arm around her to hold her close as she fell asleep as he looked to the side noticing the picture he had received from Harry and Lily sitting on the night stand, meaning Twinkle had brought it up from the living room. However as he looked at it, he noticed that one occupant was gone…Harry. Without hesitation Severus reached out and angled the picture down toward the night stand not wishing to be reminded further of the fact that the boy he had raised as his own son for three years had been ripped away leaving a hole in the family he had with his daughter. Once he moved his hand away from the frame he looked back toward the sleeping child he held close. 'It may just be the two of us now, but I will do everything in my power to bring back your smile.' Severus vowed to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Well this chapter was a bit tricky due to how I was not sure if I overdid it with when Harry was taken away to live with the Weasley's. That and I do realize that Narcissa is a bit out of character, but I am writing her that way due to how I wanted to interpret her more as a caring mother than someone who looks down on everyone like her husband does. I hope everyone who is reading this story enjoyed this chapter, and I want to say a special thanks to Toraach for reviewing every chapter of this story so far. I hope to have the next chapter up soon.