The next day found Scabior laying on the couch in the living room, his blue and white plaid blanket draped over him as he lay on his side with his back towards the room. He'd been laying there for over an hour, miserable and wanting to go to sleep, but found that sleep was impossible while his throat itched and burned.

At one point in time he tried putting his finger in his mouth and picking at the scabs in his throat. The scabs were driving him mad, like a loose tooth that still needed time before it was ready to come out.

"Quit picking," said Draconius, slapping his wrist to get him to leave his scabs alone.

Scabior started and quickly withdrew his finger from his mouth. He then glanced over his shoulder at his wife, who was glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

Melody looked up from organizing her chocolate frog cards and grinned. "Busted."

"This isn't funny, young lady," said Draconius, as her daughter started to laugh. "He could cause serious bleeding if he keeps picking at those things."

Scabior sighed. He'd tried being patient throughout his recovery, enduring pain and sleepless nights, waiting for the day he would be well again. But his patience was wearing thin as he began his second week of recovery.

"Do you know what I think he needs?" said Melody thoughtfully. "He needs something fun to take his mind off how shi - "

"Language, Melody," her mother interrupted.

"- how bad he feels."

This got Scabior's attention, as he rolled over onto his back, looking at his daughter who was sitting across from him on the living room floor. Draconius was also curious as to what her daughter had in mind.

"We never had Christmas because of dad's operation," Melody continued. "So maybe we could have a late Christmas and give each other gifts. That ought to make him feel better."

Melody was smiling now, and her mother was pleased with her suggestion. But when they turned to Scabior to see what his reaction would be, he looked more miserable than ever.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Draconius asked. She thought he would be happy to have Christmas with his family, spending time with them while they gave each other gifts.

"I neber got you a present," said Scabior, looking rather crestfallen. "I tried, Draconius. But you saw wha abbened... I was too sick. I didn't get you anyting."

Poor Scabior still sounded stuffed up from his operation. It was all Melody could do not to laugh at the way he sounded, clamping a hand over her mouth and snorting as her mother shot her an angry glance before looking back at Scabior.

"That isn't true, Scabior," said Draconius. "You may not realize it, but you already gave me the best, most precious gift I could ask for."

"An wha's dat?" Scabior asked, in his stuffy, nasal voice.

"Our daughter," Draconius replied. "You gave me a beautiful baby girl, who has grown into a lovely young lady. And do you know what I gave you for Christmas?"

Scabior shook his head. It hurt his throat to talk, so he tried not to speak if he didn't have to.

"I gave you your health, Scabior. And one of the greatest gifts that we could ever get is seeing you healthy again."

Melody's expression brightened when she heard that, and a smile lit her face as she looked at her parents. Her mother loved her enough to consider her the best gift she'd ever received, and her father had been given the gift of good health. That alone was reason enough to celebrate, regardless of whether or not the holiday season had already come and gone.

Scabior thought about what Draconius said, and he realized that she was right, that his holiday wasn't ruined simply because he hadn't been able to buy his wife a present. He had his health, and he had a loving family that cared about him. There was one thing, though, that he still wanted. One very simple thing that he hadn't had in days. And although he didn't say it, Melody knew exactly what it was he wanted.

"Mum," said Melody. "Can we go to Hogsmeade? I want to buy dad a Christmas present."

And so, later that day, Melody came home with a present for her father. She even had it gift wrapped, with bright blue wrapping paper that had moving pictures of reindeer on it.

Scabior took a moment to admire the neatly wrapped present, watching as the reindeer on the wrapping paper frolicked playfully in the snow. He knew that Draconius must have wrapped his gift for Melody, because every time she picked up a roll of wrapping paper and spell-o-tape it inevitably led to a big mess.

He peeled off the wrapping paper, revealing a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans beneath the colorful wrapping.

This was not the sort of gift he was expecting to get. He looked from his daughter to his wife then back again, not sure of what to say.

"Well?" said Melody. "What do you think? I know you haven't been able to eat regular meals since you had your tonsils taken out. So I thought this would be a good way for you to enjoy normal foods again. And this is a special box of Every Flavor Beans. It only contains normal flavors, like chicken and blueberry pie, with none of that gross crap like puke and earwax."

Scabior looked at his wife. "An you're okay with me 'aving dis?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm." Draconius nodded. "I've given these to my patients when they're recovering from having their tonsils out. It's alright, so long as you only eat one at a time. And you have to take it slowly, chewing it a little then letting it mix with saliva until it becomes a liquid paste."

Scabior hesitated before opening the box. He craved something other than applesauce, soup and sorbet. But with the way his throat was still sensitive and sore, he wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

He opened the box, poking around inside until he found the one he wanted. It was blueberry pie flavor, which was Scabior's favorite. He placed the bean in his mouth, chewed it a few times, then squished it against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. He waited a minute or two before chewing it again, enjoying the delicious taste as a content smile spread across his face.

His wife and daughter could tell just by looking at him that he was enjoying himself. He waited until the bean had dissolved into a mostly liquid paste, then swallowed it. It stung slightly when it touched the back of his throat, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"It helps if you take a sip of water before swallowing," said Draconius.

Scabior tried another bean, this time taking a sip of water from the glass on the coffee table before swallowing. This made swallowing much easier, and helped wash the sweet paste down his throat with less pain and discomfort.

"If you pace yourself and only eat a few of those a day, it should be enough to last you through the rest of your recovery," said Draconius. "It's not something you should be eating all the time. Just have one or two of them every now and then when you're tired of living off soup and applesauce."

Scabior smiled. "Tank you." He put an arm around his daughter, pulled her close and gave her a hug. "You don't know 'ow much I'b wanted someting like dis."

"You're welcome, daddy." Melody then produced several packets of chocolate frog cards, and asked her father if he felt like playing a couple rounds of exploding snap. Scabior accepted her offer, and spent the rest of the morning playing exploding snap with his daughter.

Scabior's mood had greatly improved by the time he went to bed that night, and Draconius knew that a big part of helping him through his recovery was keeping his spirits up.

Draconius entered the bathroom just as Scabior finished brushing his teeth and was looking at his throat in the mirror over the sink. He'd gotten used to the sight of the white patches in his throat, and was in the habit of checking his throat every evening before bed to see how his recovery was progressing.

"Everything look alright in there?" Draconius asked, standing beside him as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

Scabior sighed. "It looks the same as it did yesterday."

"Just give it some time. It'll probably take a couple of days before you see a noticable difference." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Come to bed, sweetie. I know you're feeling better, but you still need your rest."

Her fingers found the loose strands of hair that had fallen into his face, his hair still slightly damp after his shower. She curled his hair around her fingers, inhaling the fresh scent of soap and shampoo.

"Enjoying yourself, love?" Scabior softly whispered, grinning as he watched her play with his hair.

Draconius chuckled. "You still sound stuffed up."

"I doe. But dere's noting I can do about dat right now." Scabior yawned. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night and was feeling rather tired.

"Come on, sweetie," said Draconius, one arm around his shoulders as she walked him towards their bedroom. "Let's get you to bed."

.oOo.

One day faded into the next. Scabior rested and kept himself occupied by playing games of exploding snap with his daughter. He started getting out of bed more often, and was eventually able to hold brief conversations with his family during the third week of his recovery.

By that point in time his throat wasn't as sore as it had been during the first two weeks of his recovery. It felt more like a dull ache instead of the raw, burning pain he'd felt before. And as he recovered, his wife started adding soft foods to his diet, such as pudding, oatmeal, mashed potatoes and jello. Scabior graduated from potato soup to creamed soup, and was able to sleep through the night without needing to be woken up.

Scabior was fully healed one month after his surgery, and to celebrate Draconius decided to prepare a big Christmas dinner for him with all his favorite foods. Their holiday feast was about a month late, but Scabior didn't care. He was looking forward to spending time with his family and enjoying all the good foods he'd missed out on during the holidays.

This time with his family meant more to him than ever, because it wouldn't be long until he went back to work, and Melody would be returning to school in a few more days. So Scabior decided to make the most of his time with his family by going for a run through the woods with his daughter before dinner.

Melody laughed, running as fast as she could down the wide trail behind their house that led off into the woods. She glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the lynx that was chasing her before the animal leapt off the ground and onto the embankment.

The lynx ran alongside her, weaving between the bushes and trees that lined the edges of the embankment, never missing a beat as his paws pounded the snow covered earth, leaping over low hanging branches and running along the tops of rocks that jutted from the earth.

"No!" Melody cried, still laughing playfully as she made a sharp left and disappeared into the bushes, leaving the path and running downhill between a dense cluster of trees.

The lynx sprinted up the side of a downed tree, climbing higher as he leapt from branch to branch through the treetops. His movements were swift and fluid, flowing effortlessly like water as he glided across the branches. He had her in his sights now. It wouldn't be long until he caught up with her.

Melody kept running, branches scraping at her sides and leaves getting caught in her hair. She was determined to outrun him, to make it back before he did without getting caught. She put on an extra burst of speed, racing downhill through the snow. She could see their house in the distance, and a smile spread across her face.

'Almost there,' she thought. 'I'm almost home!'

She broke through the bushes, branches and twigs splintering into shattered fragments of wood as she ran. She only made it ten steps out of the trees when the lynx leapt from the overhanging branches, transforming itself in mid-air, and Melody was hit with the full weight of her father as he pounced on her from the treetops.

Melody let out a startled yelp as she hit the ground and went sliding across the snow. Scabior laughed, pulling out his wand and aiming it in her face. "An wha do we 'ave 'ere?" he said, grinning as he sat on his daughter, pinning her down in the snow. "Such a pretty little thing. Now wha I want to know is why a lovely girl such as yourself is on the run from the Ministry."

Melody struggled to claw her way out from under him, her fingers scraping through the snow, leaving furrows in the layer of fine, white powder that blanketed the earth. She thought it would be easy to run from him since he had just gotten over having surgery. But instead of being out of shape from spending so much time at home in bed, Scabior had more energy and enthusiasm then Melody had seen in years.

"So, you don't want to talk," Scabior continued. He shifted his position, one knee in the snow while the other dug into the small of her back. "That's alright. We 'ave ways of making you talk."

"Daddy, no, please!" Melody cried, scrabbling in the snow.

"Rictusempra!"

There was a flash of light, and Melody rolled over onto her side just as her father backed up off her. She doubled over, laughing hysterically until her sides hurt and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Are you going to talk now?" Scabior spat, his wand still aimed at her as she rolled on the ground, laughing like a wild hyena.

"Yes, daddy," she managed between fits of uncontrollable laughter. "I'll talk, I'll talk! Just stop already!'

Scabior removed the spell, his daughter lying on her back, breathless from laughing so hard. She looked up at him, and silence stretched between them for the span of several heartbeats. A cold wind came up, tugging at the loose strands of red and brown hair that hung in Scabior's face. And then he smiled.

Scabior chuckled, reaching out and offering her his hand. "Come on, sweet'eart. Up you get."

Melody smiled back, taking his gloved hand and letting him help her off the ground. "It's good to see you're feeling better again, dad. I've missed running with you through the woods, and all the fun adventures we had together."

Scabior put his arm around his daughter as they walked back home together in the snow. "I've missed our little adventures too, pet," he said. "There really is no greater gift than family during the 'olidays. Or any day. An now tha I've got my 'ealth back, we can start 'aving outings like this more often."

"We could have done this sooner if you'd listened to mum."

"Yes, well better late than never, right? At least I finally got those damn things taken out an they won't be a problem anymore."

Melody rolled her eyes. This was Scabior, her dear old dad. He was incorrigible, he drank too much, and he was stubborn to a fault. But she loved him anyway, despite his many flaws. All that mattered was that he was happy and healthy again.

The moment he walked through the front door, Scabior could smell the delicious aroma of all foods his wife had made for dinner. Draconius had prepared a grand feast, with everything from roast beef and pumpkin pie to green and black olives, cranberry sauce, roasted carrots and potatoes, and of course, some of Scabior's favorite cinnamon fireball whiskey.

Draconius had just finished setting the table when her husband and daughter walked in.

"This looks lovely," said Scabior. He then slipped his arm around Draconius and pulled her in close for a kiss. "Thank you, love. For all of this an for everything you've done for me." Their lips met, and Draconius took Scabior by surprise when she deepened the kiss, practically forcing her tongue down his throat, with one hand behind his head as her fingers tangled in his thick, red and brown hair.

Scabior gasped, blinking in surprise when she finally let him go. His wife smirked and said, "Just checking to see how well you've recovered from your operation."

"Mum," Melody groaned. "Could you not snog dad right here in front of me in the kitchen? I'd like to enjoy my dinner this evening and you two are ruining my appetite."

"I wouldn't complain if I were you," said Scabior, grinning at his daughter. Tha's 'ow your mum got 'er Christmas present from me in the first place."

"Dad!"

"Alright you two. That's enough," said Draconius, her husband laughing at the disgusted look on Melody's face. "Let's settle down and eat. We haven't had a nice meal together as a family since before your father's operation."

Scabior had already sat down at the table before his wife had finished her sentence, and was now in the process of piling food on his plate. His wife smiled, watching as he heaped mounds of roast beef, carrots and cranberry sauce on his plate, then poured a generous amount of gravy over the roast beef and started eating.

He had second helpings of everything, grabbing handfuls of olives and stuffing his face with them between bites of roast beef, then washed it down with nearly half a bottle of whiskey.

"Have you had enough yet?" Draconius asked.

Scabior leaned back in his seat, his hands reaching for his waist as he unfastened his belt. 'No," he said. "Bring me another bottle of whiskey. An another slice of pie, with whipped cream on top this time."

When dinner was over, Scabior collapsed onto the couch with a groan, holding his swollen belly. He had a stomachache from eating too much, and he was slightly drunk. But as his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep, Scabior felt better than he had in years.

Within a few short minutes Scabior was sound asleep, sleeping off the first decent meal he'd had in weeks, his daughter organizing her chocolate frog cards beside him on the floor, his wife tidying up the kitchen before joining her family in the living room.

Draconius went over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, watching as a smile spread across Scabior's face as he slept. He was finally healthy. And with a little luck and proper care, he would stay that way for a very long time, for he had his loving wife to look after him. And no matter what she would always be there for him. Because they were a family, in sickness and in health, loving each other from Christmas on into the new year and beyond.