A/N: As always, paragraphs in italics are a flashback...

Samantha woke early on Christmas morning to the easy laughter of a house full of people who were full of good cheer. Fleur was sleeping in Ginny's room, so Samantha had the bedroom to herself. Sam remembered that her father had said they would spend the day together, so she eagerly dressed and headed downstairs.

The Weasleys, Remus Lupin (whom she had met the previous evening), and Harry were all gathered together. Bill and Fleur were seated off the side. The twins had their heads bent together as they gestured wildly. She'd taken an immediate liking to the twins, who had easily accepted that a Slytherin was sleeping under their roof. Although, Samantha realized she would have to treat the twins as members of her House and never turn her back to them.

Gifts were still piled high and she hoped they hadn't been waiting on her. Mrs. Weasley was the first to catch sight of her and she was soon engulfed in a suffocating hug.

"Happy Christmas, Samantha!" the older woman said enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she responded as she pulled away. "Happy Christmas to you, too."

Mrs. Weasley leaned in close, "Your father will be here at noon to pick you up," she whispered. "But for now, go and join the others, dear."

Samantha nodded and made her way to a bare spot of floor next to Harry. She gave him a smile, "Happy Christmas, Harry."

He gave her a broad grin and replied in kind before he leaned into the pile and brought out a small, gaily wrapped box that he handed to her. "Here," he said quietly.

Samantha placed the box on the floor in front of her and grabbed a larger box from the pile and handed it to Harry, "This is for you."

"Open yours first," he said with a grin.

"Ok," she replied, ripping into the paper and revealing a copy of the book on Animagus Transfigurations that was in the library. Hermione had indeed borrowed it for her, but it had to be returned before Samantha could read much of it. "Oh, wow, Harry! Thanks!" She lovingly placed the book on the floor again and turned to face him. She hoped she hadn't made a mistake in her choice of gift to him.

She watched him open the paper more carefully than she had, revealing a rather plain photo album. She held her breath as he opened the album. His gasp had her releasing that breath in a rush.

"That… that's my mum," he said quietly in wonder.

"Our mum's were friends in school," she responded in a bare whisper. "My dad had these and he helped me copy them for you." There were only a dozen pictures of his mum, and they all featured the two women together. "I just wish there were more of them," Sam said softly.

Harry shook his head, dashing quickly at his eyes, "I… I can't thank you enough, Sam."

"Harry, everything all right there?" Remus' voice broke into their bubble of quiet and drew everyone's attention to them. She shifted away slightly, even though almost half of those here knew about her and Harry.

"Remus, she gave me pictures of my mum!" Harry said happily, standing and bringing the album to show the man.

"Where did you get pictures of Lily?" Remus Lupin asked, his amber eyes somewhat suspicious.

Samantha debated what to tell him and she finally settled on as close to the truth as she could get, "The photos were in an album one of my relatives had." She watched as Remus glanced at the photos.

Remus glanced up at Harry and then back at the album. The former lifted a finger and tapped the photo before him, "That woman with her was Katrina Stonesmith, your mum's best friend." His voice was wistful as he continued speaking, "Those two were inseparable right up to graduation. Then they both got married and ended up losing touch. Last I'd heard, Katrina had disappeared and was assumed dead. That was… oh, just before you were born, Harry."

"They lost touch?" Harry asked.

Remus chuckled here, "Well, I'm sure it didn't help that their husbands despised each other."

"Who did Harry's dad hate?" Ginny asked.

"Well, don't get me wrong, it was mutual hatred. Katrina shook up the school by dating a Slytherin… And when she walked into the Great Hall at the Graduation Ball with Severus Snape… Let me just say I'd never seen Albus Dumbledore surprised before that moment!"

"Wait wait wait," one of the twins said.

"Snape, the Greasy Git, was married?!" the other finished.

Everyone glanced at the twins but it was Ron who spoke first, "Wait, you didn't hear that Snape is married again?"

"Good joke, Ron," one of the twins said, but his laughter died at the serious expressions of everyone else in the room.

"You're serious?" the other twin asked after exchanging glances with his twin.

"Yup, he's married and they're expecting a child," Ginny said with a shudder.

The twins echoed her shudder and Samantha's good humor melted away. She picked up her handful of opened gifts, including a green Weasley sweater with a black snake on it, and silently moved to leave the room. She got up five stairs before a soft voice stopped her.

"Sam?"

It was Ron and she hesitated before turning to face him. "Yeah?"

"I… I just wanted to say sorry for that. I mean, if they knew…"

"They can't, Ron. And you don't need to apologize for your family. I need to get ready to go out anyway. My father will be here soon. I'll be spending the afternoon with him and my mum." She paused and realized she hadn't told Harry she'd be going out, "Uh, could you tell Harry? I don't want him to worry…"

Ron gave her a smile, "Sure thing. Have a good day with your parents."

"Thank you. Happy Christmas, Ron."

"Happy Christmas, Samantha," he responded before returning to the living room.

-- --

Katrina wearily settled on the couch in Severus' quarters. They had dropped Samantha back at the Burrow and returned to Hogwarts. Severus had surprised them both by taking them to Prince Manor where he'd arranged an exquisite Christmas lunch. After lunch they had retired to the sitting room and exchanged gifts.

Samantha had given her father a rare black Poinsettia plant she had raised from seed. They were finicky plants that needed a great deal of attention for the first three weeks after being planted. Their leaves were used in a number of poison antidotes. Because of the difficulty in raising them, they were a bit costly to purchase.

Samantha had given her mother a trio of bracelets – one for Katrina and one for each of the babies. Katrina's bracelet would change color if the babies were in danger. Samantha apologized that she hadn't charmed them herself, but had purchased them in a shop in Hogsmeade already charmed.

From Severus, Katrina had received a small pewter statue of a phoenix. The bird would occasionally fly around its base. Every couple of weeks it would turn to ashes and then be reborn, just as its real-life counterpart would.

In return, Katrina had declared that she would oversee all of her husband's detentions until the babies were born. She hadn't had an opportunity to purchase him anything, and she knew that he despised having to watch those he gave detention to. She had a feeling he would suddenly be giving out even more detentions now…

Severus had purchased a necklace for Samantha. He and Katrina had each laid charms on it to protect their daughter from the most basic curses and hexes. Katrina had borrowed his wand for the task and although it wasn't as powerful as her own wand would have been for her, she was satisfied to see that she was compatible with it.

Severus was bustling about in his small kitchen, preparing a pot of tea for them to share. Katrina closed her eyes for a moment, but they were startled open when she felt a small form impacting her leg.

"Hello Shadow," she said, smiling down at the midnight black kitten kneading her leg. She reached down and scratched his head. "Were you lonesome?" The kitten simply kept purring and kneading before he curled into a ball.

Katrina remembered back three days to when she'd gotten Shadow…

-- --

Katrina was sulking around her quarters and she admitted it. She knew she had overreacted last night, but she refused to go down to Severus' room to apologize. She'd known going to the Great Hall for breakfast would be a mistake, so she had called a house-elf to bring her lunch in her rooms.

She'd finished lunch and was begging to work on correcting some tests when a knock sounded at the door to the corridor. Her door was unlocked, so she didn't bother trying to get up. She simply called out, "It's open!"

The door slowly opened and revealed her husband. Her husband was holding two small boxes in one hand and a small potted plant in the other.

"Severus?" she levered herself up slowly.

"May I… may I come in?"

"Oh, of course," she replied, moving to close the door behind him. "Please, have a seat," she said as she turned back to face him.

Instead of sitting, he approached her, "Katrina, I am so sorry about last night. I hurt you and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but…" His voice trailed off, instead he proffered the small plant. "This is for you."

She accepted the plant, looking at it closely and she smiled as she realized the small flowers were tiny roses. They were absolutely perfect, but in miniature.

"It's a pygmy rose plant," he said quietly.

"It's beautiful, thank you," she said earnestly. She placed the pot on a side table in her living room.

"These are also for you," he said nervously, extending the two boxes in his hands.

She carefully lifted the top box which was rectangular and thin. The label on the top identified it as a box of 'Honeydukes Best.' "I love Honeydukes chocolate, thank you, Severus."

She placed the chocolate aside and carefully took the remaining box from him. This box was larger than the other one and curiously had holes in it. She almost dropped the box when the contents shifted of their own accord. Carefully opening the top, she gave a laugh of delight to see the whiskered face peering up at her.

"I remember you said you had a pet cat when you were little… The owner of the store said that he is part kneazle… I also picked up supplies for him and-"

"Severus," she interrupted him, carefully placing the kitten onto the floor so he could explore his new home, "Shut up and kiss me."

He approached her and she melted into his arms. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss that convinced her that he truly was sorry for what he had done. She pulled away to breathe. "I'll forgive you if you can forgive me for my tantrum."

His breath gusted against the top of her head as he kissed her forehead, "Forgiven."

-- --

"Here, Kat."

She took the steaming mug from him as he settled beside her on the couch. "Thanks, Sev."

"I do believe you named that beast properly. He doesn't leave you alone for a minute."

She giggled. For all that Severus referred to Shadow as a beast, she knew that somehow the kitten had found a way into Sev's heart too. She'd come out of the shower the night before to see Sev and Shadow sleeping together on their bed. Pity she didn't have a camera!

"I just hope he takes to the boys as well as he's taken to us. I would hate to have to get rid of him," she said softly.

"I'm sure that if there is a problem, Minerva would be happy to take him in. But if he is truly part kneazle, I doubt there will be a problem."

"I'm just glad you found that potion to spray my roses with. He'd almost eaten all of the buds!" she said with a laugh.

They'd had to relocate the poor plant to the bathroom while Severus looked up something he could safely spray the plant with. The spray had to be safe both to the plant and to Shadow, who would undoubtedly test his luck with the plant. Finally Severus had found a citrus mixture which repelled the cat but didn't hurt Katrina's roses. When Minerva had heard about their cat's bad habit, she suggested they give him a small pot filled with grass for him to nibble on. That and the citrus spray had solved the problem.

"Maggie looked good," Katrina said. They only referred to their daughter by her true name when they were alone in their rooms. "I don't get to see her as much as I'd like to."

"She's busy with her school work most of the time," Severus replied. "With the exception of Flitwick, all of her professors have raved about her work."

"She's still struggling in Charms?"

"She apparently grasps the theory of it, but when it comes to the practical portion, she is hopeless," he responded with a frown.

"Now, Sev, surely you remember your own failure with Transfiguration, and mine in Potions. Everyone seems to have one subject which they simply can't manage. Charms just happens to be Maggie's."

He hummed in reply. "Minerva has told me that Maggie has been asking about the Animagus transformation."

"That is far beyond her," Katrina said. "Afterall, only about 4 percent of witches and wizards ever master it, right?"

"Minerva seems concerned that Maggie could manage it. She suggests we discuss it with Maggie. I think Minerva is afraid that Maggie might attempt it on her own."

"Now, Severus, our daughter is a Slytherin and not very likely to run headlong into something."

"Like a foolish Gryffindor?" he responded with a smirk. He took her empty mug from her and set it aside with his own. "You're right, of course. She's more likely to go and research it to death before attempting it on her own."

Katrina sighed, "Maybe we can raise these two to be Hufflepuffs."

"Perish the thought!" he responded, attacking her mouth with his own. She sighed happily, melting into the kiss. He always did know how to shut her up…