Disclaimer: see first chapter
A/N: So in this chapter is something that appears in the Book Version of A Christmas Carol, not all of the movies. Ignorance and Want, physically personified as children. It's actually in the Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol, which everyone should watch, because it is truly awesome and creepifying. Although, honestly, not as awesome and creepifying as the Muppet-version (and the Muppet!Present-Ghost is clearly reflected in this chapter, since this Present-Ghost is cheerful and not all nasty and mean-ish, like in both the book and the Patrick Stewart version). And yes, we really did just tell you to watch a Muppet movie. :P But seriously, these appear in the book, and we decided to put them in here. Please enjoy.
A/N2: Since there is no information in canon of what a married Professor would do with their family, we decided to have them live in Hogsmeade, so that they're close by to each other, and so that the Professor (who happens to just be a Professor's Aide in this case) can go home for the evening, or for Christmas. It made sense.
…
Chapter 2:
TINGBONG! TINGBONG!
Snape had barely had time to slump down into his armchair when the clocks simultaneously struck two. He hauled himself back onto his feet, staring around suspiciously.
For a moment, all was silent.
"Merlin's beard, is this where they stick the Potion's Master these days?" A voice said from behind him, dripping with mock-disdain. "No wonder Slughorn was always so… sluggy, I suppose."
Snape didn't turn around. "No. No. I'm still asleep, and you are not behind me."
"True, at least in part," the voice said cheerfully. "I'm not behind you."
Snape blinked, and a figure appeared before him.
"I'm in front of you! Cool, huh?"
Snape buried his head in his hands, and mumbled, "Why? What have I done to deserve this?"
"Well–"
"Don't bloody answer that, it was a rhetorical question!"
Snape raised his head again, and glared furiously at his arch-nemesis. Well, one of them, anyway.
James Potter looked a lot better than he had the last time Snape had seen him. Well, Snape hadn't exactly seen him, so much as seen a photo of the devastation of Godric's Hollow, complete with bodies. Rita Skeeter, even all those years ago, had been a scheming manipulative shrew with no morals.
"So, Snivelly, how's it going?" James grinned broadly, lounging against the mantelpiece.
"You're here, so it's going to hell," Snape growled.
"Aww, Snape, you know words can hurt, right?" James snarked, still grinning.
"Why you? Why you? Lupin was bad enough, but you? The only possible way it could be worse was if Black was here!"
"Oh, don't worry, he won't be showing up," James said reassuringly. "Probably, anyway. He never was much for following the rules, you know."
Snape snorted. "Neither were you, if I recall."
"God no," James laughed. "But, you know, this is mildly important."
"Mildly?" Snape frowned. "I'm glad to know my 'salvation' is so important to you."
"'Salvation'? Is that what Remus said?" James rolled his eyes. "He always was prone to exaggeration. But no, it's actually pretty important."
"Glad to hear it," Snape grumbled. "So you're the Ghost of Christmas Present, I'm guessing?"
"Yep," James grinned proudly, raising his hands in a 'who-knew?' gesture. "You know, scraping the bottom of the barrel, and all that."
Snape didn't argue.
"Well, we should be getting on with it then, I suppose," James said cheerfully. "What with it being Christmas morning, and all."
"Is it?"
"Yes, yes it is," James pointed behind Snape, and the Potions Master turned.
They were no longer in his rooms, but in the parlor of Malfoy Manor.
Draco Malfoy, Snape's godson, his wife Astoria, their son Scorpius, and an assortment of Draco's friends from the Ministry, were sitting around the room, having drinks and light snacks, laughing and talking and just, in general, celebrating.
"Why are we here?" Snape muttered sullenly.
"Family, Snape," James said idly, gazing around the room with interest. "These people are the closest thing you have to a family, and it is Christmas. Family and Christmas go together like Quidditch and Snitches. One isn't much good without the other."
Snape ignored this insightful remark, instead staring grumpily at the crowd of people. "You didn't answer my question. Why are we here? What am I supposed to learn from this? That is why you buggers are dragging me all over the place, right? I'm supposed to learn something?"
James wordlessly nodded at the group of people.
"Alright, let's play a game then, shall we?" Astoria said brightly, patting Scorpius on the head and whispering, "Put it back in the garden, sweetheart. You can show daddy later, alright?"
"But Mum–" Scorpius protested, and at a stern glance from his mother, he turned and left the room, hands held tightly together over… something.
"A guessing game?" A young woman asked brightly. "I've heard those are supposed to be fun!"
Astoria glanced briefly at Draco, eyebrows raised in a 'what-rock-has-she-been-living-under' gaze, and then said, "Wonderful idea, Cynthia."
"Alright, I've got one then," Draco said cheerfully, shaking his head ruefully at his wife.
"Animal, vegetable or mineral?" Blaise Zabini asked lazily from the couch where he was sprawled with a glass of some sort of fancy French wine.
"Animal."
"Is it a lovely animal?" Cynthia asked. She seemed to Snape to be a bit of an air-head.
"Absolutely not," Draco laughed.
"Does it have violent tendencies?" Blaise asked, rolling his eyes at Cynthia.
"Certainly."
"Does it live in Britain?" Astoria asked.
"Usually."
"Is it a bear?" Cynthia asked.
Draco looked at her for a moment, and then said, "No. I don't believe there are any bears in Britain."
"Is it a magical creature?" Blaise asked, eyeing Cynthia with something akin to concern.
"You could say," Draco seemed proud of himself.
"A dragon," Snape and James said at the same moment. Snape looked askance at the dead man beside him, but was distracted when Astoria said, "Is it a dragon?"
"I said it first," Snape grumbled.
"Only on bad days," Draco grinned.
"Is it a unicorn?" Cynthia asked eagerly.
"…No," Draco said. "Unicorns aren't really… ever dragon-like, you know."
"Right…" Cynthia said pensively.
"Is it something nasty?" Blaise asked, inching away from the woman who couldn't seem to differentiate between unicorns and dragons. Snape heard him whisper to Astoria, "Is she one of Draco's friends from the Ministry? Because if this is the kind of people they're employing these days I don't think I want to stay in Britain." Astoria whispered back that she was the wife of a Ministry friend of Draco's.
"It's quite often nasty," Draco replied.
"So, it's a violent, ugly, nasty dragon-like magical animal that lives mostly in Britain?" Astoria asked, looking thoughtful.
"Is it Professor Snape?" Scorpius piped up from the doorway as he returned from the garden.
"Yes!" Draco laughed.
Scorpius clapped his hands together proudly as the entire room erupted into laughter.
Well, not the entire room.
Snape frowned. James eyed him for a moment, and then said, "Well. Probably time we moved on anyways then, eh?"
The room around them faded away, quickly replaced with the street that ran through the center of Hogsmeade.
"What are we doing here?" Snape grumbled. He was still smarting from the remarks at Draco's party.
"Part of the duties of being the Ghost of Christmas Present," James explained. "I have to give Christmas spirit and joy to those who most need it, especially if they're poor or alone."
"Why? You're just going to leave them miserable and depressed the next day when all the shiny Christmas glitter is gone from the world," Snape scowled.
James looked soberly at him. "Really."
Snape squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, yes."
Two students walked by, interrupting the awkward silence that had sprung up.
"…like bloody hell am I going to write this Potions essay over break!" One was saying furiously, gesticulating madly to express his rage. "What kind of a Grinchy Scrooge gives out homework for Christmas?"
"A what?" the other asked, utterly bemused.
"You know. A Grinchy Scrooge?" the first said. "Like from… ohhh, right. You're from a Wizarding family. And you have no idea what I'm talking about."
"Some kind of nasty bugger?" the second offered.
"Exactly!" the first threw his arms in the air, smacking his companion right across her face.
The first student apologized frantically as the second burst into laughter and proceeded to beat the first with her mittened fists. As they ran past the two invisible presences, James waved his wand at them, and a silver sparkle of… something… wafted after them.
"Like I said, giving Christmas spirit and joy," he grinned wistfully. "And here come my favorites."
Snape turned around in time to see Neville and two small boys emerge from Honeydukes, each of the boys clutching a large, gaudily-wrapped package labeled 'MUM' in childish handwriting.
"Alright, boys, Mum will be back in less than half an hour," Neville said brightly, scooping up one of them and giving him a piggy-back ride. "So when we get home, Lysander, you run upstairs and hide the presents, alright? Lorcan, you're on Mum-watch, and distract her if she gets back early."
"Shouldn't be too hard," the boy on the ground said, scurrying ahead. "Lorcan and Mum always go off about Nargles and things around Christmas."
"That's because they're everywhere!" the boy on Neville's back piped up. "There's an infestation in Hogsmeade! All that mistletoe!"
Snape watched them as they walked past, and James waved his wand after them as well. "I didn't realize Longbottom had children."
"Yep, twin boys," James said quietly. "The one of them, Lorcan… he's sick. They don't quite know what's wrong, but he's been in and out of St. Mungo's for the past three years or so. They just can't figure out what's wrong."
"Is it serious?" Snape asked, frowning.
"Could be," James said, starting to walk after Neville and the two boys.
"Is he going to die?" Snape followed the long-dead spirit.
"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present, Snape," James sighed. "I honestly don't know. But…" he paused. "I see a vacant seat by the chimney corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, I believe the child will die."
Snape stopped for a moment, and James continued to follow Neville.
"Potter," Snape called, walking quickly to catch up. "Is there any way to… to keep that from happening?"
James eyed him oddly. "You? Professor Severus Snape, who is said by many to hate children? Who hates Christmas and all that it entails, who just wants to be left alone, and to leave Christmas alone? You want to help him?"
"Yes, Potter," Snape snarled. "I'm not entirely a monster. The boy is… he's a child. Children shouldn't… die."
"Hmm," James looked thoughtful. "Well, Neville's salary, even combined with what Luna brings in with the Quibbler, isn't really enough to pay for what they need… and besides, the Healers at St. Mungo's haven't perfected the potions needed to cure the disease, whatever it is. I mean, what they have would save Lorcan, if the Longbottoms could afford it, but…" he trailed off.
"But he'd never be completely free of it, would he," Snape supplied, frowning in thought.
"'Never be completely free of it'?" James repeated slowly. "Interesting way to phrase it there, Snape. But, you know, accurate."
Snape stared at James with narrowed eyes for a moment, and then said, "Is that it, or is there more?"
"There's always more," James sighed, and then pointed ahead to the house that Neville and the twins, who they had been following all this time, had just entered.
Still being insubstantial, Snape and James passed easily through the walls of the house, and saw Lorcan Longbottom sitting vigilantly by the window, eyes peeled for Luna.
"There she is!" he piped up suddenly, waving his arm madly. "Lysander! She's coming! She's coming!"
A mad scramble of footsteps sounded from the stairs, and Lysander flung himself into the room, eyes wide and hair flying madly. "Hid them! Done! We're good!"
He plunked himself onto the couch by the window next to his twin, and immediately plastered an expression of innocent boredom onto his face.
James laughed. "Kid's good, but the fake-innocence could use some work, you know?"
Snape stared blankly at him for a moment.
"Yeah, right, never mind."
The door swung open, revealing a bright-eyed woman with dirty-blond hair who Snape vaguely recognized as Luna Lovegood (or had she taken Neville's name?). He'd never paid all that much attention to her when she had been in school, since she was neither a favored Slytherin or a hated Gryffindor, but he did remember her from various Battles during the Second War.
Before she could say a word, Lysander and Lorcan squealed in unison, "MUM'S HOOOOME!"
Lysander flung himself off the couch and started dancing around Luna, loudly chanting, "Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas!"
Lorcan got up more slowly, but joined his twin's yelling with matching exuberance.
"Happy Christmas, boys! Hello, Neville!" Luna hugged her sons and sat down in an armchair with one on each knee. "Now, Lorcan, have you seen the Nargles out in Hogsmeade?"
"There are so many of them! They're everywhere! Every single bunch of mistletoe! It's an infestation!" Lorcan cried in dismay.
Snape rolled his eyes.
"What?" James said defensively. "He's adorable, and you know it."
"Mum, when's dinner?" Lysander asked eagerly. "Cuz, you know, I'm reeeeally hungry? And… and so's Lorcan!"
"Well, why don't the two of you go check in the kitchen while I talk to your dad for a few minutes?"
"Alright!" Lysander leapt from her lap (he seemed to do a lot of leaping and flinging, Snape thought) and bolted for the door, with Lorcan following at a slightly slower pace.
"I like these kids," James said brightly. "They remind me of me."
"Merlin help me," Snape muttered.
"How did the boys behave?" Luna asked Neville as he sat down on the arm of her chair.
"Well, Lysander was his usual over-exuberant self, but good. Lorcan was good as gold and better. He seems healthier this week, doesn't he?"
Luna nodded. "I should probably go and check on the goose, make sure they haven't destroyed it."
As Luna left the room, Lysander came running out of the kitchen, followed closely by Lorcan.
"It's such a goose, Dad!" Lysander was yelling.
"Brilliant!" added Lorcan.
Neville grinned and sent the boys off to set the table while he helped Luna in the kitchen. There was a great scurrying bustle in which the smell of goose filled the house and Lysander seemed to be everywhere at once in his excitement. Soon the table was set and the twins were seated expectantly at the table with their father. Then Luna brought out the goose and set it on the table in front of Neville. There never was such a goose. It was the best goose they had ever had. Brilliant!
Snape and James watched the celebration silently.
Snape frowned intently. The four of them were poor, thanks to the low salary that Neville earned and the lack of bonuses that Snape gave him, their house and the goose were both small, but they didn't seem to care. Outside it was sleeting, but it was warm and cheerful in the little house in Hogsmeade. They had each other, their family, and in spite of everything they seemed… happy.
"My favorite thing about Christmas is the fact that it brings family together like this," James said quietly, grinning to himself as they watched the little family celebrate Christmas. "It's what makes me wish I had more time with my family. But that isn't really the point here. The point is family, Snape."
"A toast to Professor Snape!" Neville's voice cut off Snape's impending snarky remark and Snape turned in surprise.
"Snape? Why Snape?" asked Lysander indignantly. "He hasn't done anything for us, has he?"
"He helped in the War and he agreed to take me on as Professor's Aide."
"But apart from that! He's a swotty git! Ow!" Lysander rubbed the back of his head where his mother had smacked him.
"Don't say things like that, Lysander. Professor Snape has been helpful and…kind," Luna said.
"Kind! He doesn't pay Dad nearly as much as he should and he's a greasy git!" Lysander said indignantly.
Lorcan nodded. "It's true. He is very unkind."
"Well, it's Christmas Day," said Neville. "And we should forgive him, at least for today."
"Alright then. To Professor Snape, may he have a happy Christmas and long life," said Lysander resentfully. The family all raised their glasses together.
"Well now that's done," said Neville brightly. The family was cheerful again five minutes later.
Snape was silent, determinedly ignoring the spirit beside him. James sighed stared intently at him, and then sighed, "There's still plenty to see, Snape."
As the scene faded around them, Snape still watched little Lorcan Longbottom, wondering what, exactly, would happen to him.
When the blackness lifted, Snape found himself in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. The staff and students were gathered together, singing and laughing, pulling Christmas crackers that popped with great explosions, wearing ridiculous hats and toasting each other extravagantly.
Before Snape could focus on the people before him for more than a moment, they faded, blurring into another family, then another, and another and another, each family blending together as Snape and James travelled across the world, visiting families rich and poor, Muggle and wizard, European, American, Asian, everywhere across the globe.
And then the dizzying whirl of family came to an abrupt halt, and Snape found himself at a place that he could never go without feeling ill.
Dumbledore's grave.
"What are we doing here?" Snape snarled.
"One last thing before I go," James said, glancing at the western horizon. The sun was setting, all but gone. The sky was streaked with red, the eastern half dark and dotted with stars. "Look, Snape, there's just… listen. Look."
Two children emerged from behind him, skeletally thin, barefoot and wearing only rags. They stared at Snape with blank, hungry eyes, mouths gaping slightly to reveal jagged, yellowing teeth.
"What the hell…" Snape took a few steps back, appalled.
"Ignorance and Want," James said quietly, gesturing to the boy and the girl respectively. "They're the children of Humanity. Beware them both, but especially the boy. Ignorance is Doom for mankind, Snape. Ignorance and Intolerance, being unnacepting of differences and being unforgiving. Ignorance will lead to the end of mankind."
Snape stared wide-eyed at the two children, who gazed blankly back, clinging to James' robe with gnarled hands that were more like to claws than anything else.
"You'd better remember this, Snape," James said, frowning sadly at the two children. "Everyone needs to do what they can to change the course of fate. Including you."
The light faded as the sun set, and Snape turned to see it vanish behind a mountain. When he looked back, James and the two children had vanished.
Now all that was left, as he stood by the white tomb, was the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.
…
A/N: OK, I gotta tell you, it was weird to type 'Lorcan and Lysander Longbottom'! Anyway, next up is last, and it's the ominous Ghost of Christmas Future. It'll be up sometime Christmas Day! And this chapter, by the way, was REALLY OBNOXIOUS! Parts of it don't quite work the way we wanted them to, so please forgive us. After all, it's Christmas. A time of forgiveness. Merry Christmas Eve!