I still don't own Harry Potter or any character therein.

A thank you to anyone who reviewed!

Please enjoy!

December 1990

"Quills down," Snape said, and Daisy set it down immediately. "I said, quills down, Mister Cane!"

The boy named Horatio cringed before putting down his quill. He was calm, and almost silent, deadly serious, and a firm believer in justice. He was one of few that Snape noticed who hadn't mocked Daisy out of their entire year, in all four houses.

"Accio," he said, and the parchments went flying into his hands. "Tut tut, I see bad grades in quite a few of your futures. Now get out. Dare, stay behind."

She was silent, and the others filed out as they knew the routine. She got in trouble for some minor thing she did wrong and he either lectured her or gave her a detention. What they didn't know, however, was that it was just a ruse so the two could talk.

"How do you feel you did?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Don't count your snakes before they hatch," she said, and his lips twitched.

"Cheek, Miss Dare? Detention!" he snapped with a sneer, and she felt her lips twitch in a very Snape-like manner.

"Yes, sir," she said bluntly, "Am I to truly serve it over Christmas break?"

"No, just after," he said calmly. "I'm assuming you're staying here, then?"

"I don't want to go home," she admitted. "My stepmother and stepbrothers hate me. You know how it is, the classic Cinderella tale."

"Ah, so it's neglect," he said wisely. "I see. Well, you'll be pleased to know that I sent them a rather blunt letter telling them to fix their attitudes or find that they'll wish that they'd have never said a foul word towards you. In fact, I was quite tempted to send them a howler."

"A what, sir?" she asked, and he looked at her.

"A letter that magnifies the sender's voice by one hundred, it works quite well and is even more fun when you're yelling your message. I recall one boy in my year that got one and almost had his eardrums blown out by one," he smiled fondly. "Ah, that was one of the few good times in school after my fifth year. Nonetheless, how would you feel about Christmas?"

"I've never celebrated it, sir," she admitted, and his eyes narrowed. "I always received coal from my stepmother and stepbrothers, only for the boys to start telling me that black absorbs heat and that it's for witches. Oh the irony."

"And it does," he said calmly, "But that was no excuse for what they did. This year will be different, and woes betide them if I find a piece of coal sent to you in the mail. Then they'll really be facing my wrath in a howler, with me yelling as loud as I possibly can at them."

She couldn't help but stare at his words, slack-jawed and shocked.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies," he said calmly, "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir!" she gasped hugging him before racing out and heading straight up to the owlrey. She had half a mind of what he would want, but possibly, maybe if she was lucky it would get there in time.

Lucky for her, it did. Two days before Christmas a parcel came from Diagon Alley and she beamed before racing off to her dorm room (which was now empty for the holidays as she was the only Gryffindor who wasn't a prefect who was staying this year for fear of Snape's wrath), and opened it to find Snape's Christmas present. She smiled before thumbing through the journal and then placing it back down. She looked through the box to ensure that the entirety of it was there, and then transfigured a piece of parchment into wrapping paper for the gift. She wrapped it skillfully, having had years of practice wrapping up everyone else's presents for each other, and then took it under the tree. She sat on the couch and then began crying, her loneliness and pain seeming to bleed through her once again.

"Need a hand?" a voice came, and she turned to find a red-haired head boy, a Weasley, approach from the boys' dorms. "What's wrong?"

"I hate it!" she sobbed, and he frowned. "I hate this bloody holiday! I wish it had never been invented!"

"Hey, what do you mean?" he asked sitting next to her. "Professor McGonagall told us that you had a rough time at home because of your brothers, but what does this have to do with that? She said it was most of the cause for your crying, if not because of everyone else's teasing."

"They hate me!" she yelled angrily, "They all hate me! Professor Snape's the only one who understands!"

"What?" he asked appalled, "what do you mean?"

"I mean," she yelled standing up, "that he's the only person who even cared enough to even take five minutes, much less three hours, to listen to me when I had been about to kill myself in November!"

He stared at her in shock as she slapped her hands over her mouth in horror as she realized what she had just admit to him.

"You what?" he asked, "How-what-why? What's happening? Please tell me, I want to understand."

"What is there to not understand?" she yelled distraught, "My dad ignores me, my stepmom wants me dead, my stepbrothers love nothing more than torturing me, and the other teachers on staff don't give a care about what my house life is like! I could join Moaning Myrtle and none of them would give a rat's ass, except Professor Snape if I was lucky! My family wants me dead, don't you get it?! I come here looking for a new home, and all I get is one that's just as bad as the original one I was raised in! I come here looking for an education, and all I get is suffering! I try to enjoy a holiday, and even without them being here my family ruins everything for me!"

Charlie stared before racing to get Professor Snape, who was mulling in his office over the things he hated about Christmas. The head of Slytherin house listened as the young Gryffindor breathed out panicked words and gibberish before slamming his quill on his desk and following him up to the Gryffindor common rooms, where Daisy was still throwing a tantrum without even the slightest hint of a stutter, all her anger and rage coming out of her in wild magic now.

"Finite!" he yelled, before casing a nonverbal Levicorpus.

"Let me go!" she screamed, "Damn it, Weasley! LET ME GO, YOU TRAITOR WEASLEY OR I'LL HEX YOU INTO NEXT YEAR!"

"I'm a snake, not a lion," Snape said calmly, and her magic ceased immediately as she heard his voice and fell to the ground as he released his spell. "What seems to be the problem this time?"

"Them!" she screamed, "It's always them!"

"I'm assuming I'll need to send that howler," he huffed, and she looked up with an animosity so fierce in her eyes it reminded him of a trapped and desperate animal who was looking for an escape from their torment. "Come with me."

She followed him silently as Charlie stared after the Slytherin head of house, who flicked his wand and sent the room back to the way it had been. Ironically, it had been Professor Snape's gift that had been the only thing to survive her wild magic unscathed, and Charlie took careful note of this and the terrifying Potions Master's actions.

"What on earth is going on here?" he asked confused as Professor McGonagall hurried in. She took one look and frowned in confusion before he started explaining what had happened.

"Oh, good," she breathed, "We don't need another incident on our hands. Twenty points to Gryffindor for your quick wit, Mister Weasley."

"Professor, what was she talking about when she said that Professor Snape was the only one who would listen to her when she was about to kill herself in November?" he asked worriedly, "Does this have anything to do with her being missing?"

"Everything," she said gravely before sitting down to explain the basics of what had happened that night and why.

So she's still depressed, but she's starting to try to get over it. Peeves will make a comeback eventually, I still haven't decided what to have him do yet.

Please review! I'm begging you! TT_TT