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Thank You Lord Voldemort

Chapter 15 - Christmas

As Alex awoke he suddenly realized that the warmth he felt next to him was Severus lying next to him. He smiled as he played with Severus' hair. He had never seen the man look so peaceful and it warmed him to know that he was the cause.

Severus slowly came out of his slumber to feel Alex up against him. He almost got lost in the shining emerald eyes staring at him as he rubbed Alex's back. He could definitely see waking up like this every morning.

"Happy Christmas Severus."

"Happy Christmas Alex."

The two Slytherins held each other tightly for a while. The both inwardly vowed to make this the best Christmas ever.

Alex reluctantly rolled out of bed, pulling Severus with him. He led him to the showers where he grabbed a bar of soap to wash the other. Next Severus had the bar of soap as he returned the favor. The innocent bathing turned to heated kissing as Alex pushed Severus up against one of the tile walls. Severus remembered the previous night and decided Alex needed paybacks.

Severus rolled to the side so that Alex was now up against the wall. He began trailing kisses and bites down Alex's neck. For Alex the mixture of pleasure and pain had an immediate reaction on him. Severus noticed straight away and knelt to the floor. It took all of Alex's strength to keep from letting his knees give out. What Severus was doing was causing him to melt into a puddle of mush. A minute later he was a panting mess. Severus stood back up and pulled Alex to him with his strong arms.

Alex took several more minutes to regain his bearings and the two left the showers. They both dressed into comfortable casual robes and went into the common room. The time traveler had briefly forgotten when he was as he looked around for his annual sweater from Mrs. Weasley. He then realized that there would be no gifts for him this year except maybe from Severus. Merlin he missed his friends. He sunk down on the sofa and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. He didn't want to ruin Sev's Christmas.

Severus noticed that Alex was looking a little depressed. It must be hard being away from all of his friends and family. He sat down next to him and pulled him into an embrace. It didn't take long for the tears to break forth and Severus could feel the boy he loves body shake silently.

"Its okay Alex let it all out." He whispered soothingly.

Several minutes later Alex finally calmed down. He raised his head from Severus' shoulder and stared into those dark eyes. He sniffled a couple of times. He went to wipe the wetness from his face but Severus beat him to it, rubbing his hands on his cheeks to clear away the tears. Then Severus kissed each cheek and then Alex's nose.

"I have something that might cheer you up." Severus grinned as he got up and went to his trunk to retrieve Alex's gift.

"I hope you like it."

Alex carefully unwrapped the long, thin package. Once he lifted the lid he gasped. It was a beautiful wand holster that mounted on his forearm. It was a muted red and gold and had a griffin on it. "Severus .. " He started but didn't know what to say.

Severus took Alex's hands in his and squeezed lightly. "I know that you are a Slytherin but you are the bravest person I know. This holster belonged to my grandfather on my mother's side. He was a Gryffindor. It is interwoven with the material from invisibility cloaks. Once it's secured and if your wand is in it, it will become invisible but you can still feel it. Also it is charmed to not be able to be removed if the wand is in it. You told me that there is a dark wizard trying to kill you in your time and I want you to be protected if you go back."

Alex secured it to his arm and slid his wand into it, watching as it disappeared. He pulled Severus roughly into an embrace. "I love you Severus."

Alex quickly went to his trunk to get Severus' gift. He knew the snake could hear him inside the box and whispered to him not to speak to any other snake speakers except for him. The snake agreed. Alex explained quickly that there is an evil snake speaker that may want to harm Severus and the snake vowed to protect Severus from the other snake speaker.

When Alex entered the common room Severus was sitting on the sofa waiting for him. He handed him the box and waited.

Severus seemed to take forever unwrapping the box and Alex was getting nervous. Finally Severus opened the box lifting out the necklace. The snake pendent was looking around. He approved of Alex's friend and told him as much. Alex couldn't answer the snake for fear of his gift being discovered so he nodded slightly as he took the necklace from Severus and clasped it around his neck. When he did so the snake stilled and became part of the necklace once more.

"Alex, it's incredible." Severus whispered as he reached up to lightly feel the pewter. The necklace was heavy but it was a comforting weight. As if Alex would always be with him.

Alex smiled at his boyfriend's speechlessness. "This necklace will protect you. It will also never come off unless you or I take it off. The pendent will protect you from anyone that tries to harm you."

Severus could feel the magic of the pendent weaving around him. He felt safer than he ever had before in his life. He reached out and gently cupped Alex's chin and pulled him in for a kiss. Alex deepened the kiss, climbing on top of Severus. They kissed for several minutes before heading out to the great hall for breakfast.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were as they usually are during the Christmas holiday. One large table was centered in the middle of the room. All of the teachers and students took turns opening their crackers. Between meals they participated in a large snowball fight with the other students. All in all it was a very relaxing and cheerful day. When dinner had ended Alex and Severus headed back to the Slytherin dorms.

When they reached the dungeons Severus told Alex to go ahead and that he'd be there in a minute. Alex wondered what the other boy was up to as he entered their room. With the little time he had he extinguished most of the torches so that the room was bathed gently in the light of the two remaining torches. Then, he stripped off all of his clothes. He sat on the edge of his bed worrying his lip. When he heard the outer door creak he stood up and waited for the man he loves to enter.

When Severus opened the door he almost dropped the potion filled flask he was carrying. The sight waiting for him, on his bed, was one he had only seen before in his dreams. While Alex was quite slender he was also very toned. Severus couldn't wait to have those strong arms holding him tight. He realized he had been standing in the doorway transfixed so he quickly moved inside the room, shutting the door.

"Alexander you are perfect."

Alex grinned sheepishly. "This is the rest of your Christmas gift." He said, indicating his body. "My heart is already yours and I want to give you the rest of me."

Severus set the potion down on the dresser and began removing his own robes. "I see we have managed to get each other the same gift then. Although yours is better wrapped."

Alex would have chuckled at that statement had Severus not finished removing his clothes at that point. Instead he found that he couldn't speak at all. He trembled slightly as he looked over the perfect body before him. Severus was slender but strong. His body well muscled. He couldn't wait to have Sev's strong arms holding him tight. "I think yours is wrapped perfectly Severus."

They approached each other swiftly capturing each others mouth in a searing, desperate kiss. During their kissing Alex moved them towards the bed and then fell back onto it, pulling Severus on top of him. Neither one knew exactly what to do, as it was the first time for both, but they both knew it would hurt and they both knew that they wanted it anyway. Severus stood up briefly to grab the potion he had gotten. When he noticed the curious look in Alex's eyes he explained. "It's a combination of lubricant and a pain potion. It isn't very strong because I don't want either of us pushing ourselves further than we ought, but it will take much of the edge off."

That night they both gave themselves fully to the other. They both felt a mixture of pain and pleasure. Mostly pain. But to them it didn't matter because it was what they wanted. The strong arms of the other to hold them even though they had their own strong arms. The piercing gaze of the other that glazed over as the pleasure washed over them. And they'll never forget the look of pain on the other that made them want to stop but their lover urging them on. They knew the pain would lesson over time and that they would be left with mostly pleasure. They held each other tightly that night as they slept peacefully.

Back in 1997

Severus shuddered as he tossed back another shot of firewhisky. It was like this most Christmases. He would drown in thoughts of the one perfect time in his life. It was almost like it wasn't his life at all. He could hardly picture someone so perfect willing to be with him night after night. Sometimes he wondered if it had all been a dream and that Alex never existed. There were many times that he actually thought he had been in a coma that year and it had all been a dream. The only thing that kept him from disregarding every moment of that year was the peculiar necklace he still wore to this day. He rubbed his thumb gently over the snake pendent. He swore he felt it move sometimes, maybe even hiss. There were a couple of moments in his life that he had been close to death and his body became surrounded by a green light. His injuries would lesson and he would be able to walk back to the castle instead of lying in a pool of his own blood, at the edge of the apparation ward.

He knew it all couldn't have been a dream because he still had the gift Alex gave him. But he often wondered if Alex's eyes were really as green as he remembered or if his hair was as silky as he remembered. Looking back at what Harry Potter looked like the day he disappeared he decided that yes, his eyes were that green and his hair that silky. He couldn't wait to look into those eyes again and touch that hair.

He downed another shot and winced as it burned on the way down.

At the same time at the Burrow, Hermione had joined the Weasley's festivities. She and Ron had to bite their tongues when their siblings started remembering Harry. All they could do was console them. Ron's parents now knew the truth, but were sworn to secrecy. It was a bitter Christmas with everyone remembering Harry. Eventhough four of them knew the truth they still missed him terribly. And there was no guarantee that Harry would make it back to this time. A chirp was heard as a white owl flew in through the window. The Weasleys had adopted Hedwig after Harry disappeared. Mrs. Weasley softly stroked the owl's feathers.

Remus Lupin celebrated Christmas alone in his chambers. Not unlike Severus Snape, he was tossing back shots of firewhisky.

A/N

- NC17 version will be available soon at the glassesreflect and HarryXSnapeML yahoo groups.