Father Christmas' Gift
by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
After dinner, Harry told his guardian everything about his first months at Hogwarts. For the first time, he even informed her that he often got headaches in Professor Quirrell's class and that Professor Snape seemed to hate him with a passion.
"Harry, where exactly does your head hurt?" Rose asked, alert. "Is it concentrated on the area where your scar is?"
"Maybe," Harry replied, thoughtfully.
"In that case, you must speak with the headmaster as soon as you return to Hogwarts," Rose told him in a firm voice. "There's only one person who can make your scar hurt," she continued and explained, "Through your scar, you're connected to Voldemort. Maybe Professor Quirrell is possessed by his spirit." She let out a long sigh. "In fact, Severus would be best able to help you. We need to figure out something for the relationship between the two of you."
Seeing that Harry looked at her in expectation and knowing that she could fully trust her surrogate son, Rose hesitantly explained about her relationship to the Potions Master.
"Thank you for telling me everything," Harry finally said in a compassionate voice.
"I always intended to tell you, but you were too young," Rose replied, smiling. "And now off to bed with you. I plan to go to Diagon Alley as early in the morning as possible, before it becomes too crowded."
Harry immediately agreed, knowing that he still had to buy Christmas presents for his friends, his godmothers, 'and for Mum,' he thought, smiling in anticipation as crawled into bed and allowed Rose to tuck him in. 'It's because of Snape that she's hiding,' he realised. 'But she still seems to love him. I really must try to somehow get along with him,' he mused, before he drifted off to sleep.
HP
When Harry woke up in the morning, he noticed to his utmost annoyance that he had caught his usual ear infection.
"Aunt Rose, could I perhaps brew fruit drops for my friends instead of going to Diagon Alley?" he asked in a soft voice, when he entered the kitchen, where Rose was already reading the Daily Prophet, apparently waiting for him.
"Of course, but why?" she absentmindedly, before she looked up, taking in his sickly appearance. "Oh no, my poor boy," she said, sighing. "Try to eat some breakfast first, and then I'll give you your potions. Afterwards, we'll see if you're well enough to brew."
"It's still not bad," Harry replied in a soothing voice, and to his relief, he was allowed to brew for a while.
After two hours, he finished the last batch of fruit drops, and Rose promised to fill everything into the respective forms and clean his workspace for him, before she sent him to bed in a no-nonsense voice.
'I still need a present for Mum,' Harry thought, when he lay down in his bed, glad to be in his own room at home for a change.
HP
Severus Snape made himself as comfortable as possible in his old house at Spinner's end. Although he had completely changed the house, it somehow still reminded him of his father, one of the reasons why he barely ever returned to his home during the holidays. However, this school year had been so annoying so far with a stuttering Defence professor, a first year who was able to brew NEWT level potions - for an unknown reason - and a headmaster who pestered him that he should make the boy his student assistant, the spitting image of his own childhood enemy at that. Therefore, he had decided to return to his own house for once, and the headmaster had agreed, provided that Severus would make an appearance at Christmas dinner.
He immediately made his way to his Potions lab, which he had moved to the top floor after his father had died, the room, in which he felt the most comfortable of all rooms in the house. He was just going to brew an experimental potion, when he glanced out of the window and stopped dead in his tracks.
One more reason why he rarely ever came here was that the old Evans house was just over the playground, and every time he looked at the deserted house it made his heart break. During the thirty-one years of his life, he had only loved two persons. One of them had been his mother, Eileen Snape, the second had been Rose Evans. Everything had gone well, even if Rose was a year younger than himself and had thus been in a different year at Hogwarts, she had been sorted into Slytherin like himself, and they had always been best friends.
In the summer after successfully taking his OWLs, he had asked Rose to become his girlfriend, and the girl had naturally agreed, pointing out that she had already been his girlfriend since they met each other for the first time - at the age of three. As soon as Rose had finished Hogwarts, she had moved into his house - until that fateful day eleven years ago, when he had separated from her, thinking that it was too dangerous for her to live together with a Death Eater. 'The Dark Lord would have killed her immediately if he had known,' he thought in a faint attempt to console his bad consciousness.
Only two days later had Rose died in a Potions accident, and Severus had immediately known that it was his fault. She had just finished her Potions Mastery as well as her healer's exam, and Severus knew that she would not have made such a grave mistake in the Potions lab if she had not been mentally disturbed - which was just because of him.
Even now, after eleven years had passed, Severus was unable to forget her. Every day, he thought about her, fighting back the tears upon seeing her photograph on his night table.
On this morning of Christmas Eve, however, the Evans house did not look deserted anymore. On the contrary, it was beautifully decorated for Christmas.
'Rose' was the first thought that came into his mind. However, the knowledge that dead people can't simply return to live was present at the front of his mind. 'Maybe someone bought the house from Petunia,' he thought, turning away from the window. However, he had seen enough to realise that the decorations had been made with magic.
'Ridiculous,' he told himself and pulled a cauldron out of the first shelf in determination. 'Maybe I should return to Hogwarts, when I nurse such stupid thoughts upon coming here,' he wondered, when a sudden idea crossed his mind that put itself together like a jigsaw puzzle.
'Potter can brew seventh year potions, and he told us that his aunt had taught him. Maybe he's not the liar that I always thought he was...'
Placing back the cauldron to where it belonged, he hurried downstairs, grabbed his robes and left the house. A minute later, he stood in front of the entrance doors of his childhood friends.
'Rose Evans' he read with a combination of disbelief, anger and utmost joy.
Summoning his courage, he hesitantly pressed the bell.
HP
Harry feverishly pondered what he could give Rose for Christmas. 'It's really difficult, as I can't even go and buy something. If she allows me to brew again later on, maybe I could make some ginger chocolates though. But if not... Maybe I should give her a voucher for something, but what?' He let out a deep sigh, thinking, 'I should have asked Madam Pomfrey for an advice.'
He was brought out of his musings when all of a sudden, the door bell rang. Harry had never heard it before, since Rose had only now instructed the house-elves to take off the charm that made the house look deserted, because Hermione and Susan were going to visit Harry during the holidays. However, he instinctively knew that it had to be the door bell.
Knowing that Rose was still in the lab to finish some orders, which she had to deliver to the apothecaries before they were going to close for Christmas in the afternoon, he slowly crawled out of his bed and threw his robes over his pyjamas.
He dragged himself downstairs and opened the front door, only to stare at the visitor in disbelief.
"Professor Snape," he said, unable to hide his surprise.
"Good morning Mr. Potter. I'm sorry to disturb you on Christmas Eve," the professor said, uncharacteristically friendly. "I'd like to speak with Rose Evans."
"Please come in, sir," Harry replied, feverishly trying to close his robes over his pyjamas, which the professor would surely find very childish with the all-over pattern of reindeers. He led the professor into the living room and motioned him to take a seat, before he called one of the house-elves. "Sparky, please bring some tea for Professor Snape," he instructed the elf.
"My aunt is in the lab, but I'll go and take over for her," he informed the professor and swiftly crossed the room.
"Mr. Potter," Snape called him back, causing Harry to turn around, giving the teacher a questioning look. "Maybe I should come back at a later time," the professor said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. "First of all, you don't look as if you were well enough to take over for your aunt, and secondly, I'm not sure if she wants to see me at all."
Harry smiled. "Don't worry, sir. I know that Aunt Rose will be thrilled to meet you, even if it's a bit sudden, and I'm well able to take over for her. Please give my aunt a few minutes though." With that he left the room and headed to the attic, wondering how his aunt would react to the news.
HP
Harry waited until Rose had finished stirring twenty-two times counter clockwise, before he spoke up in a soft voice. "Professor Snape is downstairs and wishes to see you."
Rose turned around staring at him in shock. "Harry, are you delirious?" she asked, giving him a concerned look.
"I'm fine," Harry replied, sincerely. "Let me take over here. Go and speak with him," he said, smiling, mumbling something like "Maybe Father Christmas sent him."
"Very well," Rose replied, absentmindedly, quickly pointing out up to which stage she had brewed already, before she left the lab, knowing that Harry would be well able to finish the potion for her.
HP
Trying to push the image of Rose speaking with Professor Snape far away from his mind, Harry concentrated on the concoction that he had to brew and thirty minutes later bottled a flawlessly brewed potion. Seeing that Rose had already laid out the next recipe, which was a simple healing potion that would not take more than twenty minutes, he immediately continued brewing.
As soon as he had bottled the potion as well, he cleaned the lab and headed downstairs, where he very hesitantly entered the living room.
HP
"I'm sorry to disturb you," he spoke up in a small voice, seeing his aunt and professor sit on the sofa together quietly talking to each other. "I've finished the potion and the next. What else needs to be brewed?"
"Thank you Harry," Rose replied and rose from the sofa. "I want you to go back to bed now though. I'll finish the last three potions myself." Turning to the professor, she said, apologetically, "I'm sorry Severus, but I need to go and finish an urgent order."
"I'll assist if you don't mind," the Potions Master replied in a soft voice.
"I'd like that," Rose said, smiling.
"Mr. Potter," Snape addressed the boy. "I wish to apologize to you for my behaviour during the last few months."
"It's all right, sir," Harry replied, wearily.
"You must understand that it was very unsettling to have a first year student able to brew seventh year potions without any explanation for his abilities," Snape continued in the same, soft voice.
"I understand, sir. It's fine," Harry reassured the professor, smiling. "I'm glad that you came and made up with my aunt. She looks very happy," he added in a barely audible voice, more to himself than to the adults.
"Come Harry," Rose spoke up and, gently laying her arm around his shoulders, led him back to his room and tucked him in, quickly pointing her wand at his head. "Try to sleep for a while, son," she instructed him. "I can only give you the next dose of potions in about an hour."
"'kay," Harry replied and, after a last glance into her happy face, closed his eyes, ready to drift off to a much needed healing sleep within seconds.
HP
In the attic turned Potions lab, Rose brewed the next potions for her customer, while Severus prepared the ingredients.
"Do you think we could begin anew?" he suddenly queried, quirking an eyebrow. "Will you be able to forgive me, at least to a certain extent?"
Rose let out a deep sigh. "Severus, it's not that easy," she replied, pensively. "I'm not alone and able to do as I please anymore. I have a son."
"Have you adopted him?" Severus asked in apparent surprise, causing Rose to smile.
"Not yet," she admitted. "However, I have the adoption papers ready in my room and intend to show them to him tomorrow. He's such a sweet child. Every time he's ill, and also in his nightmares about Petunia and her even more horrible husband, he calls me 'mum'. He never calls me that when he's alert though, probably because he's so uncertain." Casting her best friend a small glare, she added, "In everything but Potions."
"I'm really sorry," Severus admitted. "If I had known..."
"It's all right, Sev.," Rose said in a soothing voice. "He'll probably understand. But I hope that you'll understand that nothing will be like it was. Harry now belongs to me. He's my child, and if the two of you won't be able to get along, there can't be a future for us, at least not as long as Harry is a child and living with me. He has been abused by my sister and her husband, and I want to make up for it as far as possible and give him a happy childhood." She interrupted herself to count the stirs, sighing in relief when the last potion was finished.
"I'll speak with Harry," she promised, "as soon as his condition allows it, probably tomorrow morning at the latest. I'll contact you then."
"Very well," Severus replied, before he leaned over and pulled her into a soft kiss. "I still love you," he said in his soft, baritone voice that she liked so much.
"I love you, too," Rose admitted, before they headed downstairs together.
tbc...
Thank you very much for your kind comments!