Chapter 30: Christmas Time Once More
December brought Winter in full, along with snow. The students, including the Union had a lot of fun in the snow, throwing snowballs, making snowmen or snow goblins.
Severus was not entirely fond of the snow, even when he really was twelve in his original youth. The wetness of the snow made his hair all the more greasy. Even though he had a much better control and care for his hair, it still became sleek naturally after a time, and moist weather only sped up that process.
Lily never minded his hair, nor did anybody else in the Union who respected the genius Ravenclaw. Everybody in the group, bar Regulus, had by now gained full trust, care and respect for him, and knowing he had this many friends in his new life just helped him to feel content. And he still felt happy to know that Lily Potter still awaited his return to Heaven to rekindle their friendship properly.
James and Sirius still continued their befriending of him, and although Severus still couldn't forgive their original counterparts, he was warming up to these new versions, albeit slowly.
The Union still had the issue of not having any Hufflepuffs included, and although having Melody and Regulus involved, just two Slytherins would not be enough to help bring unity to the four Houses. They all agreed to become more public after the holidays, which they were all looking forward to. But on the last feast of the term before the students left for home, a stroke of luck took place.
After the feast, the friends made their way up to bed, waving goodnight to Regulus and Melody, when Malfoy approached them, looking furious.
"I am done with you unworthy lot trying to corrupt my girlfriend's cousin!" he snarled. "If you do not desist instantly, I will hex the lot of you into begging for an Unforgivable."
Mary, Lily and Quincey winced at that open threat, but Severus, Sirius and James stood their ground, and surprisingly, so did Peter.
"We're not corrupting Regulus." said Sirius coldly. "We're salvaging him from falling in with the wrong crowd."
"Ha!" scoffed Malfoy. "You're all delirious. Once the Dark Lord is at full power, everything lesser than Pure-Blood will be purged! Just as your precious little group shall be, by my hand! What better way to show loyalty to his cause than to fight off those trying to resist him?"
Malfoy drew his wand and cast a non-verbal hex at Remus, whom was hit so hard, he was blasted to the top of the staircase, and was knocked unconscious, whilst fur sprouted all over his face and hands.
"REMUS!" cried the Union.
Suddenly, spells were flying everywhere, and Malfoy was now not alone. A bunch of his cohorts, including Rosier and the younger Mulciber and Avery were attacking too, and no professors were in sight, still in the Great Hall.
"Enough!" came the yell of Frank Longbottom.
But before he could Disarm or throw a hex, Malfoy Disarmed him and froze him with the Petrifcus Totalus spell. Alice rushed to his aid, forgetting to fight, and then got hit with a jinx too.
Severus was fighting side by side with Lily, hoping the commotion would alert the staff, as they were only two floors above. Then he saw Malfoy aim his wand at Lily, and was about to shield her when Malfoy got struck in the back and he fell on his face, unconscious.
A Hufflepuff third year had hit him from above, looking terrified and determined at the same time, then a sixth year Hufflepuff prefect appeared. They looked similar, and they appeared to be siblings. The prefect cast a Patronus Charm, a small but cute mole which carried a message of warning to the staff.
"Well done, Glenn." said the elder brother.
"Thanks, Ned." replied the Hufflepuff.
The other Slytherins retreated before the message reached the staff.
They only just got away as Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn and Millburn rush to the scene. Millburn gasped at the sight of Remus, Malfoy, Frank and Alice either unconscious or incapacitated. Dumbledore looked between Severus and Malfoy, McGonagall's nostrils flared and Slughorn mopped his brow, surveying the area with surprise.
"My, my! What has happened here?" asked Slughorn.
Everyone spoke at once, and all the blame was aimed at Malfoy.
"Enervate." said Dumbledore calmly, whilst holding one hand to silence the witnesses.
Malfoy stirred, and after some interrogation and some severe glares from himself, he found himself stuck in detention with the caretaker and threatened to have his Prefect duty stripped from him should anything else like this happens again.
Malfoy gave Severus and the Union one last look of contempt and fury, then skulked to the Slytherin Common Room. Millburn and McGonagall reversed the jinxes cast on Remus, Frank and Alice.
"Off to bed, all of you." said McGonagall severely.
As they obeyed, Severus recognised the third year Hufflepuff who came to the rescue. It was the same Hufflepuff whom had delivered Dumbledore's first noted message to Severus back in first year, the same Hufflepuff who had been intercepted by Malfoy in the Great Hall.
"Thanks for helping us out." said Lily to the brothers. "Haven't we met before?"
"Yeah, last year." said the younger brother. "Glenn Tozer's the name."
"And I'm his brother, Ned."
"Great to meet you." said Mary cheerily.
Everyone else conveyed gratitude as well, apart from Remus. He was looking incredibly pale, shaken and distraught. Severus could tell why. The jinx had made him sprout fur, just as he was forced to do during full moon. Remus was likely afraid that his secret could be figured out with this unfortunate incident. James and Sirius had the same theory too when they noticed their friend's shaken appearance but could see that nobody in the Union had given the matter a second thought. They were too busy thanking the Tozer brothers, and showing relief that nobody was permanently hurt.
Just then, Lily had a thought.
"You guys came to help us even though we're not in the same Houses." she remarked. "We could use people like you guys."
"For what?" asked Ned Tozer puzzledly.
Lily explained about the Union, and how they needed members from every House to help achieve their aim to bring unity to them all.
"You mean to say you actually have Slytherin students in your group?" asked Glenn in awe.
"Yes, we only lack some Hufflepuffs." said Mary. "Maybe you'd like to have the honour to be the first of your House to join?"
Glenn looked eager, though Ned wasn't too sure.
"Why weren't there any of our House in the Union until now?" he asked.
"Well, because we don't really know many people in your House, so it was hard to approach anyone to join us." explained Quincey.
"And you had good terms with some Slytherins?" asked Ned dubiously.
"Only through me." said Sirius defensively. "One of the two Slytherins in the Union is my brother, and his best friend tagged along. We hoped through my brother, we'd be able to get Slytherin involved, and we roughly succeeded."
"Roughly?" asked Glenn.
"Yes, well, Reg is still having difficulty to trust us all and let go of the judgement against Muggles and all that cos of how he and I were brought up by our worthless parents." continued Sirius bitterly.
"We're Muggle-born." said Glenn nervously. "He may not like us; therefore, we won't be a Union."
"We admit that things are taking time and patience with Regulus." agreed Lily. "But his friend likes all of us and is also a Muggle-born. She's quite conclusive proof that not all Slytherins are automatically bad people."
Ned and Glenn considered.
"What will we do towards this Union?" asked the former.
"We're planning to widen the group through the members of our respective Houses." said Severus in a bored voice. "The more people we get to communicate with others from different dorms, the more we can unite as a whole. To end this consistent rivalry due to the reputations and qualities of each House."
"For instance, we Gryffindors are often chastised for being reckless, but at heart, we're brave, loyal and always there for our friends. That fits in well with Hufflepuff." said Frank. "And although Hufflepuffs are looked down upon for their loyalty and kindness, they are also strong and reliable, like Gryffindors and Slytherins. And Ravenclaws have brains, like Slytherins do. We're all compatible, and so we're all capable of functioning as a whole community in this castle, regardless of those who have darkened or mocked our Houses' reputations."
Frank was the elder member of the group, and his points were clear and valid. This made Ned see the Union's views as fair and worthwhile.
"Very well." he said at last. "I'm in."
Glenn agreed to join too, looking more enthusiastic than his brother.
"Perfect!" cheered Lily. "Now we have someone from every House involved!"
"With Ned and Frank as our elder members, and both Prefects, maybe we can use their authority and age to help reel in more members!" added Peter.
"Good thinking, Peter." said James appraisingly.
Soon, the Union made their plans for next term and they went their respective ways to bed, ready for their return trip in the morning. James and Sirius knew they'd have to wait a bit longer to sleep though, as they needed to console and reassure the silent Remus before letting him go to bed.
Christmas Day was almost due, and Severus and Lily had been having a fun time over the holidays. They spent most of their time hanging out together and showing Petunia their latest Herbology notes. The elder sister didn't know whether or not to be intrigued or frightened of the Mandrakes.
Severus and Eileen planned to spend Christmas Day together at Spinner's End. Lily was to stay with her family, but both families were invited to Boxing Day dinner at Prince Manor by Septimus and Desdemona.
Eileen let one particular bombshell drop on Severus on Christmas Eve, and that was the fact that she invited her amiable boyfriend, Robin Kennedy to join them for Christmas dinner. Severus would have been happier to spend the time with just his mother, but he was used to Robin, and knew he would also have to get used to having him around, should his and Eileen's relationship go to the highest levels.
Lily and Septimus, the latter via a letter, assured Severus to be trusting towards Robin. They had both met him and were convinced that he was far different to the nature of his father, Tobias. Severus wanted to believe them, but was frightened of losing his mother again, and he felt sure that falling in love again and being failed by Robin would be the crisis that pushed her over the edge and become the uncaring recluse once more.
On Christmas Day, Robin arrived with some roses and a gift for Eileen, as well as three gifts which he presented to Severus.
"One of each for you, Lily and that sister of hers." explained Robin.
Severus was intrigued and opened his relatively soft present. Inside was an emerald green robe, and after examining it, he knew exactly what the robe was: dress robes.
"Eileen explained you'd be needing some." said Robin.
"Why?" asked Severus.
"It was a surprise." said Eileen. "We kept from you guys that your grandparents were going to celebrate the arrival of 1973 with a New Year ball. We and the Evans family are invited as well as several other families, like the Prewetts, the Lovegoods and the Potters."
Severus felt a cold sweat come over him.
"You're gonna make me…dance?" he asked nervously.
"Indeed. Dancing is compulsory in a ball thrown by the Prince family." said Eileen with a cheeky smile on her face.
Severus could tell by that smile that Eileen was trying to hurry along Severus' chances of getting together with Lily. After all, they were entering the stage in their youths where they'd initially start becoming interested in the opposite sex, and Severus still hoped to win this Lily's heart.
But dancing was not a fun experience for Severus, and he was certain that he'd make himself look clumsy and silly when trying to dance with Lily.
Robin could see that Severus looked awkward, and so changed the subject by offering to help him roast the potatoes for dinner.
Before dinner was ready, Eileen used Gabriel to send a message to the Evans family, inviting them to attend the New Year ball.
"They have a week to decide." she said to Robin. "I wrote if they had other plans arranged with relatives or friends, then it's absolutely no trouble."
"Splendid." said Robin, using his wand to build up the fire in the living room.
Severus tucked into the modest but succulent turkey dinner, and he and Robin somehow got to the subject of confidence when dancing with girls. His pale face turned pink from the blushing, and he tried desperately not to smile with anticipation as he received instructions on how to lead Lily.
The dinner was filling for all three and Gabriel returned that evening with a reply saying that the Evans initially were going to ask them round to the countdown to New Year, but they were now excited to attend the ball, as the mother and daughters loved the idea. Severus and Robin had an understanding feeling that Trevor was not as keen as his family were but was willing to attend to please everybody else.
"He'll love the food anyway." said Eileen.
"And he's been wanting to talk to me about how Healers differ from doctors." added Robin cheerfully.
"It'll hopefully go swimmingly." concluded Eileen, giving a suggestive glance to Severus, whom had no intention of aiding and abetting his own humiliation.
But it seemed that he had had his chances of not getting shown up in front of even the whole Potter family dashed by the acceptance of the invitation given to the Evans family.
Boxing Day dinner had gone well, and Severus and Lily had good fun in the week between then and the New Year Ball. Severus wouldn't stop grumbling about it, but Lily countered him with her keenness and excitement.
Severus, knowing he would probably regret it, had requested to his grandparents that his and Lily's friends could also attend the Ball, with their families, mostly Lily's idea. They consented and extended invitations, apologising for the late invite. Septimus and Desdemona were only too happy to oblige, still feeling the need to make things up to Severus and their daughter. Severus, being a former Slytherin, knew how to use that guilt to his advantage, albeit on rare occasions.
Lily and her family had their best outfits ready, and Eileen made them look a little more impressive with a bit of magic, though this made Trevor a little indignant, but Petunia and Rose were only too happy to stand out with the others.
Severus went to Diagon Alley, met with Remus and used some money in his allowance to help get the Lupins more modern and clean outfits, as Remus was used to wearing shabby and worn clothing. Remus was resistant, but eventually conceded to gratitude and vowed to make it up somehow.
Neither boy really knew how but were confident it could happen in time.
On New Year's Eve night, the time came, and Severus and Lily found themselves wearing their dress robes and ready to either enjoy or dread the party. Lily was taught by Rose and Petunia how to dance and was confident with her abilities, but Severus was far from excited. He had never danced once in either of his lives. Professor Vector asked him to the Yule Ball once, but he declined politely. He never wanted to dance with anyone but Lily, and that dream died with her. Vector had ended up dancing with the fake Alastor Moody that night, along with Professor Sinastra. But now, Severus was preparing to have his dream come true tonight.
However, he was still frightened that he would mess things up, despite the happy look on Lily's face.
After they all met with their friends, Peter being the last to arrive, Septimus addressed the whole party.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Prince family's New Year Ball!"
There was some polite and enthusiastic applause in response.
"The dances are about to begin, and I propose that we start with our younger guests to begin the dancing! Any of the children here who have partners, pray stand on the dance floor at once, please!"
Severus felt put on the spot, as did his friends.
Sirius confidently offered his hand to Marlene McKinnon, and she squealed in delight as they took to the dance floor. James followed with Rebecca Castle, though winked at Lily, much to Severus' worry. Remus and Peter initially kept back but they both got propositioned by the Ravenclaw girls, Nora Waynefleet and Elizabeth Burns respectively. Regulus and Melody brought up the rear, both shy about it.
That left two couples left.
Quincey shyly offered Mary his hand, and she smiled cheerfully accepting to be his dance partner. But Severus and Lily felt too shy to dance together.
"Go ahead, you two." whispered Eileen.
Severus and Lily awkwardly took each other's hand and stepped onto the dance floor with their friends.
The music began and all the men, even Severus led, though he was paying close attention to what Sirius was doing.
After five minutes, when the adults stopped cheering and applauding and began to dance themselves, Severus began to show more confidence in himself, and looked at Lily at last. She was really enjoying herself, her red waving around as they spun and twirled together, and her cheeks were distinctively rosy, as were Severus'.
Quincey and Mary had the same redness too, and the other couples looked happy enough too, though Remus and Peter were dancing awkwardly, one due to stiff muscles and the other due to lack of confidence.
The evening was a successful dance show, and eventually everyone paused to join the countdown to the New Year.
"…Three…Two…One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
The Evans family all got a pleasant surprise when the wizards and witches around them set off celebratory fireworks by emitting sparks from their wands which collided with one another and each spark had a different colour, so when collided, they would create a mix-coloured firework.
"Oh, wow!" cried Lily happily.
"Gosh!" gasped Petunia.
The two sisters held hands and their parents kissed each other happily. Life was perfect at present, and this was a moment in their family that they would not forget.
After the party simmered down an hour later, Severus and the other children were sent to bed, Septimus agreed for them and their families to spend the night, though Regulus and Sirius were told to come home instantly under the strict orders of their parents, Orion and Walburga.
Sirius gave them a half-hearted farewell, and a stiff nod of hesitation from Regulus before they joined their parents into the Floo Network. Severus and the others, particularly James promised to make up the lost time upon their return to Hogwarts.
As the children went to bed, after embracing their parents, Severus stood just outside his bedroom door for a moment and looked across to the bedroom door that Lily and Petunia had just disappeared into. He felt the warmth of Lily's hands on his own, and the heat of his constant blushing on his face, and he knew that things were going well!
(Here's Chapter 30! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. My final assignments for the year at university have been slowing me down and affecting my creative spirit! Hopefully Chapter 31 will be updated a lot sooner! Thank you for reading! Please review!)