After the talk Severus and Harry had, they were in a better place as far as where they stood being a married couple. The bonds felt stronger now that the tension was gone and they'd forgiven one another for the past. The rest of Christmas Eve was spent with Harry and Severus talking in Harry's room, after a small make out session.
The two eventually returned to the sitting room and Harry helped Severus decorate the small table tree and then they wrapped gifts for other people. Severus learned that Harry owl-ordered all these things while at school and had them sent to Grimmauld Place, but then the night Severus went to the Malfoy's alone; Harry asked Remus to bring the gifts to him.
Severus thought it was genius, and praised Harry's smart thinking. The couple had a calm dinner together, discussing whatever and then afterwards, Severus and Harry made out a little in front of the fireplace, then around 10:00 pm, Harry finally decided to get some sleep. The two ended their night with a kiss and went to their separate rooms.
Now, it was Christmas morning and it was about 7:30 am. Harry had been up at 6:30, quickly getting in his shower and dressing for the day. Harry hurried downstairs to find Severus waiting for him in the kitchen and reading his copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Morning, Severus," Harry greeted.
"Harry, good morning." Severus lowered the paper some and gave the teen a small smile. "How did you sleep?"
"Better than I have in months, actually. I woke up wondering if you slipped a sleeping draught into my dinner drink honestly," Harry chuckled.
"I assure you I did not." Severus stated. "But if you ever require one of those to help you sleep, you can ask."
"Well, I think the good sleep came from what we talked about…How the bond was strained." Harry told him.
"That is likely the case." Severus nodded. "I've heard all couples fight, so there's no guarantee that we won't again…But I feel that we should agree now if things get tense, no matter who says something, we should try to discuss it calmly to avoid a full blow out of anger. Where we say things we don't mean. If angry or upset, perhaps we should give ourselves some hours to calm and get clear heads to talk. That should prevent another major strain…Make sure things are communicated clearly?"
"I can agree with that." Harry nodded. "Remus told me that when mum and dad argued, the one thing he would tell my dad was to never go to bed angry." He informed. "Even if things weren't completely worked out, dad and mom always stayed together in their room at night and made sure to say they loved one another. I guess that was due to never knowing if there would be another day to say it…" He shrugged.
"Seems wise. I know we do not…Love one another, but given the state of another war upon us…If you'd like to ensure that we talk things out before going to bed, I can accommodate such a request. I also learned as a boy that you can't run away from your problems and the damage of your actions or choices will always be right behind you." Severus said calmly.
"I've heard similar things." Harry responded. "So, from now on if we have an issue with one another…We'll bring it up and talk? Work things out? Even if we need a little time apart to calm down and come back to it with a clear head?"
"I believe that would be the most effective way to handle any arguments we may have." Severus replied.
"I'm alright with that then…" Harry said.
Winky came and brought them their breakfast, then popped away to handle more housework. The two males began to eat their meal quietly. Severus continued to read the paper as Harry only ate. The two eventually finished and Winky came to clean up.
"I don't know if we got to it last night, but holiday plans…What are yours taking you today?" Severus asked.
"Uncle Sev! Harry!" Draco's voice called.
"Draco! They could still be sleeping, I told you not to just come here!" Lucius scolded his son.
"Lies. Uncle Severus never sleeps in! He's always up early and half the time at Hogwarts, I don't even think the man knows what sleep is." Draco argued.
Harry had to hold back a snicker. "I resent and take offense to that comment, godson. We're more than awake, Lucius. Just in the kitchen having breakfast," Severus replied.
"We're so sorry, Severus and Harry," Narcissa sighed as Draco was first in the kitchen to see Harry and sigh in relief to see his best friend. Narcissa and Lucius were next. "Draco insisted we come to ensure Harry was alright. It's been a couple days since you were over and mentioned Harry not feeling well."
"It's quite alright, Narcissa. I did tell Draco he could come over whenever he needed something and knows I'm here. Obviously, he needs to know that Harry is okay." Severus assured the woman that there was no harm done.
"Harry!" Draco went right over to hug his friend.
"Hi, Dray," Harry smiled and gave the teenager a one-armed hug back.
"Are you alright?" Draco asked.
"I'm fine, started feeling better yesterday around lunch time." Harry enlightened. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"You worried our friends too. They've been calling me through the floo to ask for updates since the night we left the train station." Draco informed.
"I'll let them know I'm okay. It was just a rough couple of days that I slept through most of," Harry informed. "Severus has been taking good care of me."
"Thank Merlin…" Draco sighed before finally letting Harry go.
"Now that you know Harry is alright, we should leave him and Severus to eat…We'll see them later." Lucius told Draco calmly.
"Stay, we had planned to do Christmas together anyway." Severus invited.
"And we've just finished eating." Harry added.
"If you're sure," Narcissa stated as Draco beamed.
"I'll get our things from the manor," Lucius nodded.
"We'll meet you in the sitting room," Severus mentioned as he and Harry stood up and walked with the family to the sitting room. Lucius went right to the fireplace to return to Malfoy Manor and gather up the gifts there for his wife, son, Severus, and Harry. Lucius returned five minutes later and pulled the shrunken gifts from his pocket to set down back at normal size. "You boys go first." Severus told Draco and Harry.
"We can all enjoy it together," Draco told his godfather.
"Well, pass them out then, Draco," Narcissa told her son.
"Come on, I'll help you," Harry nudged his friend's arm as the two began sorting the gift pile for which belonged to the people in the room. "Okay, these ones are for you, Narcissa…And these, for you, Lucius." Harry gave them their piles.
"And these are for you, Uncle Sev," Draco gave a small pile to the man he considered an uncle. "These are for you, Harry," Draco slid some presents towards Harry.
"And these are for you, Dray," Harry pushed some gifts towards his friend.
"Wonderful, let's begin then…" Lucius suggested.
Just like that, everyone began to open their presents and admire the things they'd gotten from one another. After someone opened a gift, they would see who it was from and thank them. There was also small chatter about the gift given, such as how'd you know I wanted this. Most everyone got Severus potions things because that was undeniably his favorite subject and thing to do.
There were vials, notebooks, stirrers and basic ingredients he always used. Harry got clothes, notebooks, quills, and some books. Narcissa got jewelry and clothing. Lucius got clothing, and some books as well, or office supplies. Draco got clothes, and some quidditch gear. By the time they'd all finished, and cleaned up, it was nearly 9:30 am.
"Such a lovely morning," Narcissa sighed in joy.
"How are you and Sev doing, Harry?" Draco asked.
"We're better," Harry replied gently.
"We've spoken, worked things out and have a new understanding for one another." Severus added.
"We are glad to hear that," Lucius nodded. "Was Harry's illness related to the bond situation?"
"I think so." Severus said. "I told myself returning here that night leaving your house that things would be different and that Harry and I could get through this."
"Acceptance of the bond will do the trick," Lucius replied.
"But it still took three days beyond that for Harry to feel better," Severus mentioned. "So perhaps he was actually sick too."
"Or the bond had a chance to start healing…" Narcissa shrugged. "It doesn't matter as long as things are all set and you two are okay now."
"Indeed," Harry agreed. "Oh, that reminds me…I have one more thing for you, Severus," He remembered before getting to his feet and rushing up the stairs to get something from his room and then coming back down with a wrapped box in hand. "Here. Merry Christmas…" Harry blushed a little, giving the man the box and stepping back.
Severus tore the paper and found a basic chest about the size of his lap there. Severus pulled down the latch and opened the lid to find ingredients of all kinds. Some looked like blood, others were scales, and teeth. "Harry, what are these?" Severus asked.
"They're ingredients, Uncle Sev. A potions master such as yourself should recognize them…" Draco remarked.
"Ssh, boy…" Severus told his godson. "I know they're ingredients, but…I want to know what kind."
"Basilisk parts." Harry informed.
The room silenced. Severus's eyes widened as he began to inspect the vials and jars more now. "Basilisk?" Draco asked, surprised.
"It's a-," Harry started.
"I know what it is! I want to know how the bloody hell you got them, Harry…These are-," Draco was next to Severus, looking too.
"The rarest ingredients in the world…" Severus whispered. "Harry, where did you get these…?" He asked, looking at his husband, still shock in his eyes. "They're…Rare, hard to find, and dear Merlin are they expensive…"
"Oh, I didn't know they were super rare…But I know you like ingredients a-and I saw something on your desk one of the times I came by your room to visit. You seemed like you were looking for these parts in particular, or researching what could be done with them. I've seen your ingredients cabinets in the classroom and here, and your private stores at school. Nothing was ever labeled for Basilisk…I figured you might like them." Harry explained.
"W-Well yes…I-I love them, Harry…" Severus continued to admire the containers of Basilisk parts. "There's so much here…You must tell me who your contact is. I may need to reach out to get more when this is gone. Harry, there's so much I can make with these."
Harry smiled. "If you need more, just let me know. I can get them pretty easily."
"As I said, rare and expensive…Very hard to find. But where did you get them? How did you acquire these?" Severus asked.
"I believe he's wondering, without being offensive, how a boy of your age would have gained these. Students aren't permitted to buy anything other than required on their lists and some ingredients ask for completion of schooling, or have a potions mastery to purchase for use." Lucius informed. "Who did you talk to? Who is your connection?
"O-Oh," Harry didn't realize the stir these would cause.
"You're not in trouble, sweetheart," Narcissa mentioned. "We just want to know where you got them, who from?"
"I…Got them from the Basilisk," Harry said gently as he saw them all staring at them.
"You mean you harvested these from a Basilisk yourself?" Severus questioned quickly.
Harry nodded. "Where on Earth did you find one?" Draco blinked.
"How on Earth did you get close enough to harvest anything from it?" Lucius pushed.
"D-Down in the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry mentioned nervously.
"You know how to get into the Chamber? You know where it is?" Severus said quickly.
"I-I thought all the teachers knew about what happened back during my second year, when Ginny got taken into the chamber by the monster…I-It was a Basilisk." Harry informed.
"No, we weren't told what happened. Just that you and Weasley managed to save the girl. We assumed you must have gotten into the chamber, but we didn't know where it was or what was down there." Draco mentioned. "The teachers know the same. Dumbledore kept saying that it was all taken care of."
"Harry, would you…Tell us?" Severus hoped.
"S-Sure?" Harry was surprised that no one knew. "I did already tell you part of this, night of the wedding reception. But…Full story, I suppose."
"So…In second year, all those attacks started happening. After Hermione was petrified, I found a sheet of paper in her hand. It was information on the Basilisk, how we learned what was petrifying students. When Ron asked how it was getting around the school, Hermione had found that answer to." Harry began.
"The pipes. Later on, we learned Ginny got taken into the chamber…So Ron and I went after Lockhart to see if we could help. You'd all sent him to deal with the monster, when Ron and I got to his classroom; he was packing to leave. So we cornered him and went on to find the chamber ourselves…"
"The school had been searched time and time again, no chamber was ever found…" Narcissa informed. "We'd all heard the tales."
"You searched the school, not under it…But the entrance was in a pretty interesting place." Harry chuckled. "Before all that had happened, there was that big stir about me being heir to Slytherin because I'm a parselmouth. Ron, Hermione and I figured the only place we'd get answers was in Slytherin common room…So Hermione brewed us Polyjuice Potion. Told you this before too."
"Ron and I were Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione was supposed to be Millicent Bulstrode, but she got cat hair…So that was interesting," Harry recalled the memory. "Moving on, it was a little while later when we found water on the second floor, seemed like a leak of some kind. Moaning Myrtle had said someone threw a book at her and I found it. It was a diary that belonged to Tom Marvolo Riddle…"
"The dark lord…" The adults whispered.
"Yes, but it was blank. Me and my curiosity one night, I decided to write in it. My words would disappear and I'd get a response from Tom himself. I asked questions about the chamber, he told me he could show me what happened fifty years back, at the time, of course. So…I kind'a got sucked into the diary," Harry mentioned.
"I saw Tom, a sixteen-year-old student watching as people brought down a dead girl on a stretcher. I saw Dumbledore, before he was Headmaster, talking to Tom Riddle. Saying he shouldn't be wandering the halls at such a late hour and Tom said he wanted to know if the rumors were true. Dumbledore said they were, and Tom asked if they'd close Hogwarts as he didn't have a home to go back to. Dumbledore said Headmaster Dippet, I think his name was, might not have a choice."
Harry paused to catch his breath. "Riddle asked Dumbledore if the person responsible was caught, would it be alright. Dumbledore asked Tom if there was something he wanted to tell him. Riddle said no. Tom walked off, I followed, and he cornered Hagrid, who was a student at the time. Tom blamed Hagrid's pet spider, Aragog. The memory ended with Tom saying he'd have Hagrid's wand for what had happened." He gave it a moment. "Sometime later, I had found the dorm trashed and the diary was missing. So on forward with trying to find clues to what was going on…Eventually, it comes back to when Ron and I were trying to find the chamber the night Ginny was taken inside..."
"Obviously you found it?" Draco asked.
"Yes…We went to talk to Moaning Myrtle. We asked her how she died, she told us that she was hiding in the bathroom because classmates were picking on her…She said she came out of the cubicle hearing a boy's voice, and then she died. We asked if she remembered anything, she said she only remembered a big pair of yellow eyes by one particular sink in the girl's bathroom."
"So…I went over to check out the sinks and one of them…Happens to have a snake engraving on the side. The water never turned on and Ron told me to say something in Parseltongue. So I did, and sure enough, after the sinks rearranged, we were staring down a massive hole to the entrance of the chamber…"
"And then you went forward to find the girl?" Severus inquired.
"We were together at first, then Lockhart snatched Ron's wand to obliviate us, but Ron's wand was broken…So it backfired and obliviated him. The force of him hitting a wall caused a cave in, separating me from Ron and Lockhart. I went head to find the chamber's actual entrance door and got inside. I found Ginny, then I saw Tom Riddle, still looking sixteen. We talked for a short time…He said killing mudbloods didn't matter to him anymore; his new target was me. Wanting to know how a baby escaped the greatest wizard ever known…That's when he told me he was Lord Voldemort." Harry informed. "And sent the Basilisk after me."
"You were obviously victorious…?" Lucius stated.
"Mmhm. Fawkes came to give me the sorting hat…I'd been questioning it's decision to put me in Gryffindor when everything was going on about being a parselmouth. He blinded the Basilisk's eyes, and the hat had the sword of Gryffindor in it. That's when the battle started. I stabbed it through the roof of its mouth…" Harry shrugged. "It's fang got in my arm, though…I was dying."
"I grabbed the fang and stabbed the diary; it caused Tom to break open and fade away. Ginny woke up, Fawkes's tears healed me…Then we all got out." He said. "Later on in Dumbledore's office, the hat told me that it believed I still belonged in Slytherin. Dumbledore said it was wrong or I wouldn't have been able to pull the sword of Gryffindor. I think you know the rest of that scene, Mr. Malfoy…"
"Indeed. You accused me of slipping Ginny the diary, then managed to free Dobby from my family…" Lucius recalled.
"And then you tried to kill me, but Dobby stopped you." Harry added.
"I did not!" Lucius denied.
"You totally pulled your wand and started to say the killing curse. No other spell starts with Avada…" Harry remarked.
"I know. I've figured out that this incident was Voldemort's first attempt at resurrection. He said as Ginny got weaker, he was getting stronger." Harry shrugged. "Calm down, I'm not mad or anything." He added.
"But yeah, Severus…That's how I have access to Basilisk parts. The whole thing is still down in the Chamber, I got a little of it for you. The thing is like, sixty feet long. If you need more, let me know or…I can just take you down there. It's not hard." Harry smiled.
Severus looked at the box again, then set it aside to lean forward and kiss Harry's lips. Of course, Harry returned the action and they broke apart. "Thank you, Harry. It's the best gift I've ever gotten and means more than you'll ever know."
"You're welcome," Harry replied.
"What a perfect Christmas this is turning out to be." Narcissa beamed.
And indeed it was turning out to be a great start to Christmas.