Harry expected it would be a very long time before he fell asleep on Christmas Eve. For the first time, he felt truly excited for the holiday. The decorated tree looked beautiful, with all of the enchanted ornaments. A couple even made noises when he touched them. One, of an angel holding a harp, even played the most beautiful music he had ever heard. Tomorrow, there would be presents underneath!

It was just the beginning. There would be a feast on Christmas. Harry hoped the house elves would prepare treacle tart. With the anticipation of all this fun, how could he fall asleep?

"How about I rub back to help ease you into sleep?" his dad offered, his voice so gentle, after reading the standard chapter to Harry.

"Really?"

"Really," Severus promised, smiling at him.

Harry pulled the covers away, not minding the mild cold. His dad's hands were always warm. He felt the back part of his night shirt fell away from his skin, soon replaced by his dad's hands, beginning at the nape of his neck, then, slowly, traveling down to his shoulders. Harry felt his eyes close of their own accord, a smile forming on his face. Severus rubbed Harry's back at least once a week, and it always felt wonderful. Part of this was because hugs and touch were still relatively new to him, but Harry thought a lot of it was because his dad was just so good at it. In fact, he could not remember a single time a back rub from his dad failed to put him to sleep. A deep sleep, too, without any nightmares.

Tonight was no exception, and soon, Harry felt his excitement for the next morning turn into contented sleepiness.

Hours later, Harry's eyes opened, and he felt a spark of joy that his dad was still there. Severus's arms wrapped around Harry tightly, his head so close to his chest he could hear his dad's heartbeat. He lay there for some time, utterly content in his soft, warm, flannel night shirt, the blankets equally soft and warm against him, and his dad comfortable, toasty, protective. Speaking of which, Harry realized, forcing his eyes open again...Severus was still asleep. An idea occurred to Harry, and he tentatively moved his fingers into the man's side.

"Trying to tickle me awake, are you?" the older man murmured, rolling over and, in turn, tickling Harry mercilessly. His face formed a smile. "And on Christmas, too, my little fox? Truly?"

"Maybe!" Harry managed to get out, through giggles.

Severus continued to tickle him for several more seconds, then scooped Harry back into his arms when Harry managed to get out a plea to stop.

"And what did you learn?" Severus asked, once Harry's giggles ceased and he got back his breath.

"Er...you're not ticklish on your sides?" Harry guessed.

His dad nodded, smiling broadly. "But I won't say where," he added, running a hand through Harry's hair. "Happy Christmas, owlet. Shall we open your gifts now, or in a bit?"

Harry yawned, curling himself back into his guardian. His own night shirt, also flannel, felt soft against his cheek. "Can we sleep a bit longer?"

Severus chuckled. "After you woke me up?"

"I'm sorry!" But a giggle escaped his mouth.

"Hmph," his guardian replied, with an eye roll. "I ought to tickle you again, but I can see you are still quite tired."

"You can tickle me after we wake up again," Harry offered.

"Very generous," Severus Severus agreed, running a hand through his hair with one hand, and pulling the covers back over them with the other. "Back to bed, then, my little owl."

Harry curled into his dad, sighing when the blankets secured themselves around him, and closed his eyes once more.

As much as he was looking forward to opening his presents and celebrating Christmas, cuddling with his dad was lovely. Harry felt safe, relaxed, and truly happy as he drifted back to sleep.

They were both quite hungry when they rose from the warm covers. Harry wrapped his dressing gown around him, though, and his dad warmed it. Once in the sitting room, Severus lit the fire, and then they went about the task of eating breakfast.

"Would you like pancakes today?" he asked, contemplatively.

"Really?"

His guardian rarely had them sent over from the kitchens, explaining that porridge was healthier for a growing child. Harry didn't mind-he liked porridge, especially after adding fruit to it. Still, pancakes were a delicious treat!

He grinned at Harry's surprise. "It is a holiday, after all. I take that as a yes?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, and within minutes, they were able to dive in. They were even more tasty than Harry had remembered!

Afterwards, they seated themselves in front of the tree. Harry felt as overwhelmed by the sheer amount of presents as he had on his birthday. His dad understood, because he scooped Harry into his lap, and began rocking him back and forth.

"They are truly all for you, my sweet, little owlet," he murmured, kissing the top of his head. "They're proper presents, too. The days of needles are long gone."

"Thank you, Daddy," Harry whispered, turning to look at him.

His dad smiled back, and Harry felt a lump in his throat. He turned around, focusing on the brilliantly wrapped presents. He wasn't sure where to begin.

Severus must have understood, because he shifted Harry to his side, just for a minute, and handed him one of the medium sized boxes.

"Why don't you start with this one?" he offered.

"Okay," Harry replied, carefully taking it in his hands.

He unwrapped it with care, remembering all the times Dudley would just tear the paper off. And that hadn't been magical wrapping paper, either.

Inside were a large stack of books. One was about magical creatures, one was a very thick book about the history of the school he'd be attending in a few years, and another, far slimmer, about the history of Quidditch. There were others that were storybooks, too.

"We'll have plenty to read together," Severus promised, holding Harry close.

"They're wonderful," Harry murmured, carefully setting the wrapping paper beside him, and the books on the other side.

The next gift was a new set of dress robes, and new, brown boots. The robes were navy, with the similar leaf decorations as his older ones.

"I don't like to set a precedent of giving you items you need as gifts," Severus explained, sounding almost sheepish, "but they didn't arrive until yesterday, so I thought I'd add them to the pile. You can wear them to the feast, as your other ones are rather too small. Which is good," he added, emphatically, "as it means you're growing."

"They're really nice." Harry picked the robes up, thrilled by the softness. "Very soft, too."

"Dress robes often are," he agreed.

Next were puzzles! Five of them! Harry squealed as he studied the pictures.

"I had hoped that they will last until your next birthday," Severus promised, "but you're becoming far faster at completing them, so we might stop at Hogsmeade for more around Easter."

"They sell puzzles at Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, running his hand along one.

"Oh, yes. There are many shops we haven't visited, yet," he answered. "We'll explore a bit the next time we visit."

Harry could not stop grinning. While he wanted to begin one of the puzzles immediately, he still had quite a lot of gifts to open! Carefully, he placed the puzzle boxes in the pile, and then the robes and boots.

The next two gifts were more interactive stuffed animals. A brown owl, and a green toad. The toad actually looked pretty cute...for a toad.

"Now, you have an owl, a toad, and a cat," Severus laughed. "Even if two are in the form of stuffed animals. You'll have quite the collection before long."

"They're wonderful." Harry stroked the owl's head, and received a hoot. When he stroked the toad's soft head, though, the noise sounded rather like Calla when she had a hairball. He giggled.

Harry was about to pick a smaller box, but his dad shook his head.

"I would, er, rather if you saved that for last," he said, sounding almost...nervous?

"Oh. Okay," Harry agreed, quickly.

He took hold of a rather long, flat box, fixing his dad with a questioning look. His guardian was quick to nod his approval.

More books! All stories from the wizarding world. Harry turned and hugged Severus fiercely.

A snow globe of the castle came next. Harry shook the globe, and snow fell until there were several feet of snow inside. Nondescript kids, all wearing the Hogwarts uniform, were in front of the castle.

The next gift was the game he'd played with Susan Bones-Exploding Snap.

"We can play outside during the warmer months," his guardian promised. "It's rather noisy for my taste, but it's a popular game in our world, and," he added, laughing, "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't make sure you knew how to play."

"I played it with Susan," Harry offered, "but I thought it was rather too noisy to ask for."

"I appreciate that, but a bit of noise won't hurt anyone. Well," Severus amended, with a chuckle, and a tousle of Harry's hair, "as long as it's not in my Potions lab."

Speaking of which, the following gift was a more advanced Potions kit. Harry looked forward to getting started.

The third to last gift, from Professor McGonagall, was another very large box of all kinds of tasty treats. Harry was allowed to eat one right away, and he gave Severus one as well.

The next present was a blanket. It was of a patchwork style, and nearly as soft as the blanket Severus bought him for his birthday.

"There's a story behind this," Severus began, softly. "Your mother loved to knit, especially in our early years. She spent a good deal of her free time doing so. Made blankets for all of her roommates for Christmas during our second year. We were in different houses, of course, but she made one for me as well. Now, owlet, it's yours."

Harry's hands trembled. He had his father's cloak, and now he had a blanket made by his mum. She and his dad were such good friends, before his father's bullying made her hate him, that she made him a blanket. It was large, too, possibly larger than the one his dad had given him for his birthday.

"A-are you sure, Dad?" he asked, tremulously.

Severus held him close. "Quite sure."

"We can cuddle under it, together, if you want," Harry offered.

Severus swallowed, then nodded. "Yes, child. I would very much like that.

"And now," he added, "this is something I hope you will enjoy."

Harry opened it with extra care. It was a leather bound book-no, it was a photo album! "Harry's Family" was on the cover, written in his dad's clear handwriting. Harry gaped. He had never seen pictures of his parents, only knew what they looked like from his dad. His mum had long, straight red hair, and bright green eyes that matched his. Unlike many redheads, her face had always been free of freckles. His father looked a good deal more like Harry. Down to the messy hair. But his eyes were hazel, not green.

Still. It was one thing to hear about them. Another to see them. Harry wasn't sure if he had the courage to open the book. He turned to Severus, suddenly fearful. "Could you-could we-?"

His guardian understood, holding Harry closer, then speaking softly. "Many of the photos are mine, but I sent letters to their friends to request copies of theirs. I can provide a better narration of some more than others," Severus began.

"I don't mind. Just to see what they look like, especially my mum! Thank you, Dad! It's wonderful," Harry murmured.

"You're welcome, owlet."

Severus opened to the first page, then began to narrate. The pictures were from all ages, down to his mum as a baby. Even then, her eyes were a vibrant green. Harry was glad that, if his sister had been part of any of the photographs, she wasn't anymore.

Unfortunately, wizarding photos couldn't be altered. If you tried to cut out one person, the whole picture would be damaged.

Severus was in a few of the pictures, too. In the first, he and his mum wore their black school robes, Severus with a small smile on his face, and Lily grinning broadly. His hair was the same length as he wore it now-Lily's was all the way down her back.

"That was a few weeks after our Sorting," he explained, softly. "Even though we had been sorted into different houses, we were determined to stay friends."

Harry just stared at the two. His dad looked quite similar to how he did now, really. The same dark hair and eyes. When he looked up at his guardian, he could see how the young boy had become the man next to him. Tentatively, Harry ran his hand over both images. Neither reacted to his touch, just continued to wave and smile. Harry nodded his head at Severus, who turned the page to the next picture.

Severus wasn't in a great deal of the pictures, but he popped up from time to time. Each time, he looked a bit older, but Harry could tell from his face and his hair that it was him. Other boys occasionally appeared with Lily, although Severus said those weren't fellow Gryffindors. She was always very popular, befriending peers from every house.

James, Harry's biological father, wasn't in as many photos as his mum. That made sense. Lily and Severus had been close friends for years, and she'd known James had been a no-good bully for nearly all of their time at school. In the first picture featuring the two of them, they stood separate from each other, not holding hands or anything like that. Neither did Lily look very happy to be standing as close to James Potter as she was.

"Were they friends here?" Harry asked, slowly.

"I don't believe so." Severus frowned slightly, then removed the photograph. He turned it over, then chuckled. "Ah, this was their Head Boy and Head Girl picture." Carefully, Severus replaced it into the plastic lining. "All heads of their classes must take a photograph together at the beginning of the year, for posterity."

"Oh." Harry grinned. "That explains why they aren't holding hands or anything."

"Or snogging?" Severus teased, lightly tickling Harry in the side.

But the later pictures showed that their-or at least Lily's-dislike was short-lived that year. While the only snogging picture was of their wedding day, they stood closer and closer together. James often had his hands around her shoulders, or her waist, or even holding hers. In these pictures, his mum looked quite happy.

Harry supposed he was glad that his father had stopped being an overall bully, and that his mum looked happy to be around him. All the same, Severus now filled the role of "dad" in his life. James Potter...Harry decided not to think about him.

"Thank you, Dad," Harry murmured, once they'd finished looking at the final page. "T-thank you."

Severus wrapped both arms around Harry, then brushed some hair away from his face.

"Well, owlet," he said, a little briskly, "we still have some time before the feast. What would you like to do, now?"

"One of my new puzzles! Please?" Harry asked, looking up at him. "Will you help?"

"I certainly shall."

So, that was how they passed most of the morning. Later, Severus read to Harry under his new blanket. After a light lunch, it was time for baths and to dress for the Hogwarts Christmas Feast. Harry was looking forward to all of the good food, and especially the treacle tart. His new dress robes fit perfectly, to his and his dad's delight.

"I expect your regular robes will last for a few more months, but I am glad you have new dress robes for the Feast," he said, straightening out some of the small wrinkles with his wand.

"Thank you for buying me new ones. And all of the wonderful gifts," Harry added, feeling a bit shy. "I-I still can't believe they're all mine."

Severus smiled, face darkening just for an instant before resuming a soft expression. "You are welcome, Harry. I must say, you're easy to please."

A thought occurred to Harry. "Should I have bought something for you, Dad?"

But Severus shook his head, almost firmly. "I wouldn't expect you to spend the money I give you for sweets on me, owlet."

Harry remained a bit uncertain-Dudley used to draw pictures for Aunt Petunia, since she was the only one who appreciated them-but didn't want to spoil the good mood.

The Great Hall was magnificent, with large, decorated Christmas trees, and the ceiling enchanted to look like it was snowing. (This year, there had been no new snow, and much of the snow from earlier that month had melted. But it was still very early in the winter season!) Harry squeezed his dad's hand as they took everything in.

About twenty, maybe twenty-five, students had chosen to remain behind this year. The house tables showed the largest number of students at Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but Hufflepuff contained three, and Gryffindor four. At least half of the students looked significantly taller than the others. Perhaps, they were the ones beginning to study for their OWLs and NEWTs. All the same, everyone looked reasonably cheerful.

Harry took his usual spot between Professor McGonagall and his dad. All of the teachers Harry recognized were there, and wore bright smiles on their faces. He smiled back, still rather shy at being the only kid at the table, despite it being his third feast. If Dora had been staying at the castle, he might have wanted to eat with her.

Maybe.

The food was delicious, as always, but the best part (aside from dessert) were the Christmas crackers. The prizes inside were far better than anything the Dursleys had! Harry's thoughts turned to Dudley for a minute. He rather hoped his cousin was happy with Aunt Marge. But when he pulled his cracker and found a game he'd never heard of, his thoughts turned away from his cousin.

"Dad? What's 'Gobstones'?" he asked, reading the word carefully.

Severus glanced away from his new black hat. "Oh!" he chuckled. "It's a popular game. My mother was quite good at it. Rather like marbles, only it sprays a foul smelling substance at you. Don't worry, it doesn't sting, and it disappears after a few seconds," he added, seeing Harry's look of horror. "I can teach you over the holidays, if you like. Most students know or learn how to play it."

"Okay!" Harry grinned, then placed it to his side.

He ended up with quite a good pile of gifts. In addition to Gobstones, he had a set of enchanted Chess pieces, a hat that matched his dad's, an enchanted toy mouse for Calla, and a small box of assorted chocolates.

The treacle tart and ice cream was as good as ever, and he spotted Severus put aside some extra for later. There was also hot chocolate, which was absolutely lovely for sipping in between spoonfuls of ice cream. Harry felt very pleasantly full by the time the feast was over, and rather sleepy.

"We'll have a light supper later," his dad promised, after taking Harry's cracker presents and wrapping both blankets around him. "I expect you could use a good rest, now."

Harry nodded, feeling his eyes close. "The feast was so much fun, Dad!"

"I thought you'd enjoy it," Severus murmured, stroking his hair.

They spent a few more hours working on the puzzle, listening to the strange Christmas songs on the wizarding radio, and reading another from one of Harry's new books. When their stomachs began to growl, Severus sent for leftovers from the feast. An hour or so after that, Severus made popcorn over the fire in a pan. This fascinated Calla, who batted her paws in the direction of the fireplace as the corn popped loudly. When it was finished, she brushed herself up against Harry, begging for a piece. He glanced at his dad for confirmation.

"Go ahead," his dad urged, a smile on his face. "A few pieces of popcorn won't harm her."

She did eat one piece, but simply played with the others until they disappeared into crumbs. Harry ate his share with far more enjoyment, especially since he had his blanket and his mum's wrapped around him, and his dad's arm around his shoulders.

Harry felt himself becoming sleepier and sleepier, and then his guardian lifting him up, the blankets still wrapped around him. When he woke up hours later, aware it was still nighttime, he saw he was in his own bed, he was wrapped in his dad's arms. Harry smiled to himself as he drifted off. What a lovely Christmas it had been!

Author's note: Up next-Harry learns Chess. Because Severus believes he should master the regular version before dealing with enchanted pieces giving him advice!

Well, there you have it. The item first seen in the first book, and later reintroduced in the third one. Oh, and in case you're curious, yes, Harry will still come into contact with the Mirror of Erised in his first official year at Hogwarts.

IF JKR wrote anything in an official manner (posts on Twitter don't count) about altering magical photos that contradict what I wrote, please let me know, cite where I can find it, and I might go back and change it. My reasoning that they can't be altered is from the third book. Remember when Harry sees the picture of Sirius by his dad on their wedding day? Don't you think he'd want to take a pair of scissors to it and remove the man who betrayed his parents? It's what so many teenagers and adults do when there'a a breakup, and usually, the ex isn't responsible for the death of your family. But, for Harry, if magic prevents the alteration of photos and it's a choice between having one less photo of his parents-and on such a momentous occasion-and having to face looking at Sirius Black, I think he'd ultimate choose the latter.

Can cats eat popcorn? Yes, in small amounts. My Daisy goes absolutely crazy when I open a bag of cheese popcorn. I can't eat any without giving her a couple of pieces. If it were up to her, she'd eat the entire bag!

Last thing. While I hadn't intended to give Harry and owl AND a cat, due to popular demand, Harry will receive Hedwig. It will NOT come from Hagrid, and it WILL be the summer he goes to Diagon Alley for his textbooks and school robes. As school rules state that first years may only have one pet, Severus will have McGonagall make an exception for Harry.

Please take a moment and leave your constructive comments and any ideas below...