Silver BelSnowSnowglobe Hell

Silver Bells, Snowglobe Hell
Part Ten
by weasleyswizardswheezes

Harry just looked at the headmaster in shock. His lips still tingled with the aftershocks of his kiss with Severus. He touched his lips briefly, as if to capture the moment again.

\"Thank you, Headmaster.\" With those words, Harry left Albus\' office. He had plans to fulfill.

As soon as he left Dumbledore\'s office, Harry asked permission from Professor McGonagall to do his last minute Christmas shopping, and now thatwas was actually in a mood to enjoy the holidays, he felt he needed to apologise to his friends for his previous surliness. He had to rush though, as he only had two days left before the actual day arrived.

For Hermione he found an extremely rare volume called The Collected Works of The First Muggle Born Witch by Gabriella Majorius. Harry looked everywhere for a gift for Ron and could find nothing in the usual stores, so Harry finally went into a Quidditch supply shop and found the perfect gift for his red-headed friend, a customised set of robes in the Chudley Cannon\'s colours and he had them personalise it with \"Weasley\" on the back.

Though Harry was glad to finally be out of the snow globe, he missed the closeness he and Severus had developed during their time there. And after learning what his father had done to Severus, he was determined to make up for the wrong that had been caused all those years ago, which was why Harry was now in Ogetti d\'Antiquariato seang fng for just the right gift for Severus.

He pored over shelf after shelf, knowing exactly what he was looking for, but thus far coming up short. Finally, way at the back of a curio cabinet, he found it, sitting alone collecting dust. While it wasn\'t exactly what he had in mind, it was better than he could have imagined finding on such short notice. He reached for the item and carefully carried it to the clerk at the back of the store.

And while he would have liked to stop in for a butterbeer and a visit with Madame Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks, he was in a hurry to get back to his dorm room to wrap the gifts for his friends and for Severus. He took extra care in wrapping Severus\' gift. He didn\'t use the typical silver or green paper. Instead he charmed the paper to go through the entire rainbow of colours that represented Hogwarts and its houses.

Once Harry was done, he realised it was time for supper in the Great Hall and he rushed out of Grndorndor tower. He hoped that perhaps he and Severus could resume their chess games after meals. When Harry appeared at the Great Hall, everyone who had stayed behind for the holidays was there except for Severus. He felt his heart drop, already missing the presence of his recent roommate. However, since he was in the Great Hall already he would join the others, though he knew his heart would not be in on the camaraderie and fellowship that was taking place.

Harry decided if if Severus did not make an appearance during supper, then he would just go to Severus in the dungeons, whether Severus liked it or not. As much as Severus had asked him to return to calling him Professor Snape or sir, after the electrifying kiss they had shared, the older man would always remain Severus in his head and in his heart. There was no going back for him.

After cordially bidding everyone goodnight, Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve his invisibility cloak; it would not do to be caught out by Filch when he returned to his dorm after visiting Severus.

Harry took the Marauder\'s Map and his cloak from his trunk and set out for the Potions Masters quarters. Harry reached the entrance to Severus\' chambers and stood there, feeling anxious. He hoped the older man would not close the door in his face and would instead invite him in, for he was very uncertain as to his reception. Before he could reach out a tentative hand to knock, the door opened on its own, revealing just the man he was looking for. \"I missed you at dinner, Se..sir. May I come in?\"

\"That depends on why you are here, Potter.\" Severus frowned and at the same time his heart was quickening at the sight of the person he had been missing all afternoon, but felt that he shouldn\'t.

\"Ah, well. Erm..\" Harry shuffled his feet nervously. \"I was thinking we could play some chess and strategise?\"

\"Strategise about what exactly?\"

\"Our revenge.\" A sly look crossed Harry\'s face. \"You know we can\'t let him get away with what he did without payback.\"

Severus\' eyes widened briefly before he smirked. Who knew Harry ... Potter could be so Slytherin.

\"I know what you\'re thinking, sir. The Sorting Hat so wanted to put me into Slytherin.\"

Severus just quirked an eyebrow at that statement.

\"It\'s true, sir. But after having met Malfoy, well I figured Gryffindor was the better choice. Besides, what would you have done with me in your House? I shudder to think.\"

Severus chuckled at that. He agreed, he might not know why Harry thought it was bad for him to have been in Slytherin, but for Severus, having Harry underfoot and in close proximity more than he was already, would have been a strain on his already taxed nerves. \"Well just don\'t stand there, come in.\"

Harry entered and looked around the room with curiosity. He noticed that in some areas, Severus catered to his personal gratification, but in others the room was lacking. The older man had definitely splurged on a comfortable reading chair, in front of which lay a well worn, but expensive looking Persian Rug. Off to the other side of the reading chair was a rich mahogany desk with leather inlay, and bookshelves overflowing from floor to ceiling. The bookshelves surrounded a good-sized fireplace, in which a roaring fire was going. A wizards chess set occupied a quiet corner of his rooms, two chairs on either side of the table it was resting on. Harry felt the rooms had a very comfortable, homely feel to them, and could envision Severus sitting in his chair reading the latest potions quarterly.

Severus watched Harry as the young man took in his personal abode, he realised just how few visitors he received as he had never required another chair for a guest to sit in. \'What a sad commentary on my life,\' he thought.

He quickly transfigured one of his books into a very comfortable lounging chair.

\"Please, have a seat, Mr. Potter.\"

\"Harry, remember?\"

\"Yes, but we are no longer trapped in a snowglobe, Mr. Potter.\"

A look of pain briefly crossed Harry\'s face at the reminder, but it was visible long enough for Severus to notice it. Severus sighed and going against his better judgment, he followed his heart, just this once.

\"Very well. Harry, then. But only in private.\"

Harry beamed at him and sat in the chair that Severus had offered him.

\"You will, however, continue to address me in a manner of respect.\"

Harry\'s smile dimmed, but remained in place. \"Yes, Professor.\" His voice came out stiff and reserved, a reflection of how he was feeling inside.

\"Now, what is this little visit of yours about again? You want to plan our revenge against the Headmaster?\" Severus was intrigued and just a bit wary.

\"That\'s the general idea, sir. If you think about it, he did a pretty sneaky thing by tricking us into that snowglobe. He deserves any devious thing we can think of to get back at him.\" Harry\'s eyes looked hopeful, thinking of all the hours he would spend here in these rooms plotting along with Severus the eventual revenge they would get on Dumbledore.

Severus took in the glow that appeared in Harry\'s eyes and was surprised that the look of happiness filled him with warmth.

\"So, at the nt ynt you have no concrete ideas of how to take revenge against the old wizard?\" Severus looked at Harry questioningly.

\"Well, no. I figured that would be more your area of cunning and expertise.\"

\"What could you possibly mean by that, Harry?\" he asked with a soft purr. Severus\' eyebrow raised slightly as he queried his student.

Harry shivered at that tone of voice. It was a tone he had grown fond of durthe the time they had shared in the snowglobe, and it did deliciously warm things to the pit of his belly. It also brought forth the one memory that had plagued him off and on, all throughout the day, the image of Severus without a stitch of clothing on.

He quickly collected his thoughts before his body began to betray his mind. He cleared his throat. \"Shall we play a game of chess and strategise our revenge?\"

\"Certainly, and of course, I\'ll play...\"

\"I know, I know, you\'ll play white.\"

Severus smirked at Harry, who just rolled his eyes. \"Honestly, Professor. How am I ever to learn the game of chess in all it\'s complexity, if I\'m never allowed to go first?\"

Severus thought about this for a moment, it was a valid point. However, Severus was not in the mood to concede anymore this evening. He made his opening move. \"Not today, Mr. Potter.\"

Harry was disappointed that Severus still refused to let him play white. He stifled it however, when he realised that \"not today\" meant that perhaps \'another\' day he would let him go first. And another day spent in Severus\' company would be a day well spent.

Harry took some time to consider the board before making his first move. He wanted to make the game last as long as possible. He looked at the chess board and saw how the game itself represented his life now at this point. A series of carefully weighed decisions that would hopefully win him the game, as well as win him the heart of his slightly battered White Knight.

The two played well and late into the night, but in the end Severus won the round and neither accomplished much in the way of plotting their revenge.

\"I demand a rematch!\" shouted Harry.

\"Very well, Mr. Potter. Tomorrow night?\"

\"Harry!\" Harry shouted in aggravation.

\"Harry. Tomorrow night?\" Severus sounded almost impatient.

Harry smiled broadly, \"Yes, tomorrow night would be lovely. Since, it\'s Christmas Eve, do you want to celebrate it in some small way?\"

\"Since the whole point of the snowglobe was to teach us the spirit of Christmas, I suppose we should mark the day in some small fashion.\"

Harry nodded in agreement. \"Great, maybe we can have a little something to remind us of our time there, perhaps a bit of Christmas Pudding?\" He grinned at Severus. \"So then, tomorrow evening, 7:00 p.m.?\"

\"I\'ll see you then, Harry.\" Harry couldn\'t help but shudder as Severus dragged out his name, and after bidding him a good night, he covered himself with the invisibility cloak and departed to Gryffindor Tower.

---

Seven p.m. arrived sooner than he expected, and Harry found himself nervously standing outside the door to the potion master\'s private chambers. He thought tonight would be the best time to present the gift he had carefully chosen for Severus that he was currently clutching in his sweaty hands, and hoped that it would be well received.

He raised his hand to tentatively knock upon the door and before he could complete the knock, the door swung open.

\"Ah, Harry. For once, you are punctual.\"

Harry, in his nervousness, thrust the gift he had brought with him out, right into Severus\' chest. \"Happy Christmas, Professor.\"

Severus plucked the brightly flashing present from Harry\'s nerveless fingers, before the gift could be dropped. \" in, in, Harry. Can I offer you some tea? Or perhaps some of that Christmas Pudding we enjoy so much?\"

\"Thank you, Sss... sir. Tea and pudding sounds wonderful.\" Harry stepped past Severus and took a seat in the chair that was still transfigured from the previous night.

Severus put the gift Harry had given him on the desk, and set about pouring their tea. \"Milk and sugar, if I remember correctly?\"

Harry wondered how Severus could remember he liked milk and sugar in his tea, considering they had no tea in the snowglobe. Could he have been watching him before then?

\"Yes, Professor. Two sugars, please.\" Harry watched Severus\' hands as he prepared the tea; they were strong hands, long, elegant and very sure in their actions. His breath hitched softly at where his thoughts took him in regard to those hands, and he quickly banished them before they could get him into trouble.

\"Here we go, tea for two.\" Severus sat the tea tray down on the side table next to his reading chair. Then he waved his , an, and two plates of pudding appeared next to the tea cups. \"Along with our celebratory dessert.\"

\"Mmm, looks good.\" Harry did not sound very enthused about the pudding, but he picked up a plate and began eating it anyway. He made appreciative noises as he lifted bite after bite into his mouth, chewing each slowly. His tethenthen struck on something solid, and his forehead wrinkled in surprise. \"What\'s this?\" He pulled the solid bit, a golden ring similar to the one Severus had found, out of his mouth. \"Are you trying to chip my teeth, Professor?\"

Severus just sat there looking very innocent, eating his own pudding and sipping his tea. \"Now why would I want to do that, Harry?\"

\"I don\'t know, sir. But it\'s too much of a coincidence that I should nearly break a tooth on a gold ring, just like you did earlier this week.\"

\"And what was it you said to me, Harry, when I nearly broke my own tooth on one of those damnable golden rings? Hmm?\"

Harry looked down he rhe ring he held in his hand and blushed bright red. \"Erm, why don\'t we play a game of chess, or maybe you could open your present?\" Harry sputtered, obviously ill-at-ease and somewhat taken aback at the implications of the ring.

Severus rose from his chair. \"Certainly.\" He walked over to his wardrobe and withdrew a large box from it, then picked up his own gift from Harry and rejoined the young wizard.

\"This is for y" H" He held the gout out to Harry, hoping that he would enjoy the gift he\'d gotten for him.

Harry was shocked by the gift. He had not expected the other man to think of him at all. \"You got a gift? For me?\" Harry\'s voice squeaked a bit and he cleared it quickly.

Severus quirked an eyebrow, his silent expression clearly indicated what he thought of such an inane and obviously answered question.

\"Well?\"

Harry was slightly confused. \"Well, what, sir?\"

Severus shook the package at Harry.

\"Oh, yeah, right.\"

Harry reached out, taking the box from Severus\' hands and placed it on his lap. He wasn\'t sure if he should open his first, or wait until his host had opened his.

Severus erased all doubt when he cleared his throat. \"Go on, open it.\"

Harry slowly peeled the paper away from the box, as he wanted to prolong the anticipation of revealing what was inside. Once all the paper was removed, Harry lifted the lid with as much caution as possible.

Severus held his breath, as he waited to see Harry\'s reaction to the present.

Inside the box was a complete wizarding chess set, the pieces carved from marble and the lid of the case monogrammed with the initials HJP. Harry was surprised, and realised that the box must have been charmed so the weight of the gift would not reveal what was inside. His fingers caressed the pieces that lay currently dormant inside, then looked up at the man who given itn it to him. \"It\'s beautiful.\" He smiled. \"Thank you so much, Severus.\"

Harry took the chance that this once, his calling the other man by his given name would go unpunished and he was right.

\"You\'re very welcome, Harry. I\'m glad you like it. I charmed it so that it will be self-playing. If you don\'t have a partner, it will play with you, as well as teach you the game. Who knows? It might even let you play white.\"

Harry snickered at that little taunt, then waved at the present that sat in Severus\' lap. \"It\'s your turn.\"

Severus lifted the gift and looked at it from all sides. He gave it a little shake, which resulted in a scowl from Harry.

\"Don\'t do that! Just open it, already.\"

Severus placed the gift back down on his lap, and opened it just as slowly as Harry had opened his. He looked over at Harry, who was sitting on the edge of his seat watching as he lifted the lid off of the gift box. Inside the bppeappeared to be a glass figurine. He reached inside carefully and extracted the figurine from it\'s nest of tissue paper.

Severus\' eyes shone with unshed tears. He looked over at Harry, then back at the glass figurine in his hands. It was beautiful. Not quite like the one his mother had given him all those Christmases ago, but very similar. The young girl was dancing, one arm raised in the air, her face tilted skyward, with one bird perched on the tips of her fingers and another poised near the bottom at her feet. Severus could almost hear the birds sing to the young maiden, as if serenading her for her light airy movements of dance.

\"Harry. I don\'t know what to say. This is...It\'s beautiful.\" He looked at the young man who had given him quite possibly the best gift he had ever received since the death of his mother. \"Thank you.\" He stood up and walked over to the desk and placed the figurine on it next to a photograph of a beautiful, dark haired woman. Harry thought she might be Severus\' mother.

Harry rose and joined him there, standing close to Severus. \"She\'s lovely, Severus. Your mother?\" Severus nodded and turned to Harry, placing a hand on the younger man\'s shoulder. \"I...I just can\'t believe it. It\'s almost exactly like the one my mother had given me. How...Where on earth did you find it?\"

\"In this little curio shop tucked away in a quiet corner of Hogsmeade. It was just sitting there at the back of a shelf collecting dust. Who knows, it might have been created by the same craftsman that made the one your mother gave you.\"

\"I would think it is from the same craftsperson. I could tell by the face of the young girl, it is perfectly identical. At least, in my memory it is.\"

\"Well, I know that nothing could ever really replace the loss of the one your mother gave you...\"

\"No, but this...,\" Severus pulled Harry into a tiembrembrace. \"Thank you,\" he whispered.

Harry reveled in the warmth of Severus\' arms before the other man disengaged himself. Severus cleared his throat of the emotion clogging it, then asked, \"How about that game of chess? We can use your new set.\"

Harry nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion, eager to try his new set. He retrieved the case and took it over to the table, where he watched Severus store away his own set in a polished, black teak case.

\"How long have you had this set, Severus?\"

\"I have had it since I achieved my Potions Mastery. It was a gift from Albus.\"

Harry placed the board on the table and began setting the game up. \"That was very nice of him. He\'s like a father figure to you, isn\'t he?\" He placed the last pawn on the board and looked at Severus expectantly.

\"Yes, he is.\" Severus smiled and took his seat, behind the black pieces. \"He really is a lovable, although annoyingly meddlesome, old codger.\"

Harry stood rooted to his spot, eyeing the empty chair behind the white pieces.

\"Aren\'t you going to sit down, Mr. Potter?\" Severus quirked a small smile at a slightly confused Harry.

Harry slowly took his seat, still not believing that the older man had finally granted him the chance to play white.

It was well after midnight before they finally finished playing. Harry stretched and yawned. \"It\'s been a long day, Severus, I think I\'m going to go off to bed.\" He stood up and stretched once more. \"Thank you for sharing your Christmas Eve with me, I had a wonderful time this evening.\" Harry regarded his chess set. \"It\'s really quite exquisite, thank you again. You don\'t mind if I leave it here for the time being, do you? I thought maybe we could play again when we...well...finalise our plot for revenge against the Headmaster.\"

Severus looked deeply into Harry\'s eyes and knew at that moment that the plot was just a convenient excuse, and he felt a thrill course through him at the realisation that Harry might possibly be interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

They walked side by side to the door. Harry stopped and turned to face Severus once more before departing. \"Thank you. For everything.\" He reached up and placed a gentle kiss upon the stunned potion master\'s lips.

\"Good night, Severus.\"

\"Good night, Harry.\"

Severus leaned back agaithe the closed door after Harry had gone. His fingers touched his lips in awe. The kiss solidified the idea that Harry was indeed interested in a relationship. With him! ouldould not suppress the grin that spread across his face.

~FIN~

A/N: ~FIN~ doesn\'t necessarily mean THE END :). Look for future stories with our Harry and Severus.