A Snarry Christmas Carol

Title: A Snarry Christmas Carol
Email: ciceronian@hotmail.com
Author: Crystal
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not, nor have I ever, owned these guys.
J.K.Rowling does and I\'ve shamelessly borrowed them. I also do not
own Dickens\' \"A Christmas Carol\", well I own a copy of it but that\'s
not the point. I borrowed from that as well.
Distribution: Merrywizards, AFF.net
Spoilers: All five HP books, including OOTP
Summary: Dumbledore feels that Severus needs to get into the holiday
spirit so he devises a plan.
Pairings: SS/HP
Author Note: Written for the Merrywizards Secret Santa challenge
2003. #6
Requested: Severus and Harry, Romance but of course (I hope you got
what you wanted)

(A/N: I almost didn\'t want to post this after I saw that someone
else had the same idea but I couldn\'t disappoint my person so here
it is, for better or worse)

~Prologue~

\"Albus what are you up to now?\"

Quickly sliding the novel under some papers Albus turned to greet
Minerva with a smile though the

scowl marring her features was a bit off-putting. \"What do you mean?
I\'m not up to anything.

Lemon Drop?\"

Yes. Distract her. Very few people knew why he offered the candies
so much but the ones he ate were not the ones liberally laced with a
calming draught. He smiled encouragingly at his bond-mate who took
the candy with an indulgent smile. Minerva took a seat on the corner
of his desk. \"I hope you don\'t think that you\'ve successfully
maneuvered your way out of my question. Now I want an answer Albus
Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and don\'t make me ask again.\"

Looking from her stern face to the wrapper of the lemon drop he had
eaten in his hand he frowned. He had done gaingain, he really needed
to keep the lemon drops better separated, this was the fourth time
he had accidentally had a \'calming\' lemon drop. \"I was trying to get
Severus in the holiday mood. He doesn\'t enjoy the Holidays at all.\"

Minerva\'s scowl deepened and Albus felt the desire to hide from her
reproachful stare. \"Albus, no, you will leave Severus alone. He had
been through enough and he doesn\'t need you meddling in his life.\"

\"But Minerva, I just want him to be happy. There\'s nothing stopping
him now that Voldemort is gone. He needs to settle down with
someone.\"

A noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort escaped Minerva. \"He
needs to settle down? Let me think, how old were you when you
finally approached me, hmm? Would that be forty like Severus, no
I don\'t believe that is so. In fact if I remember correctly that
would be almost ninety, would it not?\"

\"I want to make sure he doesn\'t make the same mistakes as me. I
missed years that we could have been together and I don\'t want him
to do the same.\"

\"Don\'t even attempt to butter me up Albus. You will leave the poor
boy alone! He deserves some time to himself. Now repeat after me, I
will not meddle in Severus\' life anymore.\"

Albus didn\'t hesitate repeating what Minerva said immediately.
Arguing with her would have served no purpose anyway, never did when
she got like this. It was just lucky for him that she had phrased it
as she had, \'I will not meddle in Severus\' life ANYMORE.\' Since he
had already put all his plans into motion he wouldn\'t be breaking
his word though he had wished to oversee everything. Oh Well.

Minerva nodded when he finished. \"All right. Are you all packed? The
first time in ten years we\'ve been able to get home for Christmas
and I\'ve invited Aberforth as well.\"

Albus stood following Minerva into their private rooms but not
before throwing one last glance over his shoulder at the book
peeking out from beneath the papers. He could just make out the
author\'s last name, Dickens.

~Part One, Marley Jacobs~

The silence of the dungeons was a comfort that usually was only
afforded to him in the summer prep time before the students arrived.
But for the first time in a decade there were no students staying
for Christmas and no faculty either. Working on potions research in
the quiet of his dungeons was a compelling reason to stay in the
castle. The sound of the outer door to his lab slamming open brought
him back to the fact that not all faculty had left yet, nep nephew\'s
loud voice calling out to him was proof of that. \"Uncle? Are you
here?\"

Maybe if he didn\'t answer the boy would simply go away. The knock on
and subsequent opening of the inner lab door proved that his wishes
were futile. \"Yes, Draco?\"

\"Happy Christmas Uncle!\"

Severus sneered at his grinning nephew. \"What\'s so happy about it?\"

Draco simply smiled waving away his comments. \"What\'s not happy
about it? I came to invite you to Christmasner.ner. I know Mother
would love to see you as well as Molly and Arthur.\"

Severus muttered under his breath about the likelihood of that
happening before clearing his throat to answer. \"No.\"

\"But uncle, everyone is going to be there. Even Harry agreed to
come.\"

\"Ah yes, Mr. Potter, our magnificent savior and resident Defense
Professor. Draco I have research to attend to. Good Day.\"

\"I know you wished to teach Defense but…\" Draco\'s words trailed off
as the boy got a look at his expression. One of these days he was
going to kill Bill Weasley who had started the damn rumor about him
wanting the Defense against the Dark Arts position. Once upon a time
the idea had appealed to him until the realization that he would be
teaching children hexes woke him up. For a brief moment Draco\'s
happy smiling face wavered but was swiftly put back in place. \"Happy
Christmas and Happy New Year. I\'ll see you after the Hols.\"

Once the door closed behind his nephew he let out a relived sigh at
being left alone once again. And good riddance. Happy Christmas,
indeed. The boy was fast becoming as bad as Albus. The worst thing
he had ever done was tell Draco that Narcissa was his half sister. A
very near second had been allowing Albus to talk him out of his
resignation he had given when he saw the faculty list.

Draco had replaced Professor Binns as the History of Magic Professor
last year, for some reason the ghost had felt the need to travel for
the first time in his existence. Astonishingly enough it had become
one of the most popular subjects in the school. The other new
teachers included Miss Brown for the Divination post, Sybil having
been killed by the Dark Lord himself when she had refused to reveal
the rof tof the prophecy, and Miss Granger-Weasley for Muggle
Studies. It was no wonder he had attempted to resign, four new
professors all of which he had taught and three of which were
Gryffindors.

Three hours later Severus left his Potion Lab, an angry scowl firmly
in place as his mind wandered over the explosion that had occurred
not ten minutes ago. There had been no reason for it, none of the
ingredients were especially volatile and all were compatible. It was
as if someone had done something to it without him realizing it,
which was bizarre as he hadn\'t left the lab once.

After a quick shower he donned his black dressing gown and sat down
at his desk to make notes of tonight\'s experiment. Picking up the
Quill he began writing, stopping suddenly when he heard an odd sound
from out in the corridor. It sounded like the clanking of chains.
Once he finished the sentence he was currently writing he set the
quill down to investigate the continuing clatter.

Severus crossed the room to open the door that led into the dungeon
passageways but a glance to the left and the right proved futile.
Sighing he closed the door and chalked it up to the fact that the
dungeons were quieter than he could ever remember them being. When
he turned around to head back to his desk he backed up in surprise.
Standing, no floating, before him was a ghost with chains wrapped
heavily around his transparent body. \"Severus Snape, I presume?\"

Severus nodded slowly; if there was one thing he had learned as his
time as a spy it was never to give more information than asked for.
With his nod the ghost stepped back and motioned for him to take a
seat in one of the armchairs placed to the side of the hearth. \"Have
you ever read \'A Christmas Carol\' by Charles Dickens?\"

Another nod and Severus watched in surprise as a smile blossomed on
the otherworldly face. \"That is good, then I won\'t have to do much
explaining. I am Marley Jacobs though Dickens referred to me as
Jacob Marley. Scrooge was one of my first cases, worked out very
well. You are my first wizarding case, however, and I hope you take
what the spirits have to show you to heart. It wouldn\'t do for me to
fail miserably, so look deep within yourself and observe everything
carefully. Good Luck, Severus Snape.\"

Severus blinked and the ghost was gone. There was no way he was
going to go wandering about in the middle of the nighth tth three
spirits while exploring the Christmas\'s of his past, present, and
future. And the fact that someone had obviously arranged for such an
*honor* for him only served to anger him further. How someone could
take the right to meddle in his life, it had to be Albus. No one
else would have dared to take such liberties.

Moving back towards his desk he picked up his wand and moved to the
door that connected his sitting room to his bedroom. Quickly he got
comfortable in bed before casting a locking charm on the blue bed
hangings and a silent charm as well in case the spirit decided to
call to him. \'See if they could get to him through that.\' And with
one last thought to the story Severus said a loud clear \'Bah!
Humbug!\' before turning over and promptly falling into a deep
slumber.

~Part Two, The Ghost of Christmas Past~

The feel of ice cold water being dumped on his head had him jumping
out of bed three hours later much to the delight of the grinning
spirit before him. \"Did you honestly believe that you would
be the first to try and ignore me? Cast a quick drying charm on
yourself so we can get going, can\'t have you get sick after we\'ve
gone to such troubles can we?\"

Severus picked up his wand, casting the charm while trying to resist
the urge to hex the spirit. It was simply too bad the bloody thing
wouldn\'t be hurt by it, where was a Basilisk when you needed it? So,
resigning himself to the endless chatter of the specter Severus
stepped forward ready to be taken to the Christmas\'s of his past.

To his surprise the ghost pulled him through his door, into the
sitting room, through another door and out into the corridors. They
were not the corridors he had checked earlier, these halls were full
of laughing students speaking loudly of their holiday plans as they
made their way from the Slytherin common room. Severus hadn\'t needed
to see this to remember it clearly. Hell, he lived it everyday.
Working at Hogwarts had many drawbacks and reliving his childhood
existence was a major one.

The ghost looked at him pityingly and Severus glared at him before
making his way to the common room to see what the spirit had decided
he needed to see. And there he was, every student gone and the
common rooms empty except for one lone figure in an armchair before
the fireplace a large potion book within his lap. It was odd
studying his eleven-year-old self and he stared transfixed as tears
made their way down his younger self\'s cheeks. Perhaps, he admitted
grudgingly, he did not remember everything. Now he looked closer to
see what he knew to be cradled in the books folds, the letter from
his father insisting that he stay at Hogwarts for the holidays that
he would be a bother if he were to come home.

The sound of a throat clearing drew his attention from houngounger
self to the ghost standing back and Severus moved towards the
ghost. \"Are you ready?\"

Severus nodded and felt the ghost grip his elbow softly, apparently
this specter was different than the normal ghosts as Severus did not
feel the usual chill. They didn\'t have far to go again as they made
their way towards the door and were only a few steps away from the
entrance to the common room when he saw his fifteen-year-old self
exit. By then he had gotten used to the letters from his father
requesting for him to stay at school over the holidays. This year
had been different though and he wasn\'t surprised when an eleven-
year-old girl, her blond hair held back in an elegant chignon,
accosted his younger self. \"Sev, Maman said that you could join us
for Christmas since your father usually has you stay here.\"

\"Narcissa, father would not like it.\"

Severus watched as the two rounded another corneis yis younger self
had been right he could still remember perfectly his father\'s anger
for accepting the Blacks\' invitation. His father had shown up at
their home on Christmas Eve, never acknowledging his own daughter;
not that he ever did, as he drd hid him from the house and took him
to Snape Manor. He had received one of the worst thrashings of his
life for his behavior, hell of a Christmas present it had turned out
to be.

Severus twisted back towards the ghost to find the same pitying
expression on its face, \"I thought that I was to be shown something
that would make Christmas seem good and for me to want to celebrate.
So far, this is not working.\"

\"Everything has a reason.\" The spirit gripped his elbow once again
but this time was different and Severus watched as flashes passed
before his eyes so fast he felt nauseous so he closed them

tightly. The sound of a familiar voice ringing out had his eyes
snapping back open to look at a scene he barely remembered. \"Caleb,
Severus what say we put these potions on hold and head down to the
Ball?\"

Severus watched as both Caleb and he waved their wands over the
bubbling cauldrons effectively putting them under holding charms
before they scrambled out of the room towards their rooms to
shower and dress for the Yule Ball. The ghost pulled him up the
stairs to the Ballroom of his master\'s home. The room was already
half-full, some couples dancing to the ensemble\'s music and others
seated at tables nursing drinks. Severus knew it wouldn\'t take long
before couples made their way to the mistletoes hung throughout the
room.

Some time later the room was near to bursting with dancing and
laughing couples. He spied himself at a table with Caleb laughing.
It hurt seeing him but he knew that what was to come would be
even more painful as he watched them steadily get drunk on the
provided firewhisky. Next he saw himself being dragged beneath one
of the mistletoes to be kissed. The two of them attracted an
audience by the time they finished their kiss and they left the room
amidst catcalls and suggestive whistling. (A/N: How can whistling
being suggestive? I don\'t know, it just sounded good to me besides
it\'s two thirty in the morning.)

Severus moved to follow himself and Caleb but the ghost nodded
negatively, \"It\'s time for us to move onto our last.\"

Severus closed his eyes again not wanting to feel the sick feeling
yet again and didn\'t open them until he felt the ghost remove his
hold on his arm. Once Severus spotted the scene before him he made
to close his eyes again but the ghost squeezed his shoulder. \"You
must watch.\"

The clearing was empty except for two figures standing two feet from
one another. The slight fog that swirled around the two cast an
eerie image. \"Severus, I can\'t marry you. You\'ve changed so much I
hardly recognize the man you used to be.\" At this point Caleb
grabbed up his left arm exposing the Dark Mark that stood out
clearly on his pale forearm. \"I am a muggleborn, do you even connect
that with what you do when you are with these people. That I am one
of the people that your new friends wouldn\'t approve of?\"

\"I haven\'t changed, you must understand this. Caleb, there are
things you don\'t know.\" Severus cringed at the sound of his pleading
voice, almost begging.

\"Then tell me! What don\'t I know? Please I beg of you, tell me
anything that will make this seem different. Make that mark burned
into your skin not what it looks like.\"

\"I can\'t.\" With those two words Caleb removed the ring from his
finger and flung it at his younger self before stalking off. Tears
gathered in his eyes but none would fall, nor would they ever again.
It had been the last time he had seen Caleb but he knew that the
other man was living in the states with his partner.

The ghost clutched his elbow once more and when he let go again
Severus found himself standing in his rooms at Hogwarts. \"Good Night
Severus Snape, and Good Luck!\"

~Part Two, The Ghost of Christmas Present~

Once the spirit disappeared Severus found his bed again and sank
into it gratefully. Barely minutes passed before he was once again
asleep. He woke many hours later and took a quick shower intending
to spend some time back in his potions lab to figure out the
explosion that had occurred earlier. But as he stepped towards the
door the next spirit greeted him. He was tall, causing Severus to
look up into his face though he wasn\'t as big as Hagrid. The spirit
was wrapped in generous blue robes trimmed with white sable a wreath
of holly tucked securely on his head. \"Good Evening Severus Snape, I
assume you were told of my arrival.\"

Severus nodded; displeased that he would not be making it to his lab
tonight though he was slightly intrigued to see where he would be
going with this spirit. A firm grip on his shoulder and the flashes
started once again before he closed his eyes. A slight squeeze
prompted him to open his eyes and he stared at the unfamiliar
surroundings. He was in a small cramped kitchen. A battered table
sat in the middle, chairs surrounding it. He had an idea where he
might be and it was confirmed when Molly entered the kitchen and
began pulling out pots and pans from cupboards.

He was at The Burrow.

A few minutes later Potter joined her in the cramped space. \"Molly,
can I do anything?\"

\"Harry, dear, you could take care of the sides?\"

Potter smiled, \"Of course.\"

Potter jumped right in, working beside Molly or rather with her. It
was amazing watching the two of them; the fluidity with which the
two worked together was quite a sight. Potter would hand Molly
utensils or spices before she even asked and they were always what
she was looking for. But most startling of all was that Potter never
wavered in his gaze from what he was working on to even look what
Molly was doing. It showed that this was not an uncommon occurrence.
He had never had that with anyone, not even Caleb. When they worked
together they had quarreled, frequently. Arthur walked in and smiled
when he spotted the two of them. \"Trying to steal my wife again Mr.
Potter?\"

\"If only she was swayed by my promises. Nonetheless I shall never
give up, one day she may take me up on it.\"

Molly smiled as Har-Potter wrapped an arm around her shoulders
before removing the pans from the stove and transferring them into
serving dishes. With one last wink towards Molly, Harr-Potter
levitated the dishes and had them follow him out the door and into a
garden lit brightly with Fairy Lights. There were four tables
situated together he spotted his sister Narcissa sitting with the
Grangers before a blond blur raced before him which he recognized as
Draco a moment before a Red blur ran after him. Harry\'s voice called
out angrily, \"Hey you two, knock it off or you\'ll smack into the
food. You\'ve been married for two years you can stop chasing after
him Ron.\"

Laughter followed this statement as everyone took his or her seats
at the tables while the food was laid out and Severus was surprised
to see an empty chair situated between Harry and Narcissa.

Severus looked around the table in search of the missing person but
could come up with no one. Molly and Arthur were seated together
with their oldest, Bill on their right and his wife Fleur beside
him. Their two kids were seated at the children\'s table along with
Hermione and Charlie\'s twins. Percy was on his parent\'s left with
his wife Penelope. Next were the twins and their husband and wife
respectively. Ron and Draco sat beside Narcissa and the youngest
Weasley sat on the other side of Potter, her first child held
securely in her arms as her husband was taking photographs of her
and the baby.

Narcissa spoke to Draco who was on her right, \"I told you he
wouldn\'t come.\"

Draco shrugged at his mother. \"I had to ask though didn\'t I? I wish
he would come instead of staying at the castle.\"

\"Severus won\'t changehopehope you don\'t hold your breath Dragon. I
had to blackmail him to come to your handfasting. He doesn\'t like
being around others and he certainly wouldn\'t enjoy the holiday
celebration.\"

Harry broke into the conversation then, leaning towards
Narcissa, \"It\'s because Draco warned him that I would be here. As
soon as my name was mentioned Severus had other plans.\"

Draco laughed but Narcissa looked at Potter in compassion and
Severus watched in surprise as liftlifted a palm up to cup his
cheek. \"I\'m sorry.\"

Pain flashed briefly in the green eyes before it was covered
up, \"I\'m used to it or at least I should be by now.\"

Severus flushed guiltily reminded of the many situations he had
treated Harry badly in over the years. And jumped when the forgotten
spirit grabbed his shoulder and with one last look at the dinner
party before him Severus closed his eyes as the flashes of
countryside began.

~Part Three, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come~

He fell directly into bed once again though this time when he awoke
the spirit was already waiting for him. The ghost\'s resemblance to a
dementor bothered him greatly as the spirit used his bony fingers to
point out the door of his rooms and Severus moved slowly down the
corridors following the directing spirit. In the entrance hall the
children were chattering.

\"Oi, did you here? Potions has been cancelled until further notice,
until the Headmaster can secure another Professor. Reckon the next
one can\'t be as bad as Snape?\"

\"Jer, you shouldn\'t speak ill. But I doubt that they\'ll find anyone
as mean as that greasy old git.\" This last was greeted with smiles
and laughter and Severus felt anger begin to build up at their
audacity.

The bony hand pointed once again, this time outside and Severus
followed once again and walked to the edge of the lake where a small
headstone had recently been erected. There was a lone man kneeling
before the grave blocking the writing etched into the stone but
Severus knew immediately that it was him buried there. The man stood
taking a step back before whispering, \"I wish that things could have
been different.\"

The man turned, sad emerald eyes and that familiar scar greeted
Severus before the man walked off and Severus returned his attention
to the headstone. It was as he thought as he read his name written
on the stone. The ghost swiveled around and Severus spoke, \"I\'m
ready to go.\"

~Part Four, Happy Christmas~

When Severus awoke the next morning he immediately checked the date
and was glad that this also followed the book. It was Christmas Day,
which would allow him to do what needed to be done. He took a shower
taking care to use the particular shampoo which would remove all the
potion grease that tended to accumulate before taking a potion that
would remove the tea stains from his teeth. A dre dressing carefully
he walked down to the gate and then apparated to Diagon Alley. Most
of the shops were closed for the day but Gringotts wasn\'t as he
expected it was open for business, as Goblins didn\'t celebrate
Christmas. Once he reached his vault he entered the large rooms off
to the side intent on finding the gift idea that had plagued his
dreams.

It took a while to find what he was looking for but once he did he
returned to his money and filled a bag with galleons before moving
out and joining the goblin in the cart as they made their way back
up to the main floor of the bank. Talking some of the business
owners to open their stores took some persuasion and some galleons
but towards the end of the day Severus had all the gifts he needed
tucked in his pockets. He apparated straight to The Burrow just in
time to hear Harry issue the statement, \"Hey you two, knock it off
or you\'ll smack into the food. You\'ve been married for two years you
can stop chasing after him Ron.\"

The laughter was abruptly stopped when Draco called out a shocked
hello, \"Uncle Severus?\"

Severus smiled at his nephew before replying. \"Happy Christmas
Draco. Happy Christmas everyone.\"

They all stared at him, seemingly frozen in their shock, which gave
him time to enlarge the gifts he had hidden in his pockets. The
children thanked him loudly as Uncle Severus when he gave them
their gifts. The rest appeared in front of everyone\'s seat when he
tapped them with his wand. All except the last gift which he kept in
his hands as he made his way to Harry who was looking down at the
empty place before him. Severus tapped the younger man lightly on
the shoulder and was surprised to see a familiar pain in the boy\'s
eyes. \"Harry, May I speak to you a moment?\"

The man nodded slowly before standing up and following Severus to
the side of the yard, a bit away from the tables where everyone was
ripping into their gifts. \"First, I\'d like to apologize for the way
I\'ve acted. And I\'d like to give you a present that should have been
given to you back when you were a first year.\"

Severus handed over the box and Harry removed the wrapping paper
slowly as Severus watched he noticed that Harry\'s s wes were
slightly shaking. Severus knew the moment that Harry\'s eyes lit on
Lily\'s letter asking him to give this to Harry when he was older.
Severus remembered clearly the day he had received the package full
of Lily\'s journals along with the note that said she didn\'t k
tk
that they would come away with their lives and would he please give
the books to Harry.

When Harry looked up from his mother\'s letter, his eyes were
slightly glassy as he whispered a very soft \'Thank You.\' As Severus
was about to reply that he was welcome he heard a loud wolf whistle
and looked to see his nephew with his wand out pointing above their
heads. Harry looked up at the same time as him and a soft gasp
escaped the younger man when they spotted the mistletoe hovering
above them.

Severus smiled slightly before leaning down to place a quick kiss on
Harry\'s upturned face. Severus ended the kiss quickly and took a
step back intending to go and speak to his nephew but before he
could move Harry\'s arms were wrapped securely around his neck. The
kiss was soft at first but slowly evolved as the pressure deepened
and Harry nibbled softly on Severus\'s bo lip lip while at the same
time imploring entrance with his tongue. Their tongues entwined in a
battle for dominance that would never be decided.

A loud throat clearing caused the two of them to break apart to find
everyone staring at them, some in surprise, some with amusement, and
some like Draco with smugness. Molly\'s voice was soft but it carried
easily and the command was easy to discern. \"I think it is time to
begin dinner. Severus, Harry if you would take your seats?\"

Together they made their way to the table and sat down side by side
and Severus smiled as Harry\'s right hand found his beneath the table.

THE END