A Memorable Christmas

A/N This is for Graballz, whose wonderful cookie decorating inspired the story. I know it is a bit late but Merry Christmas to all and have a wonderful New Year

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“What do you mean your first real Christmas was at Hogwart’s? Didn’t those stupid Muggles make you celebrate?”

Harry Potter looked at his boyfriend in surprise. He hadn’t expected his offhand comment to cause such a reaction. Draco’s pale face was flushed with anger and Harry had to admit he was hot when he was mad. He feigned a sad look.

“No. Dudley always got everything but I never did. Sometimes I would steal his broken toys for my own.” Harry said in a low sad voice. He watched in amusement as Draco stood up suddenly and started pacing. Harry, sensing that he could get whatever he wanted from Draco, sighed.

“I always wanted a traditional Christmas. Having dinner with my family, baking cookies and making hot chocolate, unwrapping gifts together, singing carols… but it never happened”

Draco stopped pacing and suddenly smiled. “You know I love you right, Harry?”

Harry nodded. He did know that Draco loved him. He loved Draco as well with all of his heart. Draco nodded back and left the room. Harry rolled his eyes. Growing up he had wanted all of that. Now he didn’t care as long as he was with the people he loved.

He lay on the sofa feeling drowsy from the warmth of the fire when he heard Draco come back in the room. It had been almost an hour since he had gone. Harry looked up and was surprised when he saw that Snape accompanied Draco and he did not look happy.

In the months since the defeat of Voldemort, Harry and Snape had been forced to reconcile their differences. Both loved Draco, though in different ways, and would have done anything to make him happy. Anything had consisted of reconciling and living peacefully in the same household. Harry had actually grown to like Snape and thought maybe Snape liked him as well, though he knew Snape wouldn’t admit it for anything.

“Come on.” Draco said imperiously and Harry stood up.

“What are we doing?” he asked with a yawn. It wasn’t late but Harry was sleepy from the warm fire.

“My wonderful godson has taken into his head to give you the Christmas you always wanted and somehow I was forced into helping.” Snape said dryly and Harry turned to stare at them both in surprise. He had said that earlier just to tease Draco. He had never expected it to go anywhere.

“Really?” he asked, not sure if he should believe it.

“Really.” Snape confirmed rolling his eyes.

Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck and kissed him. A few moments later Snape interrupted.

“Excuse me but if we are going to do this, let’s get it over with.” He said with a growl.

Harry pulled away from Draco and smiled. “So what’s first?” He asked.

Draco grinned. “Cookies, then dinner and then presents and cocoa… There will be no singing…” he said the last with a dark look at Snape. Snape nodded.

“That’s wonderful!” Harry said excitedly. He, Draco and Snape then made their way to the kitchens. To their surprise, a house elf was waiting for them. She gave them a dark look.

“There will be no cooking in Penny’s kitchens… No messes in Penny’s clean kitchens.” She said firmly. Harry bit back a laugh at the look on Snape’s face. It was a cross with relief and disbelief. Relief that he wouldn’t have to bake cookies and disbelief that his own house elf would deny him something. Harry didn’t understand the disbelief because Penny was unlike most house elves and didn’t have a problem telling any of them no.

“You can decorate cookies, but no cook.” She said firmly and waved her hand at the counters where she had set out frosting and freshly baked sugar cookies. Harry sighed and then smiled. There went his idea of ‘pretending’ to dump flour over Snape’s head in the event of a food fight with Draco. He shrugged and went to the counter and grabbed the first cookie and some frosting.

He started decorating the cookie and a few moments later Draco followed suit. It took another few minutes and a few dirty looks from Draco for Snape to grab a cookie.

Harry laughed as he decorated the cookie. He had been trying to be artistic but the colors had run together and it looked like a many colored blob. He did several more cookies and they all turned out the same way. He was amused to see that Draco’s cookies looked the same as well.

He looked over at Snape’s cookie and started laughing. Snape had picked a snow man and it was decorated very well. He had used a lot of detail with the frosting. The body of the snowman was white and it had black buttons and a top hat. It had an orange carrot-like note and black coal dots for the mouth.

The thing that made Harry laugh was that the snowman’s head had broken off at some point. Snape had used red frosting along the top of the body and the bottom of the head to represent blood. It also trailed down the body in rivulets.

Snape looked up at Harry when he laughed. “It’s realistic!” he protested with a serious look on his face. Draco looked up and began to laugh as well. Snape scowled.

Harry looked at his Snape’s face and got inspiration.

“You’re a mean one, Mr. Snape. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, You're as charming as an eel. Mr. Snape.” He said in a singsong voice. “You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel. You're a monster, Mr. Snape. Your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders; you've got garlic in your soul. Mr. Snape.”

Snape stared at him in shock and Draco looked confused. With a laugh, Harry began dancing around the room, waving his little frosting covered spatula and continued singing.

“I wouldn't touch you, with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole. You're a vile one, Mr. Snape. You have termites in your smile. You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile. Mr. Snape. Given the choice between the two of you, I'd take the seasick crocodile.” He sang.

Snape pulled the spatula out of Harry’s hand and smacked him on the head with it.

“I am not a Grinch.” He said. Harry stopped singing and gaped at Snape. Green frosting was smeared across his forehead. Draco watched in bewilderment. He didn’t understand what a Grinch was.

“Hmm…” Harry said in mock thoughtfulness. “I would say you were.”

He began to dance around and opened his mouth to sing again but Snape stopped him with a bowl of frosting in the face. The bowl fell to the floor and Harry gaped at Snape who was wiping yellow frosting from his robes where it had splattered. Draco burst into laughter. Harry turned slowly to Draco, wiping the frosting off of his glasses.

“Think this is funny, do you?” Harry growled. Draco didn’t stop laughing until Harry had grabbed a handful of red frosting and shoved it in his face and smeared it into his hair. He gaped at Harry in shock.

“My… h-hair.” He whimpered. Someone snorted and both young men turned to look at Snape in disbelief. He was laughing at them. They shared a glance and in tandem grabbed handfuls of frosting and shoved it in Snape’s face. His laughter was abruptly stopped and he gaped at them. He brought himself to his full height and gave them black looks.

“Do you think that you can do that to me without retribution?” he said coldly. Draco and Harry both stepped back warily. They didn’t notice the two bowls that had come off the counter behind them until it dumped on their heads. It was a full on war then. Cookies, frosting, anything they could get their hands on was used as missiles and it was each for themselves. It didn’t stop until Penny came back to check on them.

Harry had always been wary of house elves after his experience of Dobby and he was downright terrified of Penny. She was the unconfirmed ruler of the household and she ruled it with an iron fist. All three of them immediately stopped when she entered the kitchen.

No one moved as she looked over the disaster that had once been a spotless kitchen. She walked around looking at the mess and then at the three guilty parties. Draco edged behind Harry for protection.

“You messed up my kitchen!” she said scoldingly. Harry and Draco backed away but Snape stood his ground.

“This is my kitchen.” He said. Penny glared at him and picked up a bowl of frosting that had somehow been missed in the small food war. She flung it at Snape. His eyes widened.

“Go clean for dinner.” She said sternly but Harry thought he saw a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Snape turned and walked out of the kitchen, Harry and Draco trailing behind.

“Go get cleaned up… and don’t take very long. I would like to eat dinner at a reasonable time.” Snape said with a scowl. He turned and stalked off but Harry could swear he heard him humming the tune to the Grinch song.

He turned, took Draco’s hand and walked up the stairs to their rooms. Maybe it wasn’t what he pictured as the perfect Christmas but it was surely a memorable one.