Waking up just after midnight, Angel snuck a quick peek at her brothers in the dark. She had to bite her hand to keep from giggling at the sight. Her brothers' heads had fallen sometime during the night onto the other's head. They were the perfect guards with their wands in hand, ready for anything. Well, if they had been awake that was.

As silent as her daddy was, she crept out of her bed, grabbing one of her numerous comforters and dragging it across the floor with her towards them. Gently, she placed it on them in hopes to make them as comfortable as possible. Once that task was over, she kissed them both on the cheek and quickly tip-toed out of her bedroom. Of course, she made sure that before she left for good she had grabbed her winter robes and cloak, snow boots, and her Slytherin teddy bear. She had a long journey ahead of her.

Out in the hallway, she glanced at her parents' closed door. Well, it wouldn't really hurt anything if she just walked over to see if they were back yet. She could explain away everything perfectly and logically if they were. She was her daddy's daughter after all.

Slowly, opening the door, she stuck her head in to take a quick peek. Sure enough, her parents were snug in their bed in one another's arms, sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. With an inaudible sigh, she silently closed the door and crept down the hallway. She didn't want to disobey her daddy. Really, she didn't. But if he and Mommy could go out and see their friends, why couldn't she go see Fred? Of course, she wasn't even going to bring up the quaint little fact that she had no idea where the Burrow was.

Once downstairs, she slipped on her boots, her outer robes, and cloak. The material felt so nice against her skin. Hugging her bear just a bit closer, she whirled around and opened the front door. She knew she'd get to Fred's eventually. She did after all have her daddy's stubbornness and ambition to guide her on her journey. Setting the little scribbled parchment detailing her plans onto the table beside the door, she latched the door silently behind her and set off for the Burrow.

It was bitterly cold outside as the snow whipped around in the fierce wind. The ice-covered trees cracked and popped as they swayed. There were no signs of life yet again. It was an utter wasteland.

About a half-hour later, she finally made it to the outer edge of the forest. She had to admit that she was surprised that her daddy hadn't come running out snarling at her to get back inside. Then again, he was sleeping as were her mommy and brothers. She was utterly alone yet again.

Drawing her cloak around her more, she attempted to shield herself from the bitter cold. She wished she could be like her brothers and warm herself up with a spell. However, she knew that she'd only end up blowing a tree up or something. The tree didn't deserve that.

A twig somewhere to her left suddenly snapped. She stopped instantly and glanced towards the sound. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Biting her lip, she clutched her bear, hoping it would ward off whatever was in the forest. More twigs then snapped around her.

Remaining as quiet as she could, she stood perfectly still in an effort not to draw its attention. However, when a twig snapped very close to her, she whimpered and drew in a shaky breath. It wasn't working. With tears in her eyes, she slowly turned her head.

"Pretty deer!" she exclaimed, watching the antlered animal from yesterday slowly approach. When it gently rubbed up against her a few moments later, she giggled softly. It was very beautiful to see and was surprisingly soft to touch. Her dark eyes then glanced up and down it, giggling some more when she caught the little white tuft near his butt. "My daddy would like you, pretty deer," she whispered, gently tracing the cauldron-like mark. "Can I call you Cauldy?" She giggled loudly when its wet nose nuzzled against her cheek. "You're welcome, Cauldy. I've got to go, though. I'm going to the Burrow." She then stopped and glanced at the animal. "Do you know where it is?" Cauldy only stared at her, though. "Course you don't," she said sadly. Cauldy then walked a bit closer and nudged her back towards the manor. "No, Cauldy, I have to go to the Burrow."

It nudged her again, more urgently this time. When that didn't work, Cauldy lowered his head and tried pushing her with his antlers towards the manor. He was able to move her, but she quickly moved out of the way from him.

"Cauldy, I can't. I have to go to the Burrow," she replied, frowning. Why didn't this animal listen to her? She then stared at him before finally noticing his leg. "You're hurt!" she cried.

His back leg was bleeding from a pretty wicked cut. The wound was also soiled with dirt and snow among other things. With a slight tremor, he lifted his foot up and dropped it back down in an effort to lessen the pain somewhat. It clearly didn't do a bit of good, though.

The little girl's head whipped around towards the manor that was far off in the distance. Could Cauldy even walk that far with his bad leg? Biting her bottom lip, she turned back towards the reindeer. They at least had to try.

"Come on, Cauldy. My daddy can fix you up." Very gently and very slowly, she walked beside the reindeer, petting him to calm him back down. She of course was slipping in the huge drifts, though, and could barely feel her extremities anymore thanks to the blustery wintery conditions. She was so cold, so very cold.

Putting an arm around the reindeer's shoulder blades, she put her head against it and continued to walk beside it. She needed to get Cauldy to her daddy right away. If only there was a way I could be like Daddy, she thought with tears streaming down her cheeks. With a soft pop, she and Cauldy disappeared from the arctic landscape and into the upstairs bedroom of the manor beside her daddy's side of the bed. The little girl's mouth dropped. Had she done that?

"No, no, Cauldy, don't," she whispered as the reindeer slowly inched closer to her daddy's face. "Cauldy, stop," she said. "You're going to wake Daddy up." She then grimaced and turned away when Cauldy licked her daddy's face. Well, that was disgusting. "Bad Cauldy," she scolded. Unfortunately, it was the same time her daddy leapt up with his wand drawn towards the reindeer. "No, no, don't hurt him, Daddy!" she cried.

"Angel?" he said in disbelief. He clearly was not awake at all since he addressed his question towards the reindeer.

"I'm over here," she replied, raising her hand as high as it would go over Cauldy.

"Oh, okay," he said with a sigh of relief before running a hand over his face. "For a minute there I thought I was—never mind. What the hell is a reindeer doing in here?" he asked with a hint of anger, annoyance, and sheer confusion.

"I think I did magic," she softly answered.

"And you decided to bring your mother and me a reindeer why?"

"Cause he's hurt, Daddy," she replied. "Can you make him better like you did with me?"

"I'm a Potions Master, not a veterinarian," he grumpily said.

"Severus," her mommy snapped. "At least try to help it."

"Fine, but she gets this Snow White crap from your side of the family," he grumbled, slowly pushing the massive reindeer head out of his face. "My family would have shot it."

"Severus Tobias Snape, you take that back!"

"What? I'm only being honest. My father would have shot it and fed it to me. Granted, he would have been useful had he done so."

Angel looked horrified as she stared at her daddy. Her arms immediately wrapped around Cauldy as she attempted the useless feat of trying to pull the massive reindeer from him. How could he say that? Cauldy never hurt anyone.

"Oh, honestly, I'm not going to hurt your reindeer, Angel. Let me see his leg."

She, however, pulled the two-hundred or so pound animal back with all her might. Her daddy was not going to eat Cauldy.

"Let me see it," her daddy reiterated. He finally sighed and held his hands out, glancing at Cauldy. "I don't suppose you could help me here, could you?" he muttered to the wild animal. His eyes then widened when the reindeer stepped closer to him and held up its injured leg. "Thank you," he softly said, staring at Cauldy in disbelief. Then again, this animal did have contact with his daughter. If ever there was a strange thing in the world, she'd be the first to encounter it. He snorted when the reindeer lowered his head. "Yeah, and I bet you're one of St. Nick's too," he mocked.

"You think he's Santa's?" Angel cried with wide brown eyes.

"No, I just—"

"Daddy, we need to hide him. Santa was probably the one who did this to him."

"I seriously doubt that, my Angel," her daddy drawled, rolling his eyes.

"He steals, breaks-in, yells, forces his elves into slavery, and I think he kills people too."

"WHAT?" her daddy yelled.

"He steals cookies from the house elves and breaks into people's homes. He yells at his reindeer and is really mean to them. And his elves in his workshop, I think he forces them into slavery."

"No, no," her daddy replied, shaking his head with a pained look. "No, he doesn't. Dear Merlin, no, Angel, he doesn't do any of that." Her daddy then glanced at the reindeer. "Can you back me up on this, Cauldy?" When the reindeer gave him the 'Are you joking me? You stepped in it so you can deal with it' look, her daddy sighed. Even the reindeer was against him. "Angel, why do you think he kills people?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why else hasn't anyone seen him?"

"Oh, I don't know because he wears an Invisibility cloak."

The little girl's face morphed into pure horror as she stared at her daddy. If he had an Invisibility cloak, then he could kill all of them and her daddy wouldn't even know he was there until it was too late to protect them. Her family was a goner now.

"But I don't want us to die, Daddy," she cried, wrapping her arms even tighter around Cauldy.

"Who says we're going to die?" he asked clearly confused.

"If the bad man in red has an Invisibility cloak, he can come in and kill us and you wouldn't even know he was there until it was too late and Mommy and Harry and Draco and everyone would be dead because you didn't know he was there so you couldn't protect us," the little girl rambled with big tears streaking her cheeks.

"He doesn't have an Invisibility cloak."

"You lied?" she asked with sniffles, staring up with big brown puddles.

"No, I merely was sarcastic, which was obviously lost on you."

"Gee, I wonder why that was, Severus," her mommy drawled, giving him a pointed look. "It couldn't be because she's four."

"She's my daughter, though. She should have learned sarcasm in the womb."

"Dad, is everything all right?" Harry asked, walking into their parents' bedroom. His green eyes slowly moved from their daddy to rest on the reindeer. "Is that a—?"

"Yes," her daddy answered with a loud sigh. "Your sister wishes for me to heal it."

"Well, why haven't you, Dad?"

"Healing a full grown animal is a little different than healing a human, Harry," he replied, clearly annoyed with the question.

"Then let's see if Madam Pomfrey can heal it," her brother said, quickly whirling around towards the hallway.

"Absolutely not," her daddy growled. "We're not bothering Madam Pomfrey over this. Now get back here," he ordered.

"But, Dad," her brothers pleaded. "It's hurt."

"Oh, dear Merlin, not both of you," her daddy grumbled. "It's a wild animal."

"Yes, and it's also a friend of Celes."

"Your sister would likely call a dragon her friend. Now would you have me put our lives in danger for that too, Draco?"

"It's just a reindeer, Dad," Harry interrupted. "What's the worst that could happen?" Her brother wisely closed his mouth when her daddy glared at the dark-haired young man.

"A great deal could happen," her daddy grumbled, moving to inspect the reindeer's wound. "Especially around you four little horrors," he mumbled. His long, pale fingers then gently prodded the animal's wound before he sighed heavily. "He'll likely have to stay off his leg for a bit after this," he said aloud to anyone listening. "Whatever cut him went through some of the muscle."

"Why isn't he making any noise? I mean, wouldn't that be really painful?"

"The cold has numbed it," her daddy responded. "But yes he should be making some noise." Her daddy then glanced towards the opened door and sighed. "Before you dismiss it as you dreaming and pinch yourself to wake up, yes, Orin, there is a full grown reindeer in here," he said, addressing the man in the doorway.

"Uh—all right," her grandpa replied in his sleepwear, rubbing at his eyes in order to get a better view. "So, well, where'd it come from, Severus? Because I'm rather certain that I don't sleep that well in order not to hear a thing like that walking up my stairs."

"It would appear that Angel brought it to me through another bout of accidental magic." Her daddy glanced toward the little girl before turning back. "It appears to have been injured by something."

"Poor thing," Grandpa Orin mumbled, walking into the room slowly. "Well, let's get it out to the barn so we can take a proper look at it, Severus."

"Can you, well, can you apparate an animal?" Harry asked with a questioning look.

"Yes, but it requires a great deal of magic to do so," her daddy answered before glancing towards her grandpa. "It does not appear to mind anyone touching it."

"Hmm, that is interesting, isn't it?" Her grandpa gently placed a hand against the animal and smiled. "Well, I'll be damned. You're soft. All right, enough of that," Grandpa Orin said, shaking his head while chuckling. His rich chocolate eyes fell on his granddaughter. "Sweet pea, go stand by your brothers," he said to the little blond. "Your father and I will get your friend all set up in the barn, and I'll give an extra bale of hay, too."

"Can't I come with you?" Angel asked, glancing from her daddy to her grandpa. She was pretty sure that with her grandpa there that her daddy wouldn't hurt Cauldy. But she had to admit that she didn't really want to leave her reindeer's side. What if that bad man came back and took Cauldy away once they had left?

"Not this time, sweet," Grandpa Orin answered with a soft grin. "Now go on. Be a good little girl, Angel." Her grandpa then glanced to her daddy when she didn't listen. "I promise on your daddy's and my wizard's oaths that your little reindeer will be all right out there."

"Okay," she reluctantly replied, slowly releasing her hold on Cauldy. Even she knew the magnitude swearing on one's Wizarding honor was. However, once her family was preoccupied again, she would sneak out to the barn. She had to make sure Cauldy was all right with her own eyes. Watching her daddy and grandpa, she sighed when they disappeared with Cauldy. She would make sure later.

Since it had been a quarter to one when she and Cauldy woke up her daddy, she of course was shipped back off to bed for the night. However, this time it wasn't just her brothers in her bedroom. Her daddy unfortunately had in fact noticed that she was wearing her outer robes, snow boots, and cloak. He of course was not impressed to discover that, seeing as how she had gotten into trouble earlier with him for sneaking out without an adult.

So every hour on the hour when she opened her little brown eyes to take a sneak peek, she found her daddy staring at her with his arms crossed wide awake. Instead of treating it as a punishment, though, the daughter of the Slytherin Head of House smiled slyly and happily drifted back to sleep. The bad man in red would be surprised when he found her daddy protecting her. He wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late.

Peeking one eye open, she glanced towards her daddy around five. He was still sitting in that same chair in that same posture still wide awake and staring at her. She flashed a soft smile towards him before glancing towards her brothers, who were fast asleep in their separate cots. With her Slytherin mind working at full speed, she suddenly threw off the covers. She nearly cheered when her daddy instantly stood and silently flew to her bedside.

"You are not going anywhere, Miss Prince," he whispered as not to disturb her sleeping brothers, pushing her back against her bed.

"I know, Daddy," she said, matching his whisper.

"Then why did you even try it?" He clearly didn't believe her for a moment.

"Cause I wanted you to come over here," she answered honestly.

"Why?"

Hanging her head slightly, she quietly apologized, "I sorry for disbaying you, Daddy. I know you and Mommy would've been really sad if something happened to me." Biting her lip painfully, she slowly raised her head to glance at him with big brown puddles for eyes. "I just miss you and Mommy when you're away."

"So you decided to run away?" he softly asked in disbelief.

"I was stupid. I know," she whispered, hanging her head again. "I thought if I found Fred, then we could find you and Mommy." It wasn't exactly a lie. She did want to find Fred, and she did miss her parents when they were away. She just hadn't thought ahead of what she was going to do after she arrived at the Burrow.

"What do you want?"

"Well, you could come over here and hold me just to make sure that I don't go anywhere." When her daddy's eyes narrowed, she pressed forward. "Your chair isn't comfy. I can tell, Daddy. Least this way you could lie down and go to sleep, knowing I'm not going anywhere."

"All right," he conceded, tipping his head. He gently picked her up and settled down behind her. His arms then wrapped snuggly around her midsection, making sure that she couldn't squirm out of his grip. "Are you comfortable?" he whispered, gently brushing a stray curl back.

"Yep," the little girl responded with a wide grin as she snuggled even closer to her daddy.

"Just so you're aware, my Angel, you weren't fooling anyone," he quietly said, glancing down at her. "You still have a long way to come, but it was a good try."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Daddy," she said, barely containing her giggles.

"Oh, but of course you don't," he replied with a soft laugh. "Now go to sleep, brat."

"I'm still going to get presents in the morning, right?"

"Perhaps," he drawled.

"I was rather naughty, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were," her daddy answered. "And you're being punished for it now, too."

Angel remained quiet and let the silence settle in around them. She hated disappointing her father, but she wanted to see Fred. She didn't know why, but she just knew how badly she wanted to see the freckled redhead. With a sigh, she finally spoke.

"It doesn't feel much like a punishment. Does it, Daddy?" She bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling when he ran his fingers through her hair as he usually did with her brothers.

"Cheeky little brat," her daddy muttered with a snort. Slowly, father and daughter fell asleep.