The Christmas Wish Tree had been standing in the center of Hogsmeade for several decades. It served a single purpose, and that was to showcase Christmas. Every Christmas season it was decorated with lights and special ornaments.

Wizards and witches could be seen milling about the Christmas tree any time of day from the first of December up until it was taken down shortly after the New Year's celebrations. Several of the ornaments would disappear from the tree, without remark, and others would magically take their place.

On each of these special ornaments, was the face and brief history of a single needy child. The longer the ornament remained on the tree, the longer the history.

Each enchanted bulb started off at the bottom of the tree, where it was most likely to be seen by younger wizards and witches, the aim -- to engage the young with the concept of giving in a season that had, in recent years, been centered around the act of getting.

Each subsequent year that a bulb remained unclaimed, it would rise in the branches, another year of history etched onto its shiny surface. Sadly, some of the bulbs remained untouched year after year, the histories of those children, some of them now grown into early adulthood, in most cases becoming dimmer in spite of the shininess of the ornament. Unless a child's situation changed for the better, the ornament remained on the tree, the history of Christmases past visible to the witch or wizard who desired to peer into it.

Witches and wizards could take an ornament from the tree and purchase a gift for the needy young wizard or witch. Sadly, each year, fewer of the ornaments disappeared, and in recent years, only a handful were taken, the rest of the children remained forgotten.

Severus recalled passing the tree in his youth, his heart filling with dread as he espied the different ornaments -- faces of wizards and witches younger than himself peering out at him from the branches -- and wondered if there was a bulb there for him. The thought of it terrified him, and he always hurried past the tree as quickly as he could, to duck into his favorite haunt, a bookstore that held some of the wizarding world's most interesting tomes. There were a few muggle books there as well.

Severus bypassed the tree this year as well. Though he was a Professor now, the thought that, if there was a bulb in that tree that represented him, it would still be there, up in the higher branches where no one who wasn't a giant, or a half giant like Hagrid, would notice it.

It was his turn to make the trip to Hogsmeade, Hagrid and McGonagall were there as well, to help chaperone and protect the children should anything untoward happen. A memory struck Severus as he started to walk past the tree, and his heart clenched in his chest.

"Come on, Sev, let's look at the tree," Lily said, pulling on his arm. "Maybe we'll be able to make a child's Christmas wish come true. We could be like one of Santa Claus's elves." Her whole face lit up at the prospect, and her eyes sparkled like emeralds.

Twelve year old Severus tried to free himself of her grip, but she was much stronger than she looked, and his effort was only half-hearted at best. He loved Lily, and would do anything to please her. Including taking a look at the very tree he dreaded.

Scowling, Severus finally managed to wrench his arm out of Lily's grip, and shoving a stray strand of hair behind his ear, he held his head high and reached for her hand. Lily's hand was warm in his, and he smiled, grateful that, in spite of the cold, he'd had no mittens fit to wear for the winter months. It kept him in the confines of the castle most winters, but he didn't mind, because more often than not, Lily was right there with him -- house loyalties be damned.

Lily had opted not to wear her mittens on their trip to Hogsmeade, saying that she got too warm when she walked, but Severus knew the truth, that Lily hadn't wanted him to feel left out, and his heart thrilled at it. Lily was always thinking of him when no one else ever did.

Severus watched Lily out of the corner of his eye, his heart hammering in his chest. If there was an ornament for him on the tree, it would be right there, within both his and Lily's sight. He secretly prayed to Merlin that, if there was an ornament for him, Lily wouldn't see it.

They'd grown up together, and she had some inkling of what it was like for him at home, but he didn't want her to know how bad it really was, and that he never got Christmas presents, other than from her. Instead, he'd gotten beatings, or had hidden in his closet, fearful of his parents' raised voices. Before his acceptance at Hogwarts, Severus had spent most of his Christmases hiding from his father.

Not only did he not believe in Santa Claus, because the large, red-cheeked, jolly man had never visited him, but he outright hated Christmas. His father was inevitably always out of work at that time of year, and his mother seemed to be even unhappier when Christmas rolled around. Christmas, for Severus, was just another reminder of what he didn't have and never would. It wasn't a time of joyous celebration, but of fear and depression.

Lily bit her lip and stood on her tiptoes, there was a look of intense concentration on her face as she searched the bulbs before her. She reached up much higher than her head, and, closing her eyes, plucked a bulb off the tree.

"Come on, Severus, choose one, and we'll go shopping together. I think it's sad that more people don't do this." Lily rocked back on her heels. The ornament was clutched protectively to her chest. Excitement lit up her features, making her look even more beautiful than she normally did. Her cheeks were a rosy red that complemented, rather than clashed with the auburn hair that fanned her face.

Taking a deep breath, and praying to Merlin once again, Severus plunged his hand into the depths of the tree, and pulled out an ornament. His heart thundered in his chest, and he could feel heat rising up the back of his neck and into his ears. No doubt his face was filled with blotchy red patches. He scowled momentarily, but immediately produced a small smile when he saw Lily's. Her smile could light up all of Hogsmeade, Severus thought.

Lily bit her bottom lip and practically vibrated in anticipation. "On the count of three," she whispered, eyes shimmering.

"One, two," Lily held her breath, and, taken with the moment, Severus held his too. Lily tightened her grip on his hand, and previously numbing fingers were awoken with warmth that slammed straight into his heart.

"Three," she whispered in an even quieter voice, and then peered into the ornament that she had chosen, eyes quickly filling with tears at whatever it was that she saw.

Severus, the feeling of trepidation nearly eating away at his gut, swallowed. His mouth was dry, and he felt shaky, and he didn't want to look, but Lily had counted to three, and was looking at him with tear-filled, expectant eyes. Caving under the pressure, heart jumping from his stomach to this throat, Severus felt as though his vision was tunneling when he peered into the depths of the ornament he'd blindly chosen.

"It's a little girl," Severus murmured. She was seven years old, and had long, blonde hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her blue eyes were wary and her round face was blotchy from crying, but she had a smile on her face, one of her front teeth was missing.

"Santa," she lisped, eyes darting toward her bedroom door as though fearful a monster would crash through it in a moment's notice. "All I want for Christmas is for my parents to get along with each other. Please. Or...if that's too hard, maybe a book?"

She'd made the same tearful wish year after year, and Severus watched in muted fascination as the images on the ornament changed, as time went backwards, and he saw the first time little Angela asked Santa for her parents to get along with each other when she was only four years old. At one point in time she'd wanted a puppy if she couldn't have her first wish, and another time she'd wanted a particular doll.

"What's her name?" Lily asked, voice soft. "Mine is Randall, I think he's a fourth year in Ravenclaw."

"Angela, she's not come to Hogwarts yet," Severus answered, eyes locked on those of the little girl who had poured her heart out to Santa year after year, her single wish unanswered. He felt overwhelmed, but Lily tugged on his hand and moved him in the direction of the bookstore.

"He wants a book, and I'd like to get him some candy from Honeyduke's, even though he didn't ask for any. How about you Severus, where do you need to go?" Lily was bubbling over with excitement.

"She wants a book," Severus said, though that was really only the half of what little Angela wanted for Christmas. What she really wanted, he couldn't give her, and he found his heart aching in response.

Lily smiled and pulled him along behind her to the bookstore. Severus felt as though he was floating along, his mind preoccupied with Angela's plight. What good would giving her a book for Christmas really do the little girl? It wouldn't fix what made her cry, and hide in her bedroom.

Lily took her time perusing the different titles, and showing them to Severus. Some were rejected outright, and others were gathered into a pile of possibility. Lily's parents had sent her money to purchase Christmas presents for her classmates, and Severus knew that he'd get a gift from her this year.

Severus had a small sum of money he'd earmarked for Christmas shopping (he only ever bought a little trinket for Lily, and something small for his mother) from money that was given him for the purchase of school supplies. If he was going to get something for Lily and his mother this year, he couldn't spend much money on Angela's present.

Even if he didn't buy Lily or his mother a gift this year, looking at the prices of the books that Lily had amassed, Severus realized that he couldn't afford to buy the little girl a new book, but felt ashamed to have Lily see him buying from the used book section of the shop. When Lily herself made a move in that direction, the cover of a book having garnered her attention, Severus sighed in relief. If he played his cards right, Lily need never know that he had no other choice than to buy a used book.

"Why don't you look over there, Sev," Lily suggested, pointing toward a section of the used books that looked to be for younger children. "I'm sure that you'll be able to find something suitable for a little girl. Is she muggle born?"

Severus peered at the face on the ornament, and read the information that he hadn't noticed before, because he'd been taken with the little girl's face and tearful plea to Santa. She was a muggle born witch who lived somewhere in London.

Once Severus had purchased and wrapped the gift for the little girl, he'd bring the gift and the ornament to the Owlery for delivery on Christmas Eve. All presents sent from the Christmas Wish Tree were marked to their intended recipient and from Santa, so everything remained anonymous.

Severus nodded, and Lily pointed him in the direction of the muggle books. Though his father was a muggle, his mother was a witch, and he was largely unfamiliar with the titles of the books that lined the shelves, but one in particular stood out to him. It was a slim, green book.

Unremarkable save for the illustration on the cover of the book -- a hand drawn tree, and an apple falling down into the outstretched arms of what appeared to be a little boy. There were few colors on the book's cover. Red, green, black, and the title, The Giving Tree, was written on the trunk of the tree in simple, white lettering.  

Severus flipped through the pages of the book, and found himself drawn into the story. It was simple, and yet there was something about it that made him smile, and, he knew that, no matter the cost, and that one of the corners of the book was bent, this was the book that he was going to get for Angela. It wouldn't make her parents get along with each other, or the bursts of accidental magic any less scarier, but it would give her a message of hope. At least Severus hoped that it would.

Not looking at the price of the book, he stuffed it beneath his arm and went back to helping Lily decide which book she would get for Randall. In the end, she chose two books, one of them a well-worn muggle classic, and the other a brand new book about Wizarding Chess, an interest of the boy's.

Severus tried not to feel self conscious when he placed the lone book he'd be purchasing on the counter alongside Lily's purchases. The clerk's declaration that it was one of her favorite books, muggle and wizard alike, did little to make Severus feel better that he couldn't get Angela a brand new copy of the book.

The clerk wrapped their purchases for them, for which Severus was grateful, and then, with the gifts tucked underneath their arms, they made their way to Honeyduke's Sweetshop. Counting his remaining money carefully, Severus chose a couple of candies for Angela, keeping away from the blatantly wizarding treats that he knew would confuse her.

He bought a few chocolates for Lily as well, pretending that they were for Angela. He'd have to make a covert trip back to the bookstore to get Lily a pretty bookmark that he'd seen. He'd get his mother a bookmark as well.

Final purchases made, secret and otherwise, Severus and Lily having separated and met up afterwards at The Three Broomsticks, they visited the Owlery, each writing a message to the recipients of their gifts. Severus concentrated on making his usual tight scrawl something that would be legible to someone Angela's age.

It was a simple, yet heartfelt message that he left, and Severus would never know how much that book, and those words came to mean to Angela over the years. How those words, and that book had, in a way, saved her life.

Dear Angela,

Severus penned, hand shaking.

I'm sorry that I can't make your parents get along with each other. That is outside of my area of expertise. I hope that this book will bring you, as it did me, a small measure of joy.

He paused, unsure, before hastily scrawling:

Love, S.

Jarred out of his memories by a young Hufflepuff not watching where he was going, Severus frowned at the Christmas Wish Tree, and shook himself. He wondered how Angela was, if another ornament had appeared for her the next year, if it was still on the tree.

Feeling nostalgic, which was decidedly a feeling that Severus did not like, he eyed the tree circumspectly. He and Lily had never visited the tree together after that year. Lily had gone to Hogsmeade with a group of girlfriends the next year, and the year after that. Severus had made the trip alone for the next couple of years. Severus' fear at finding his own ornament on the tree kept him from seeking it out.

Now, though, he stood and looked at the tree. It was crowded with ornaments, and the young Hufflepuff who'd run into him moments ago stood beside him, looking up at the tree, eyes filled with the same sense of wonderment that had been in Lily's all those years ago.

"Wow," he exclaimed, reaching mitten-less fingers to touch an ornament.

"It's the Christmas Wish Tree," Severus said, and he proceeded to explain the tree's purpose. The little boy listened earnestly, a small smile playing about his lips as he snagged an ornament off the tree and held it in his chapped hands as though it was a treasure.

The child's winter coat was threadbare, and Severus made a mental note of the child's name, and determined to send him, as Lily often had for Severus before their falling out, a pair of woolen mittens and a warm sweater for Christmas.

"Are you going to take one down too, Sir?" the little boy, Marvin, asked, and he stared at him through shimmering eyes that, while not the color of Lily's, were every bit as bright.

Feeling much as he had when he'd been twelve, and it had been Lily looking at him like that, Severus sighed, and, once again, blindly reached into the tree and pulled out an ornament. He stuffed it into his pocket, offering the semblance of a smile to Marvin, and then watched as the boy ran off with his friends.

"Thanks, Sir," the boy shouted after him, and Severus waved him off, the ornament feeling heavy in his pocket.

Severus watched as the little boy spoke to his small group of friends, arms moving animatedly as he talked about the tree, evidenced by the frequent gestures he made toward it. It was, in a way, endearing, if Severus was given to such emotionally charged thoughts.

Severus kept his eye on the small gaggle of children as they made their way to the tree, Marvin standing back a little from the rest, face lit up almost as brightly as the Christmas tree itself. Marvin fingered the ornament, holding it up in the air, lips turning downward at whatever it was that he was seeing play out on it.

It felt like the ornament that Severus had unceremoniously plucked off the tree was burning a hole in his pocket, and, reluctantly, he took it out, but didn't look at it just yet. He walked away from the tree, several groups of children had joined the small group of Hufflepuffs, and Severus knew that there'd be fewer unclaimed ornaments on the tree this year than had been in years past.

Lily would've been happy, he thought, his heart clenching as he remembered the look of happiness on her face when they'd left the Owlery. He remembered Randall that year too, how happy, and surprised he'd looked that Christmas.

Maybe there was something to be said for doing something kind for others without expecting the kindness to be returned, Severus mused.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the crowd around the tree had increased considerably, some of the older students were using accio charms to take ornaments from the top of the tree. He'd never seen anything like it before, and if he was easily moved, his heart would have been filled with something like Christmas cheer.

No one, that Severus could recall, had ever ventured into the upper branches of the tree, because the overarching thought guiding Christmas was that it was for the children. Why buy gifts for adults whose heartfelt wishes had gone unnoticed year after year when there were children who were currently going without?

Forget happy, Lily would be ecstatic, especially if she'd happened to see her teenaged son among those reaching for an ornament on the topmost part of the tree. Potter was older than Severus had been when he'd followed Lily to the tree, and he was the spitting image of his father, but, in that moment, Severus couldn't help but feel the pride that he knew Lily would have felt had she borne witness to this event herself. It was an odd, fleeting feeling, gone almost before Severus even realized what it was.

He fingered the ornament. It was an ordinary round, silver orb. And, by the looks of it, it had been on the tree for a number of years. He frowned as the bulb caught the dull light of the late afternoon sun. Severus turned away from the tree and took several brisk steps away from the hubbub surrounding it.

He scowled when the face of the child on the ornament he'd chosen smiled at him. Now a teenager currently huddled around the tree, the boy had been attending Hogwarts for four years now. His ornament had been on the tree for nearly twelve years now, since that first Christmas after the death of his parents.

Severus wanted to smash the ornament on the ground, sure that there must've been some mistake, because Harry James Potter was loved and well provided for. How could the offspring of James and Lily Potter have an ornament on the Christmas Wish Tree? It was inconceivable, and yet, the ornament was in his hand.

Though, logically he knew that there was no way that anyone could have tampered with the ornaments on the tree, let alone the boy himself, Severus wasn't thinking logically. He was thinking about all of the other ornaments on the tree, representing all of the children who, year after year, went without, and Potter's ornament was right there with them. What kind of justice was that?

Severus' hands were shaking with fury, and he almost walked back to the tree to return the ornament, but the tree was surrounded by a horde of students. Instead, he clutched the ornament bearing the smiling face of the child who had become the bane of his existence so tightly that it made a creaking sound. It was made of shatter-free glass, but Severus wanted to do nothing more than toss it on the ground and smash it beneath the heel of his boot.

Potter was no needy child, he refused to believe that of the Boy Who Lived. The boy came from wealth, unlike Severus and any number of other kids who had ornaments on the tree.

"Come on, Harry, tell us whose ornament you have," Granger's voice floated over to him, and he could see the Golden Trio as they walked past where he stood. They were heading toward the bookstore, Potter's head was down, but Severus could see that the boy was frowning at the object he held in his hand.

Glove-less, and wearing nothing more than a ratty sweater. Typical, Severus thought. The boy thinks he's impervious to the cold, no doubt.

Potter shook his head when Granger and Weasley continued to wheedle him for the identity of the face on his ornament. The boy looked up for a brief moment, and their eyes met. Potter looked away quickly, cheeks red, green eyes, so much like those of his mother's swirling with ill-disguised emotion.

"What's wrong with you?" Weasley sounded put out, but Potter shrugged him off and moved past his disgruntled friend, jerking out of Weasley's grip when the boy reached for him.

"Jerk," Weasley muttered, but Granger cast their dark-haired friend a thoughtful look, and much like Lily had done to Severus many years ago, she pulled Weasley behind her as they made their way into the bookstore.

It was a very curious thing, and Severus wondered whose ornament Potter had drawn that would garner such silence, and cause him to risk alienating his friends. It was a momentary distraction, and then his mind drifted back toward the ornament in his own hand.

Gritting his teeth, Severus forced himself to really look at Potter's life, as illustrated by the ornament, noting the boy's address, how it changed as time wound backwards. When Potter had first started living with the Dursleys, he'd been living in a cupboard under the stairs, and he'd spent every Christmas there, aside from one year, when he'd been eight, and he'd slept outside in the garden shed because he'd been locked outside, presumably by accident. He'd been wearing nothing more than a thin, overly large tee-shirt and a pair of over-sized jeans.

It was a dismal looking space, Potter's cupboard, filled with cobwebs and the occasional spider from what Snape could see of it. There was little light, other than that which seeped in through the top, bottom and sides of the door.

Potter himself was very quiet, never speaking above a hoarse whisper, and freezing if he heard a sound outside of the door, like the little girl, Angela had. Potter was clearly afraid of whatever happened to be on the other side of the door.

The boy had spent every Christmas at Hogwarts since he'd started attending school, just as Severus had done. And, while he'd gotten presents from his friends, the Dursleys gave him little more than insults as Christmas gifts. It was truly pathetic, and Severus had a hard time understanding, let alone believing what he was seeing. All that he knew about Potter was being destroyed scant memory after memory.

Potter, it seemed, had never got what he'd really wanted for Christmas. The tree had apparently deemed that worthy enough to keep his ornament on the tree, even though he'd started getting Christmas presents after he'd turned eleven.

Every year, Severus found as he looked at the story unfolding on the ornament -- other than those first two when Potter had asked for Santa to bring his Mommy and Daddy back -- without fail, Potter had asked Santa for the same thing. To give him a family that loved him, or to make him the best boy ever so that the Dursleys wouldn't hate him and hurt him like they did.

One year, when Potter was seven, he'd sported a black eye, and yet there was a lopsided smile on his face as he pitched his request to Santa. Another year, there had been a distinct red, hand-shaped mark on Potter's cheek. Each year was more of the same, and Severus felt like the world as he knew it had been tilted on its axis.

Anger flooded his chest, and he gripped the ornament so tightly that, shatter-free glass or not, it almost broke. Potter's face at age ten stared back at him, green eyes the color of emeralds appealing to a Santa that had never come for him.

How children could hold out hope for something that had never presented itself to them time and time again, Severus had no idea. He hadn't been foolish enough to hold out hope that Santa, if he did exist, would ever visit him.

The jolly old saint had skipped his house year after year, and finally Severus had simply given up on the idea  of him, and Christmas, entirely. It had hurt his heart too much to think about a man who was capable of spreading joy finding some sort of fault with him, when he, like Potter, had tried so damn hard to be good.

Like he'd given up on the idea of Santa, Severus had also given up on the idea that being good would ever earn his father's love and respect. That it would ever make his father stop drinking and stop hitting him and his mother. So, by the time he'd reached the age of thirteen, Severus had stopped trying to be good.

Potter, however, if the memories of Christmas past as represented by the ornament he held in his hand, had never given up on either concept. In spite of himself, Severus was going to do something to ensure that Potter didn't give up on hope and Christmas this year.

Severus was going to do for Potter what he couldn't do for Angela all those years ago. He was going to make sure that the boy had a family who loved him, and he knew just who to speak to about that. Dumbledore would just have to find another way to keep Potter safe, because the boy was not going to continue to stay with the Dursleys. That would be Severus' present for Potter this year -- a new family.

He knew that Potter liked Quidditch, and that he was no dunderhead when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts, so he stopped by a couple of shops, and had the clerks wrap the gifts -- one for every year that Potter hadn't received a proper gift from his relatives, or Santa. He was doing this for Lily, for the child he'd been once upon a time, back when he'd still believed in Santa Claus, and for Potter.

He felt good afterwards, like he'd felt when he'd been twelve and had sent off that silly muggle book to a little girl he'd never met. Until today, he hadn't given a second thought to Angela, but he wondered how she was doing, and if she'd liked the gift.

Later that night, after they'd returned to Hogwarts, and dinner was finished, Severus met with Dumbledore to complete the next part of his Christmas present to Potter. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to convince Dumbledore that it was the right thing to get Potter out of the hands of the Dursleys, protective magic aside.

He showed the Headmaster the ornament, watched the old wizard carefully as he saw Potter's Christmas years with the Dursleys in reverse. The old man's blue eyes twinkled as they normally did, though there was an almost diamond quality to them tonight, and when he raised his face, Severus was struck with a palpable sorrow.

Dumbledore swallowed and pressed the tips of his fingers against his lips. After a minute, maybe longer, he cleared his throat and pierced Severus with a look that would remain with him for years to come.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Severus," Dumbledore's voice was a low rumble. "I assure you that I had no idea. I knew Harry was unhappy with the Dursleys, but I didn't know... that is, I didn't suspect that he was being abused."

"And now that you know?" Severus asked.

"I'll have Harry removed from the Dursley's care immediately. It'll be complicated, but it has to be done," Dumbledore said, and Severus could see that the elder wizard's mind was already at work, thinking about a suitable placement for Potter.

"Can he, by any chance, be given the news on Christmas?" Severus asked, squirming in his chair, and feeling very much like a child sitting in the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore smiled, blue eyes twinkling, and he nodded. "I take it that you'd like this to come from Santa Claus?" He pierced Severus with a look over his half-moon glasses. "It's just a matter of finding a good home for the boy."

Severus felt a spike of fear hit him at the thoughtful look on Dumbledore's face. His palms were sweaty and he started to shake his head, eyes going wide. "No, you can't think --"

Dumbledore laughed, the sound echoing in the room, and Severus narrowed his eyes at him. "Relax, Severus, I'm not going to send Harry Potter home with you. I know that it would never work out. I'm not that senile."

Severus glared at the Headmaster, and tried not to storm out of the office. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, Sir, where will Potter be spending his time outside of Hogwarts?"

"Let me think on it a bit," Dumbledore said. "I'll let you know when I find a family for Potter."

Taking that as his cue to leave, Severus snatched up Potter's ornament. He ignored the sound that Dumbledore made when he did so, and left the office, feeling more lighthearted than he had in a very long time.

Christmas morning found Severus waking to find the typical assortment of presents that he got from his colleagues, and from some of his students, in his quarters, delivered by the house elves sometime during the night. In their midst, however, was an outlandishly shaped present. The gift was covered in an overabundance of green and silver paper, and was inexpertly wrapped.

Severus checked for any hexes or curses before he reached for the card. On it was written -- To: Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts, From: Santa Claus.

Severus almost dropped the card, heart skipping a beat. He pried the envelope open with fingers that shook, and had to read the contents of the letter -- written, if he was not mistaken, in Potter's familiar scrawl -- twice. It was not lost on him that Potter had kept his identity a secret from his friends, and Severus felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as yet another hard-held belief that he'd had of Potter was destroyed.

Dear Severus Snape,

I am sorry that I cannot give you what you really want for Christmas. I wish that I could, but it's not in my power to do so. I also apologize for not getting this to you sooner. I hope that it is something you still want.

Yours,

Santa

Filled with an excitement that he hadn't had in years, Severus tore at the wrapping paper, his heart warmed by the thought that Potter had taken the time to wrap it himself, dispelling yet another misconception he'd had about the boy being spoiled and thinking simple chores beneath himself. He hoped that Potter was enjoying the gifts that he'd chosen for him, and that Dumbledore had finally decided upon a suitable family for the boy to live with.

Tears spilled, unchecked, from his eyes, and he choked back a sob. He wiped at his eyes, feeling foolish and much too sentimental. It wasn't like him to be moved to tears. That had only happened once in his adult life -- when Lily had been killed -- and Severus had no idea what had gotten into him.

His hands shook as he reached for the gift that Potter, under the guise of Santa, had gotten him. It was the only thing he'd ever asked for, other than his father to stop drinking and to be loved. How Potter had found it, he'd never know, because the children's Potions set that he was looking at had stopped being produced in 1974; he'd first seen it in 1971, during his first trip to Diagon Alley to purchase his school supplies.

It was everything that he'd thought it would be when he'd peered at it through the shop's windows all those many years ago, and he examined it with wonder. It smelled of oak, leather and herbs. It was perfect in every way, and the child inside of Severus, a child he did not know until this very moment existed, rejoiced.

Beneath the Potions set there was another present that Severus hadn't noticed at first, and his heart caught in his throat as he pulled it out of the torn paper. It was a worn copy of Shel Silverstein's, The Giving Tree.

Overcome with emotions that he'd kept hidden for years, Severus didn't dare to breathe as he opened the book. On the inside cover were written the words: Angela Montgomery, From: Santa Claus, 1972. May these words inspire the recipient of this book as they did me. Thank you, Santa, for thinking of me. You made a difference.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Severus, even the part where Dumbledore told him that Potter would be spending his summer months with a distant relative of Lily's that he'd discovered living in America. The family looked to be alright. Dumbledore had sent Minerva to check them out before setting things up. This time, he'd determined to listen to his colleagues, and trust their insight as well as his own.

Potter had been notified earlier that afternoon, and had expressed great astonishment and joy over gifts that he'd gotten from Santa Claus. He'd been less thrilled about the unknown family in America, but had seemed happy to be leaving the Dursleys.

Later that night, after attending the festivities, and assuring himself that Potter really was okay, Severus retired to his chambers and spent some time being the little boy he'd never been allowed to be when he was younger. He played with the Potions set that 'Santa' had given him, and then, before bed, he read, The Giving Tree, giving thanks to a Santa that he'd never, up until now, had cause to believe in.