“You have found Harry Potter?” Dumbledore asked, voice somewhat disbelieving.

“Yes,” Severus replied calmly.

“How?”

“It doesn’t matter how. I found him for you.”

“Where is he?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“And where’s that?”

And so Severus began to tell the unbelievable tale of how he had gone home to see his father for Christmas, only to discover that his father’s new son was none other than Harry Potter. He was short and precise, leaving out that he had at first believed his new brother to be a baby but including Tobias’ narrative of how the boy had come to live with him.

Dumbledore listened, a look of surprise yet relief on his face as the tale came to an end and Severus fell quiet once again.

“He was removed because they mistreated him,” the man mumbled at last, looking sad.

“Yes. From what I understand it was quite badly,” Severus said, not mentioning the scars he had seen on the boy’s back. “My father is quite insistent that he will not be going back to his relatives.”

“As he should be! I failed to make sure that Harry was treated well enough, because I assumed that blood would keep him safe,” Dumbledore admitted. “However, I agree with your father that he will not be going back there.”

Severus breathed a silent breath of relief. He did not want to be caught in the middle of a power struggle between his father and Dumbledore. Because a struggle it would be. Tobias just wasn’t a man that gave up very easily, even against magic.

“Harry will have to stay with your father, Severus, since he seemed to have settled in there,” the headmaster stated. “Do you think he will mind?”

“Not at all. In fact, I believe he would mind if we tried placing him anywhere else.”

“Good. However, we need to make sure that the premises are safe from any threat that might come their way.”

“I have already added a few wards to the house,” Severus commented.

“Good, good.  Wisely done, Severus. I believe I might come over myself to add a few wards. Boxing Day perhaps? I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you and your father too much.”

“Boxing day ought to be fine.”

“It’s decided then! Now, what have you gotten Harry for Christmas?”

A younger Severus might have groaned at the sudden change of topic. The older Severus kept the groan purely internal and kept a calm face.

“I haven’t,” he stated shortly.

“You have not gotten him a present for Christmas?” Dumbledore repeated, sounding aghast.

“No. I see no need to. My father has already brought plenty of gifts for him.”

“And that is lovely of him but you are the boy’s brother now Severus! Surely you see why you should get him something?”

Dumbledore was sounding like Tobias, Severus thought to himself. And Tobias too had been very clear about him having to give the boy something for Christmas. Why did everyone insist on the incessant giving of useless gifts this time of the year?

Then again, the boy had gone out of his way to get something for Severus, despite the two of them never having met before. Severus could not help but be a little touched at the gesture.

“I will get him something,” Severus relented. “I plan on stopping by Diagon Alley after this.”

A shudder ran down his back at the thought. Diagon Alley was full of people on any day of the year but now, the day before Christmas? It was certain to be absolutely packed with people doing their last minute shopping. Somehow he would have to maneuver both himself and the boy through the mass of people.

Not to mention that he still didn’t know what to get for the boy. What did ten year old boys wish for these days? He could barely recall what he himself had wished for at that age!

“Perfect!” Dumbledore exclaimed. “Harry will stay here while you go shopping for Christmas presents for him!”

“I will not buy him presents,” Severus immediately corrected. “I am however going to buy him one present.”

Then the rest of the headmaster’s words registered in his mind. Harry could stay at Hogwarts while he himself went to get that gift. He would not need to keep an eye on the boy too, but could simply focus on getting there, getting the present and then get out of Diagon Alley as soon as humanly possible.

“Do as you please, Severus, as long as you are getting him something, and as long as that something isn’t coal.”

Ignoring the comment Severus focused on what was important.

“Did you say he could stay here?”

“Of course! How else are you going to manage to buy a present without the boy noticing?”

Severus probably could have managed that, with some effort. He was not about to turn down this offer of help though.

“Thank you,” he said.

“No problem. Tilly!”

A house elf popped into the room.

“What can Tilly do for you sirs?” it asked.

“There’s a young boy in the conference room. His name is Harry Potter-Snape. Could you please make sure he has everything he wants? Perhaps offer him some cookies or some hot chocolate?”

“Tilly will do as the headmaster asks!”

She disappeared with yet another pop.

“There, he’s all taken care of now. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss, Severus?”

“No.”

“Then off you go. And good luck with your shopping!”

Refusing to dignify that with an answer Severus walked straight up to the fireplace and took the floo to Diagon Alley.

Then the search for a suitable Christmas present began.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Once the hot chocolate was finished and all of the biscuits and ginger bread men were gone Harry looked around the room once again. Getting something sweet to eat had been nice but he had been stuck in this room for quite a while now and was starting to get bored.

He walked up to the window again and longingly looked out over the grounds, watching the children play. He could almost hear their laughter and he wished he could be out there with them.

With Harry busy looking out the window Barnaby quietly left his painting. He didn’t go very far, just to the room next to the conference room. He found the headmaster busy with paperwork, as usual.

“Excuse me for interrupting, Headmaster …” he began.

“Ah, Barnaby. Let me guess, our young guest is getting restless.”

“Indeed he is.”

“Boys,” the headmaster chuckled. “Always looking for a new adventure.”

“Perhaps you could show him the grounds?” Barnaby suggested. “A child that age rarely appreciates being still for too long, in my experience.”

“Excellent idea, Barnaby.”

When the door to the conference room opened Harry jumped in surprise, having lost himself in day dreams. To his surprise it was not his brother who entered the room, but rather the headmaster that looked so much like Santa Claus.

“Good day there Harry,” the man greeted him. “I’m Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster here at Hogwarts.”

“Good day,” Harry replied, suddenly a little shy.

“Severus had a quick errand he needed to run,” the man explained to him. “Would you like to see the grounds while he’s away?”

His brother had left him here? Without so much as a word? Harry was a little hurt by the fact but the prospect of getting to see more of the school made any such thoughts secondary.

“Yes please,” he said eagerly.

Dumbledore lead him back into the office and then out another door, where they found a spinning staircase. Harry stared a little but quickly followed the headmaster as he stepped onto one of the steps and let the staircase take him down.

Then they found themselves in a corridor, where a large gargoyle stepped up to cover the staircase they had just come from. This time Harry could not help but stare. The gargoyle was, for all appearances, made entirely out of stone. Yet it had moved as swiftly and easily as Harry himself. As Harry stared the gargoyle finally winked at him and Harry turned away, hurrying to catch up to the headmaster.

The corridors were decorated with holly. Suits of armors stood around the walls, and as Harry and the headmaster walked by they would start to sing Christmas carols.

“We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas …”

“Jingle bells, jingle bells …”

“Oh Holy Night …”

“Feliz Navidad …”

Harry’s head was twisting and turning to catch everything he saw and he nearly bumped into the headmaster twice before they had even reached the staircase.

“Charming little spell, don’t you think?” the headmaster commented. “I myself find it particularly festive to have the armours sing carols. Adds a whole new level to the decorations, don’t you think?”

They reached what could only be the grand staircase of the castle. Dumbledore did not hesitate to step onto one and Harry quickly followed. The banisters were decorated with icicles that did not appear to melt, no matter how long or how carefully Harry stared at them.

“Another handy little spell,” the headmaster explained to him.

They reached the ground floor. Harry spotted a magnificent pair of double doors that opened to a large dining hall, where four large tables were lined up. He could see Christmas trees full of ornaments in there, towering over the students sitting around. There were more holly, mistletoe, evergreens wreaths, tinsel in every imaginable color … More Christmas decorations than Harry had ever seen in his whole life before. And was it snowing inside?

Finally they reached another set of grand double doors, which the headmaster pushed open. They stepped out into the cold weather, the sun shining down on them from above. A thick layer of snow covered the ground and the laughter of children could be heard in the distance.

As they walked the headmaster pointed out the way to the green houses and other locations. Harry listened with half an ear, too busy looking around to fully pay attention to what was being said.

A stray snowball came their way from a snowball fight. A group of girls were making snow angels. Another group of students were sleighing down a small hill.

“Most students chose to go home of the holidays,” the headmaster explained. “However, this year we’ve had an unusual amount of them stay here at Hogwarts.”

They had almost reached a lake, upon which a few students were ice skating. Harry looked on in awe, wishing that he could join them.

“Do you want to skate, Harry?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t have any skates,” Harry replied, his voice a little sad.

Dumbledore just smiled and pulled out a wand. A minute later Harry’s shoes had been transformed into ice skates and he was heading out onto the ice on wobbly legs, smiling widely.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Let go woman!” Severus exclaimed, tugging hard on the box in his hand, only to find that the fat little woman opposite of him, who was also holding the box, would not let go of it so easily.

“You let go!” was her reply, and she glared at him from below her fluffy Santa cap. “I saw it first!”

“I saw it first!” Severus argued. “You tried to take it out of my hands!”

“You stole it just when I was going to take it! It’s mine!”

She tugged but Severus was just as determined not to let go of the box.

“Why don’t you get another one?” he asked instead, trying to remain calm.

“This is the last one! And I’m getting it for my Timmy!”

“Your Timmy will have to settle for something else, because I am getting this for my brother!”

This time she actually growled at him. Severus was so taken aback by the sound that he actually lost his grip on the box when she yanked at it once again. A moment later she was gone, having disappeared into the crowd gathered in front of the checkout station.

A frustrated sigh escaped him. Getting a suitable Christmas gift for his brother was proving harder than he had anticipated.

“Excuse me,” he said, trying to make his way through the crowd as he spotted a shop assistant a few shelves away. “Excuse me …”

People seemed ruthless in their rush to buy the last Christmas presents, some even going as far as trying to knock Severus over in their haste to get past him. Eventually he did manage to make his way to the poor shop assistant though and patiently waited for her to finish with the little man she was currently helping.

“Ms. Bolton,” he greeted her as soon as she was finished with the previous customer.

She spun around, a look of shock and a little terror on her face.

“Professor Snape!” she said.

“Would you mind getting me another Children’s Potions Set? The last one was stolen from me.”

“Children’s Potions Set, sir?”

“Yes. Today please.”

“They’re over there, sir,” she said, pointing to the shelf Severus had just come from.

“The last one was just taken. I need you to get me one from the back. Surely you have more of them on storage?”

The terrified look on her face was answer enough. Eleanor Bolton had been a decent enough potions student but had lacked any real talent for the subject. As such she had learned to fear her potions professor’s sharp tongue. Now days he was only a former professor of hers but it seemed the fear hat stuck.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t. If there is none of the shelf then we’re all out. We’ll get more in January though.”

“I don’t want it in January, I want it now! Today!”

“I’m sorry sir. Might I recommend a Beginners Potion Kit instead?”

She moved over to a nearby shelf, gesturing at a box.

“What does it contain?” Severus asked with a sigh.

“A standard cauldron, a stirring rod and a set of the most common standard ingredients in some simple potions, as well as a booklet with instructions on how to brew them.”

“What potions does the booklet contain?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but I believe there is the cure for boils, sleeping potions, some cosmetic potions etcetera. Simple things, most things learned in first and second year at Hogwarts.”

That wouldn’t do. What had appealed to Severus with the Children’s Potions Set was that it had allowed the brewer to brew perfectly safe potions with perfectly safe ingredients, where there was absolutely no way that anything could go wrong and blow up into the brewers face.

However, even a cure for boils might blow up if the brewer was negligent enough. The presence of an adult wizard would be required to clean up any messes made, and seeing as Tobias was a muggle that would not make a suitable gift for the boy.

“No thanks,” he said. “I’ll look elsewhere.”

“Alright. Good luck. And happy Yule tide, professor!”

Where would he go now? The apothecary had been his first instinct as far as useful presents went. Looking around the mass of people Severus took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Masses of people had always made him uncomfortable and almost every instinct he had was telling him to go somewhere less crowded.

He could not return without a gift though. That was more or less unthinkable. Not only would Albus Dumbledore no doubt send him straight back here, Tobias would do the same if Dumbledore somehow failed to do so!

So back into the mass of people moving about the alley it was. The sooner he could get a gift the sooner he could be out of there.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was almost dark outside when Harry and Severus finally returned home to Spinners End. Harry stepped through the floo first, closely followed by Severus. Tobias was sitting in the sofa, watching TV, and looked up at their arrival.

“There you are,” he commented. “Almost thought you’d gotten lost!”

Severus made a low sound in his throat, almost a growl at the comment. Harry barely noticed, too excited to tell his father about all the magical things he had seen.

“It was amazing!” he said, throwing off his coat. “There were elves and talking paintings and moving staircases and caroling suits of armour! And Santa Claus! Or, not the Santa Claus of course, but a man that looked just like him! And he took me ice skating!”

“Sounds like quite an adventure there. Why don’t you come here and tell me all about it?”

Harry eagerly joined his adoptive father on the couch while Severus disappeared up the stairs, looking as gloomy and angry as ever before.

That nigh Harry went to bed with a warm feeling of eager anticipation in his stomach. This had been the best Christmas Eve ever and he was certain that Christmas day would be even better!