“Professor, guess what?” Harry said excitedly as he entered Severus’s classroom where the man was busy rearranging his supply closet and taking inventory.

               “Lower your voice,” Severus scolded, taking a step back from the shelves he was studying to see Harry running over to the closet. “And quit running around in here, you know the rules. Whether school is in session of not, the rules still apply.”

               “I know, sir,” Harry nodded, his smile not fading the slightest. “But guess what . . .”

               “Your face is flushed,” Severus commented, setting down his inventory list and stepping out of the closet to place a hand on Harry’s forehead. “You’re not sick, are you?”

               “No, sir,” Harry said, trying not to roll his eyes as Severus felt his cheek with the back of a hand. “I ran from my dorm to get here, that’s all.”

               “You ran all the way here?” Severus crossed his arms. “Whatever you wish to tell me better be important for you to be running all over the place like a wild animal.”

               “Look who’s talking,” Harry muttered, looking at his shoes.

               “What did you just say?”

               “Nothing,” Harry snapped his head up and smiled. “Sir, what I wanted to tell you is that it’s Christmas Eve!”

               “You ran all the way down here to tell me something I already knew?”

               “No, sir,” Harry laughed. “I wanted to give your present to you early.”

               Harry reached into his robe and pulled out a small package, holding it out to Severus. Severus frowned as he slowly accepted the gift and opened the package that thankfully was wrapped in colorful paper and ribbon. It was a simply brown package, and opening it, Severus found an owl feather quill, white with flecks of black.

               “It’s from my owl, sir,” Harry smiled. “Hagrid showed me how to turn her shed feathers into useful quills. Do you like it?”

               Severus smiled at Harry, saying, “I do, child, but . . . you didn’t have to get me anything at all.”

               “I wanted to.”

               “Hmm,” Severus lowered the quill, his oift smile fading. “I regret to inform you that I did not get anything for you.”

               “That’s okay,” Harry said. “You’ve given me enough already. When will Remus visit again? It’s been weeks!”

               “It has not been weeks, it’s hardly been two weeks. You know why he can’t just be showing up around here, Harry. You’ll see him again most likely during the next full moon. Merlin knows nothing will keep him away.”

“Okay. See you tonight?”

               Severus absently nodded as he turned the quill in his hand. Harry smiled and walked quickly out of the room before running back through the halls to find Ron and the twins.

               Later that night, Severus pawed the snow over and over, contemplating the gift Harry had given him. He decided against using the beautiful Snowy Owl feather as a quill and instead tied it loosely to a strand of hair in a very centaur like fashion. He was sure Harry would appreciate it more that way. It was thoughtful of the boy, and Severus had nothing in return. He felt awful for pushing off the Christmas season as he did every year. He could never celebrate Christmas Eve anyway.

               Finally, Harry exited the castle and walked over to the usual meeting spot between the greenhouses, his snow boots crunching the snow. Severus sighed and tightened the turnout blanket around him. He had chosen to leave his new bow and arrows inside for tonight, sure he wouldn’t need them as he wouldn’t go too far away from Hogwarts.

               “Hi, Ajax,” Harry greeted warmly, carrying two cups of hot chocolate. “I brought us something to drink.”

               Severus snorted and accepted the mug, blowing on the beverage and taking a sip as he watched Harry gulp down his. “You seem to enjoy this season very much,” he commented. “Is it your favorite?”

               “It used to be my least favorite,” Harry said honestly. “My uncle and aunt would usually lock me in my cupboard for Christmas Eve, then let me out in the morning to watch Dudley open all his gifts while I got nothing or sometimes a toilet brush or even a soiled piece of cloth. This is really my first Christmas ever!” Harry grinned at Severus. “Hey, you have my feather in your hair! Brilliant, I like it there. It suits you.”

               Severus sipped his cocoa as he stared down sadly at Harry, his thoughts angrily thinking of all the curses he’d like to use on Harry’s relatives. Now he felt even worse for not getting Harry a gift. Severus finished the rest of his drink, then took Harry’s and flicked his wrists, making the mugs disappear.

               “Where did they go?” Harry asked with wide eyes.

               “To the kitchens,” Severus said. “It’s no wonder you chose to stay here for the holiday break. Spending it with your relatives doesn’t meet the standards set for Christmas at Hogwarts, does it?”

               “It’s more than that, sir,” Harry said. “You’re here, and all my friends are here. People who actually care about me are here. My relatives could care less that I’m not home right now.”

               Severus felt his heart sadden more at that and he could only imagine what Harry had to go through his entire childhood. Harry was a good kid and he deserved better. Severus frowned. Did he really just say the Potter spawn was a good kid? Ah, who was he kidding – Harry was a good kid. A trouble magnet, but he had a good heart. He should really do something for the boy.

               Then, Severus’s withers quivered as a snowball struck him, startling him out of his thoughts. He glared at Harry, who looked off innocently.

               “What?” Harry asked, shrugging his shoulders. “I didn’t do it?”

               “Sure, you didn’t,” Severus snorted, then smirked as he used a front hoof to roll up some snow then kicked it over at Harry, who squealed and smiled at Severus. Severus forced a smile off his face as he flicked his tail and shook his head, his ears turning to the sides. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t do it.”

               Harry smirked, then picked up more snow, packing it down. Severus glanced over at me, smirked, then leaped away, kicking up snow at Harry as he did so, making the boy laugh harder. Harry chased after the leaping centaur, trying to aim his snowball at the moving target. Severus started galloping circles around Harry, forcing the boy to spin faster until he fell over dizzy, laughing. Severus walked up to the fallen child, standing over him, lowering his upper half to help Harry to his feet. Before he could touch him, Harry threw the snowball up at Severus face. Severus spluttered and wiped at his face before narrowing his eyes at Harry.

               Harry’s laughter started Severus’s own laughter, and Harry climbed to his feet with another snowball, following after the trotting centaur around Hogwarts grounds. When Severus slowed enough for Harry to catch up to him, side-stepping away, Harry jumped for the centaur, and Severus allowed himself to fall with Harry clinging to his torso, careful to keep his sharp hooves away from the small child. They both laughed in the snow, Harry rolling away to start a snow angel.

Severus watched him for a second before he pushed himself on his back, then moved his arms up and down as he rolled his horse half side to side. He stood up with Harry and admired their work.

“Look!” Harry pointed at the awkward shape of Severus’s work, “It’s a snow-centaur! It looks like something flattened you.”

Severus rolled his eyes and ruffled Harry’s hair.

“At least yours looks like a true angel,” Severus said, admiring Harry’s snow angel.

After a long peaceful minute, Harry looked up at Severus.

“Do you think I should go inside now?” Harry asked, his voice sounding disappointed. “I’m sure it’s been fifteen or so minutes and McGonagall is really strict about curfew and all and . . .”

“It’s Christmas Eve,” Severus said, smiling at Harry, “you can stay out longer. Besides, I still need to give you a gift.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Harry folded his arms, though he smiled at Severus.

Severus wordlessly walked past Harry, staring up at the far mountains past the forest. He turned and smiled at Harry. “How about a little trail ride?”  

Harry’s eyes widened, and his smile grew.

“You mean it?”

Severus just motioned for the boy to come with a move of his head. Harry ran over to Severus, who picked him up and set him on his back. Harry adjusted himself, so he could wrap his arms around Severus’s waist, resting his head against Severus’s back, the man’s cloak warming him slightly.

“Hold on with your knees, and do not loosen your arms,” Severus warned.

Rearing the slightest, Severus charged through the trees, keeping to a path Hagrid treaded often, knowing it was a safer path. Severus galloped as fast as he could, pushing himself for Harry’s sake. Harry at first had tightened his hold on him, closing his eyes shut, but as they continued on, Harry slowly opened his eyes and took in the fast-moving view around him. Severus’s hair was flying back and the forced cold air passing through Harry’s hair tickled his scalp and under his chin.

He belly laughed, and Severus smiled back at him without turning his head, keeping his attention mostly on the trail.

Turning up a slope, Severus began climbing up the base of the nearest mountain, where thicker snow slowed down his pace.

“Where are we going?” Harry asked.

Severus decided not to answer. He climbed higher and higher up the mountain, feeling Harry’s hold on him tighten as the boy held himself closer to Severus, which helped Severus climb easier. As long as the boy didn’t lean back, he’d drag them both down the slope. Finally, Severus stopped at a ledge near the top of the mountain and lifted Harry off his back, setting him in the deep snow at his side. Harry gaped at the view.

Hogwarts sat far below them, covered in snow that glistened like a million stars surrounded by fluffy white trees and snowcapped mountains. Snow began falling straight from the sky, uninterrupted by any wind or breeze. Ice floated on the water surrounding the castle, the water reflecting a half moon. Harry blinked down at the castle with a content smile. He leaned against Severus, looking up at the tall centaur.

“Thank you, Ajax,” Harry said, resting his head against the shoulders of the horse half. “This is the best gift ever!”

“I highly doubt that,” Severus said. “But it is the least I can do after what you’ve done for me.”

“All I did was give you a feather.”

“You’ve done much more than that, child. A lot more.”

Harry frowned at Severus but decided to let whatever his professor was talking about go, and he stared down at the castle more, yawning as he did so.

“We should head back,” Severus said. “It’s been a long day for you.”

Severus lifted Harry to his back once more, allowing the boy to rest his head on his back and close his eyes. He slowly walked down the mountain side, knowing the motion of his steps was luring the boy to sleep. The night was silent, save for the crunching of snow under his hooves.

And the crunching of snow under several hooves.

Severus snorted in alarm as he heard the familiar sound of approaching centaurs. He froze in his place as several centaurs surrounded him. Harry sat up on his back, his head swinging to the different centaurs. Severus turned jaggedly, trying to find an escape between the centaurs.

This couldn’t be good.

“Ajax,” Harry’s voice whispered in his ear, sending shivers all the way down Severus’s spine. He had to keep Harry safe. What was he thinking with this ride? He had been so caught up in the fun of the evening, he brought Harry into danger.

“You wouldn’t dare hurt a foal,” Severus challenged, glaring at the centaurs as he turned more, still eyeing for a weak spot.

“No, we wouldn’t,” a bay said, pawing the snow, clenching his fists around the bow he carried. “It would bring us dishonor. But you did not heed our warning. We can still harm you without touching the boy.”

The bay lifted his bow, an arrow already in place. Severus’s eyes narrowed.

Severus reared up, throwing Harry off his back. Harry grunted as he landed in the snow. Spinning around on his back hooves, Severus dropped down and charged for a gap between two older centaurs, shouldering past them. He galloped away, deep into the trees, leading the centaurs away.

Harry slowly pushed to his feet, glimpsing the tails of the disappearing centaurs. He looked around the trees, wondering which way led to the castle. He had to get help for Ajax. The centaur was in trouble. But everything looked the same – the same black and white surroundings. Harry looked down at the imprints of horse hooves in the snow. He wondered if he should follow them instead of getting himself lost in the forest.

He followed for a few steps before a thought hit him. What if Ajax came back looking for him? But what if the centaurs harmed Ajax? Harry felt a couple tears well in his eyes. What was he supposed to do? A tear burned down the side of Harry’s cold cheek and he rubbed at it, holding back more tears. Ajax had called him a foal. What did he mean by that? Did Ajax consider him his foal? Harry felt more tears well in his eyes at that idea alone. He’d have to ask Ajax later about it. He certainly felt like he could be Ajax’s foal.

               He couldn’t stand there all night while those centaurs chased Ajax. Why did they hate Ajax so much anyway? What did Ajax ever do to them? Harry remembered Ajax telling him that other centaurs did not appreciate Ajax very much. It seemed strange to Harry. Maybe he didn’t quite understand centaurs the way he thought he did after all that reading on them.

               Harry decided to follow the hoofprints before the snow covered them. He slowly stamped through the snow, moving slowly due to how deep it was and the coldness. He began to shiver, adjusting his scarf tighter around his neck, making sure it covered his chin.

His shivering worsened. His lips were chapped and dry, cracking and bleeding slightly. The hoofprints were starting to lessen and fade as more snow piled down. Harry sniffled as he reached the end of his trail, looking up, to the left, to the right. He rubbed a glove over his red nose, trying to massage some warmth into it. He needed Ajax. Someone. He wouldn’t last much longer in this weather. He wondered if any monsters hunted in cold weather like this. He would have to take his chances.

“Ajax!” Harry cried out.

Nothing.

“Ajax!” Harry’s voice cracked from the dry, cold air and he coughed.

Chattering his teeth, Harry wrapped his arms around himself tightly, shivering in place, unable to move.

               Snow squeaked. Harry looked up.

               Ajax limped on a forelimb through the trees, pausing some distance away, his ears flattened. Harry smiled, his body warming enough to run over to Ajax. The centaur carefully lifted Harry to his back, Harry snuggling into the warmth of the cloak.

               “Are you okay?” Harry pushed out through chattering teeth. “Did they hurt you?”

               “No,” Ajax said, limping to Hogwarts. “I hurt myself. I pushed myself too hard outmaneuvering them. They may know this forest well, but I know every hiding spot better.”

               “You’re limping,” Harry observed.

               “Just a bit sprained. Nothing a little potion can’t fix.”

               Harry sighed and buried his frozen face into Ajax’s cloak, hiding from the cold air around him.

               Severus slowly pushed open the door to Hogwarts, glancing around the main entry for any wanderers, then trotted inside with a slight limp, his hooves clanking on the cold floor. Harry still clung to his back, though by his even breathing, Severus knew the child was asleep. It was well past curfew and it was dark in the castle. Severus’s eyes were well adjusted to the darkness, and he moved swiftly to the stairs that would lead to his rooms. He looked down the many levels of stairs and sighed, only one way to go about this.

               He pulled Harry around and held the boy against his chest, Harry’s arms around his neck now, his head against his shoulder. The boy didn’t even open an eye.

               Severus backed away then trotted forward and leaped down the first flight, slid across the floor and into the far wall before leaping down the next flight of stairs, sliding once again into another wall. Harry squirmed in his arms, blinking up at Severus. Pausing in his descend, Severus patted Harry’s back, shushing him until the boy relaxed and rested his head on his shoulder once more. Approaching the last couple flights of stairs, Severus used a back hoof to push in a stone in the wall, causing the stairs to move and rotate, bringing him down to the dungeons. He limped to his quarters.

               Using wandless and wordless magic, he traced a larger doorway than the one he had, snapping his fingers to make the doorway transparent and walked through before returning it to its original state. He tried to avoid using so much magic as it drained his energy and he usually needed that energy to run from enemies or to hide himself.

               Inside the safety of his rooms, he laid Harry down on his coach before removing the turnout blanket. He waved his hand and the living room rearranged itself to accommodate for his size, leaving an open space in front of the couch for him to lay.

Severus summoned his wand and waved it over Harry, changing the boy into a pair of pajamas. Setting his wand aside, Severus removed Harry’s boots, leaving them at the end of the couch before he pulled the throw off the back of the couch and tucked it around Harry, summoning a pillow and placing it under Harry’s head.

Severus circled the floor before laying down in the middle of the living room, his legs under him. He watched Harry sleep peacefully before lowering his upper half to he floor, laying his head on his arms and closing his eyes.

The next morning:

“Rise and shine, Harry,” Severus said, shaking the boy’s shoulder.

Harry groaned and rolled on to his side, pulling the blanket snug around him.

“None of that,” Severus pulled the blanket off the boy. “It’s nearly ten in the morning and you have gifts to open.”

Harry’s head snapped up at that, looking at Severus with a smile.

“Really?”

“Not here,” Severus said, “but Professor McGonagall informed me of her missing lion who hasn’t even touched the gifts near his bed. She is very concerned about him. Have you seen a missing lion cub?”

Harry grinned and jumped off the sofa, blinking as he looked around. There was a coffee table in front of the sofa, an armchair across from him, and a small dining room with an attached kitchen nearby. A hall had four closed doors to his left.

“Is this where you live?” Harry asked.

“This is where I stay when I’m working at Hogwarts,” Severus gave Harry an amused smile.

“Oh, it’s nice,” Harry commented, then looked down at his clothes. “Did you . . . change me?”

Severus chuckled as Harry’s face turned red. “No, I did not. I used a spell to turn your clothes into pajamas. Here.” Severus flicked his wand and Harry’s clothes turned back in to his uniform. Harry’s eyes brightened at that and he smiled up at Severus.

“Are you feeling better?” Harry asked as he pulled his boots back on.

“Much better. I told you a little potion would take care of everything.”

“Why did the centaurs chase you last night?”

“The centaurs and I don’t exactly have a good relationship, Harry. It’s complicated. They know I’m not exactly one of them, and they know I associate with humans. To them, that disgraces their blood. If I am to be a centaur, in their eyes, I should act like one.”

“But you can’t really, can you?”

“No. Because I’m not one. And that is what bothers them the most. It is nothing really for you to concern yourself with, Harry. I’ve handled myself against them for years. I’ll be fine.”

“It scared me,” Harry confessed.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I should never have taken you into the forest.”

“Why? It was the best gift ever. Even if the other centaurs ruined it. I loved it!”

“Hmm,” Severus gave Harry a critical look, frowning at the small boy.

“Really, I did! It was so much fun. I’d do it again. I don’t care what those centaurs say, I’m you’re foal, right?”

“Excuse me?” Severus raised an eyebrow at Harry.

“That’s what you called me last night, remember?” Harry looked down, suddenly unsure and his cheeks burned once more. “You said I was a foal – that was what you meant, right?”

“Harry, the reason I said . . .” Severus paused, watching as Harry’s face sank more with gravity, his eyes starting to water, whether from rejection or dejection, Severus couldn’t tell. But he didn’t like it. He sighed, then smiled softly at Harry. “Yes, child. You are my foal. And I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. Not a werewolf, not a herd of centaurs, no one. Understand?”

Harry sprang off the couch and latched to Severus, squeezing the man’s middle. Severus wrapped an arm around Harry, patting his back before saying, “You better hurry and get to those gifts of yours. And if anyone asks, I caught you wandering last night and forced you to remain in my quarters, so I could keep an eye on you. And then you impudently slept in despite my many attempts at waking you. Got that?”

“Yes, Ajax,” Harry smiled up at him.

“Careful where you spit that name out,” Severus scolded lightly. Severus patted the boy’s bottom, “Off with you. Enjoy your Christmas.”

“I’ll see you later. This is the best Christmas ever,” Harry told him before grabbing his coat and scarf and running out of the man’s quarters.

Severus snorted and reached up to untangle the feather still in his hair.

“Yes, it is, my young foal,” he said, “yes, it is.”