The wind whistled as snowflakes delicately danced to the ground, applying another layer to the already white blanket. In the distance, young slightly off-key voices sang verses of "Jingle Bells." Other children contented themselves by building snowmen and forts, yet another group engaged themselves in a fierce snowball fight. The latter of the groups was the one that held Severus Snape's eye. Bundled almost completely in red and gold, colors that only spelled trouble, were a group of Gryffindor students.

The only thing that brought him any relief was that Potter was not part of this group; he wasn't even outside. If Severus had to be roped into supervising brats during Christmas vacation, at least the Golden Boy was someone else's problem. It was only at the closure of the boy's first semester and already he had flown headfirst into idiotic heroic acts many times. Snape had known the child would be trouble right from the Sorting Feast.

"Potter, Harry." Professor McGonagall commanded, drawing everyone's attention to the raven-haired child clambering up to the stool. Potter-Severus refused to call him Harry, seemed smaller than his other year mates and his face was scrunched up in a scowl upon eying the potions master, he was just like his good-for-nothing dead father. Potter's eyes, though hidden behind hideous round frames were narrowed into slits. Snape watched as Minerva placed the hat on the brat's head. Severus expected the hat to bellow Gyffindor!" as soon as it was touching the child's hair as it had done for his own Slytherin godson. No son of JAMES Potter would be placed into any other house. He scoffed, Potter would probably kill himself if he was placed in SNAPE'S domain, not that was even likely. The split-second that Severus expected the hat to deliberate on the brat's housing instead turned into several lengthy minutes. Sighing in annoyance, he sneered at the boy, realizing as with most of the Great Hall that the boy was conversing with the aged hat. It must have shocked everyone as they leaned forward in their seats in a futile attempt to eavesdrop on the apparent conversation the boy was having.. Since when did the hat allow conversing? It would do that the first child that had the audacity to argue was Potter. The spoiled prince was probably rooting for his special house, "The House of Potter." Snape snorted in directive.

After at least five minutes, the hat exclaimed with what seemed to be a sigh, "Gryffindor!" At long last, the boy hopped down from the stool and attempted to scurry to his new house, he glanced back at the Staff Table, uncertainly, only to immediately contort his face as if in pain. The Slytherin Head of House nearly laughed at the claim the boy seemed to be making; Severus knew all too well that most of the students hated him, but none had had the audacity to claim that by merely looking at him, they were subjected to unbearable pain. A walking cruciatus curse, what a laugh. Finally, the young lion made his way to his housemates and shortly thereafter the feast begun. Sneaking a glance at the bane of his teaching existence, he noted with superior glee of how little the brat was serving himself and eating. Mere bits not fit for a mouse, let alone a growing adolescent boy. It was just like Potter to refuse to eat good food, ha, he probably had his meals served to him on golden platters. The child was not bothering to use his utensils correctly, he probably did not even know how to as he was definitely fed by his servants.

Blinking back to the present, Severus groaned when he saw the bane of his teaching existence along with the Know-it-All exiting the doors and heading towards a fresh mound of snow. Snape looked the two children over to make sure they were not dunderheaded enough to not bundle up well. He'd dance a jig on the Staff Table in front of the entire school before any of his colleagues accused him of allowing the ‘precious' children to get sick.

He expected to see them both dressed head-to-toe in their house's colors. Surprisingly enough, Granger was clad in a heavy blue coat with matching gloves. Potter, he noticed, was wearing an ancient brown coat that was obviously six sizes too big for the small-framed boy. The sleeves, too long for his arms, covered up his hands and Severus could only guess that he was wearing some sort of hand protection. Snape never assumed anything, though, it was far too dangerous as a Potions Master, teacher, and even more so as a spy. Sighing, he trudged through the snow, occasionally glaring at students to herd them out of his way. Finally, he reached two-thirds of the Golden Trio.

"Potter!" Snape snarled as he watched the boy jump a foot off the ground.

"Yes sir," It was obvious that the boy had no idea what sin he had committed. Snape almost laughed, Potter had already served so many detentions that he had come to expect them.

"Let me see your hands!" Severus' voice would have brokered no arguments from his Slytherins or even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but of course the Gryffindors thought they were above the rules.

"Why?" Potter shoved his arms into the enormous pockets. Granger grabbed onto him and shook her head. Sometimes Snape thought the girl really did have some useful brains in her head. Three friends with one brain, if this was what the Wizarding World had to look forward to, then they were in for a rude awakening.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor for arguing with a teacher! If you don't want to make it thirty, I suggest that you show me your hands now!" Snape snorted with pleasure at the haste with which the child pulled his arms out of his coat. Severus was momentarily surprised after the boy had finally listened to him.

"Green? Why would a Gryffindor wear Slytherin Green mittens of all things? Surely, such an act is treason to your loyal fans. Did you think that it would be a good prank, Potter, to steal from a child in my house? Thought you would get some laughs, did you?" Severus's breath formed a white ring in front of Harry's ashen face.

Harry backed up as he shook his head, "No, I didn't steal them, honest. They're mine! They were a gift!" He looked at Hermione for help, hoping that she would be able to convince the snarky man who hated him and looked for any excuse to cause him trouble.

Before Hermione could answer, Snape stopped her. "I'm going to look into this matter. If any of my students are missing a pair of mittens, I can assure that you will be in detention for the rest of the Christmas Holidays for both stealing and lying to me!" With that said, he turned and made certain that his robes menacingly billowed after him like lackeys to the villain, the way he favored it.

The Potions Master had applied a charm to repel any snow on his robes and person, so he was midnight black as always. He stalked to his previous post, hoping to catch at least one student doing something to warrant a detention. Out of the corner of his eye he spied the youngest Weasley boy walking out of the door and over to his friends. Almost immediately he heard the strains of an argument brewing. The spy stepped closer and listened in to the pre-teens.

"Harry what are you doing wearing green mittens? Slytherin Green at that? People are going to think you're a traitor for the enemy house! Here, Hermione, change them to red!" Ron gestured to the mittens, which still enveloped Harry's hands.

The raven-haired child's face shaded and he scowled. "No." Harry's voice was steady, giving meaning to his words. He stared through his fringe at Ron. "I like them green. They will stay that color." Harry squared his shoulders as he looked from Hermione to Ron, daring them to disagree.

"Of course Harry, if you like the mittens green, then they are fine as they are." Hermione immediately supported Harry, not surprising Severus at all. Though he would never in a million years admit it to the girl, she had a level head to match her brains on her shoulders.

"But Hermione, they're Slytherin!" Ron, proving he was the dunderhead that Severus always knew he was, continued to argue. His face was starting to match his bright red hair as his eyes narrowed. He turned to Harry, and Severus waited with almost baited breath. Maybe Weasley would do something stupid and Snape would simply have to assign a detention.

"Leave it." Harry's voice now carried an edge. His emerald eyes flashed a warning that brokered no misunderstanding. Potter seemed to tense up as he shuffled an impatient foot in the burrowing snow. "I'm going inside. Maybe I'll get a head start on homework, surprise the professors for once."

Granger, apparently seeing the excuse for what it was, quickly followed the raven-haired Gryffindor like the puppy dog she was. "I'll help you. Ron stay here and pummel some snowballs with your goofball brothers." With that, she turned on the spot as if disapparating and jogged the distance towards Harry.

Severus smirked as he observed Ron's face flare up as the tempered child fought back with a measly, "Sure! Go do the greasy git's homework for all I care!" Ah, here was Snape's cue line.

Severus crossed the distance with the finesse he was well known for and sneered, "Twenty points from Gryffindor for slandering a teacher and detention tonight. I have some lovely toads for you to disembowel." Severus' day was now complete.

***

An hour later, Severus eased himself into his high-backed winged chair. It had been an exhausting day, not a vacation in the least. He was free though for the rest of the day until after dinner to supervisor Weasley's detention but his mind could not rest. To his disgust he found his mind wandering to Potter of all people. The boy had been all but animalistic about mere mittens. It was a puzzling behavior for a pampered prince. Not to mention the fact they were Slytherin Green. Snape knew the boy was telling the truth, that much was evident in the child's actions towards his best friend, and they were his. The man could not get it out of his mind, there was something so familiar and yet he couldn't grasp it. Sneering, he arose and briskly walked to his kitchen, determined to put Potter out of his mind with a good cup of Oolong.

***

Six hours later, Ron finally dragged his tired body back to his common room. He hoped that Hermione and Harry were waiting for him, but he quickly concurred that that was not the case. Instead, the fire-headed boy spied a familiar pair of green mittens among the sea of red that were drying on the fireplace mantle. Head spinning, he began to get an idea, and he quickly set quill to parchment. Twenty minutes later, the letter was complete and Ron took the offending mittens and tossed them into the inferno of flames.

The flames at first licked at the unexpected treat, dancing around in a mesmerizing fashion, as if they were a child testing out a pool for the first time. Finally, a brave flame took hold of the mittens and ate hungrily, allowing the rest of the flames to partake of the meal. With each minute that passed, Ron's emotions swirled. He knew he probably shouldn't have done what he had, but he had been so mad. Mad at Harry for wearing them in the first place, mad at Hermione for taking up for the "famous one," and especially outraged at Snape for the detention. Why had Harry been wearing that color anyways, his friend must have known it would only cause him trouble. Ron had been taught by his siblings, by his parents really, but they would deny it, that that color meant Slytherin so that color was evil. Then there was the way that Harry had practically hugged his mittens to his chest, like a child with a favorite teddy or blanket. Ron had outgrown his stuffed animal years ago and he was considered the immature one, not Harry. Ron sighed, he still felt a bit guilty but he knew that Harry would one day thank him.

***

An hour before curfew the portrait yawned and admitted a pair of exhausted children. Though it had only been an excuse, Hermione and Harry had ended up studying in the library, completing several essays.

"So when Neville swished his wand to locate Trevor, he accidently transfigured Professor Flick into a toad, I don't even want to know how many points Gryffindor lost!" Harry finished as he and the bookish girl stepped into the common room and spotting the third of the trio.

Awkward silence ensued as the three friends shifted from one foot to the other, not really knowing what to say to the other. Harry glanced around the room, anything to keep his eyes off of his best friend. He had learned at an early age that one never looked an adversary in the eye if he wanted to survive. Suddenly, as if dawn had broken the horizon, he looked at the endless sea of red and gold mittens lining the hearth, he peered and walked towards the pile, his first present was missing.

"Ron. Where. Are. My. Mittens?" Harry's anger quickly bubbled through him, spilling over the top. It was then that he noticed that the other boy held a small scroll in his lap. Ron stood up and thrust it into Harry's hands, having the semi-grace to at least look shame-faced.

"Here, Mum sent you a note saying she'll send you some proper Gryffindor ones. Now you won't have to make do with those old Slytherin ones."

Whatever positive reaction Ron had been expecting, he did not receive as his friend's face turned an intense red. "Where are my old ones?" Harry's voice was as dangerous as Gryffindor's mascot. Ron's automatically gazed to the flames of the fireplace, the emerald-eyed boy followed. Ron gulped as Harry rushed on "You burnt them? You had no right to! They were my first gift I remember ever receiving, and you thought you could just destroy them because they were green!" Ron noticed that Harry seemed to have forgotten he was a wizard, he balled his hand up into a fist and would have broken the his nose if it hadn't been for Hermione's quick thinking and grabbing Harry's arm.

"No, Harry! It's not worth it. You'll get detention if anyone finds out about this," the girl murmured as Ron watched her let Harry go. Immediately Ron moved his mouth to speak but his best friend stalked into his dormitory. Ron had been feeling guilty at what he had done but then he decided that fear was a much better emotion as he noticed the witch returned her eyes to Ron. "As for you, I think this will do." She whispered a spell that Ron couldn't hear and suddenly he found himself prone-eagle on the floor frozen in place.

***

it was Christmas Eve, and once again the children frolicked in the snow. Snape found himself having been suckered into "guard duty" yet again and sighed as he watched the few students who had elected to stay the holidays at Hogwarts. The decorations adorned almost the entire castle, majestic works of gold, silver, green and red strung up like bows, candles burned in every window, tree and ceiling. Children who needed no sugar found plenty in the readily available cookies, cakes and candy that the house elves seemed to leave at every turn.

Today, something felt off. The hair on the nape of Severus' neck prickled. The spy hated not being able to anticipate whatever mess the students were getting into, so he resolved to uncover it. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Potter along with the insufferable bushy-haired girl. The clown of the group was once again nowhere to be seen.

Despite not being able to hear the conversation, Severus could tell that Granger was obviously upset at something, as was Potter. Only a few months into their school career and all the professors had learned to keep a keen ear and eye on the "Golden Trio," as they were prone to diving headlong into trouble. With that thought, the Potions Master could also see another clue. Though adorned in the worn coat, Potter seemed to be shivering and rubbing at his wind-bitten hands many times.

Severus rolled his eyes at the sight and then stared. The boy had no mittens on. He was probably hoping to get frostbitten and have more attention lavished on him. Well, Snape was not going to allow that to happen.

"Potter!"

"Yes, sir?" The minuscule child answered through a shiver.

"Where in the blazes are your mittens that you were oh so attached to merely two days ago? Did you decide that green was below you?" Snape sneered at the frightened boy.

"Noo..noo..sir. They got...well, someone thought they were trash, sir." The boy had the gull to claim. Ha, it was morel than likely the boy had been pressured to ditch them. Severus noticed the child skimming the white marshmallow ground. Pathetic boy couldn't even lie right!

"I see and as Weasley hasn't been part of your fan club for two days now, I assume he had something to do with this." Severus smiled sardonically as he watched the two lions gulp and Potter slowly nodded.

"He...thought that I was being a traitor, sir, because they were green." Though the child attempted to pass off the incident as the result of a childish scramble, the spy observed the brat's true sentiments.

"Well as that may be, you know that the Headmaster ruled that everyone be properly suited for the conditions so you best be in the castle by the time I finish speaking unless you'd like a detention. I do have some lovely snake brains that need pickling." Smiling with satisfaction, the sallow man watched both children dart into the school. As if in a race, the children ran and Severus snorted when the inevitable tumble occurred. Really, at eleven and twelve, the children know by now that you can't run in snow without consequences. If only he had a camera to catch the "Savior of the Wizarding World" lying clumsily in the snow, Rita Skeeter would have a field day.