"Sing!"

"I'm fourteen!" Severus protested.

"Sing!" Alastor growled.

"No!"

"Sing!" The growl became even deeper.

"No, please, I-"

Alastor pulled Severus down by his arm, so their noses almost touched.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells...." Severus reluctantly sang and turned as red as a tomato. He tried to ignore the giggle from his right where Amily Rose sat. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Charlie giving her a swat on the back of her head, and he grinned smugly while going on singing.

"Daddy," the eight year old girl protested. Her long, red locks were falling into her face while she looked innocently at her father.

"Behave, Amily, and don't tease Severus," Hermione scolded her daughter in a low voice to not interrupt Severus' singing.

Opposite of them, James Alastor pulled at the sleeve of his father's robes. "Daddy, is Severus scared of Santa Clause?"

Harry suppressed a grin about his son's thoughts. "Maybe a little."

"Do you think it helps if I change my hair green like Sev likes it best?" James Alastor looked shyly at Santa Clause who sat in a big armchair opposite of Severus. "Or do you think Santa Clause doesn't like green hair?"

"I think Santa Clause likes any kind of hair color, James. Look, your mum's is pink today, and she already got a present from Santa Clause."

James looked at his mom, who smiled, amused about the still-singing Severus. Then he quickly morphed his hair green with a pink wisp in the front of his hair.

"What's that for?" Tonks asked James Alastor while gently luffing little Lily Marie on her knee. Lily wore her pink dress and had insisted to wear her fairy wings as well. This was her costume for the daycare costume party. The two year old wasn't averting her amazed gaze from the man with the red costume and the long white beard. Her thumb was in her mouth, and she hoped Santa would love her red sparkling shoes and her pink dress. She wished she could change her hair color like her brother, but she was not a Metamorphmagus.

"For Severus and... for me," James said, pointing with his little finger at his chest and threw a glance at Tonks' Christmas present. "So Severus doesn't have to be scared of Santa Clause," the four-year old announced loudly.

"I'm not scared," Severus, who just had stopped singing, protested.

Even Hermione had to chuckle while rubbing her big tummy.

"Problems?" Charlie asked, worried.

"No," Hermione smiled at her husband. "He's just kicking." Again, she rubbed her belly affectionately.

"It's your own fault, Mum. I wanted a baby sister, but you have to have a baby boy again." Amily rolled her eyes.

"We don't want another sister. Little..." Tancred started.

"Jesse is much better than a girl," his twin, Gabriel, finished.

"Stop fighting, or Santa Clause won't have anything for you," Hermione said, threatening.

Tancred and Gabriel stopped arguing with their older sister immediately and looked fearfully at Santa Clause, who eyed them closely.

"Yes, and you already are in so much trouble for trying to ride Daddy's Firebolt. Santa Clause knows everything about it," Amily said, threatening her four-year old brothers.

"Oh, I have heard some very serious stories about you as well, young lady. For example, that you ruined your mother's make-up and landed yourself in the hospital wing for smearing it in your eyes," Santa Clause said seriously while boring his blue eyes into the girl's.

Amily looked shocked from her mother to Santa Clause and gulped.

"But right now we have Severus here to get his presents, right? So why don't you come over to Santa Clause and sit on his lap to tell him how good you were this year?" Santa Clause asked Severus and gestured him over.

Severus shook his head. "Oh, come on, Uncle Al. I'm too old to sit on his lap." Severus turned around to his godfather, hoping he would see reason.

"You are never to old to sit on Santa Clause's lap," Poppy said cheerfully.

Severus just glared at his godmother.

"Please, Uncle Al," Severus tried another time.

"Go over there and speak with Santa Clause, Severus. What kind of a role model are you for your younger friends here?" Alastor scolded the teen.

"But we all know that this is-"

"Severus!" Poppy said sharply and glared daggers at him.

"Come on, Sev. You don't have to be scared. Look, I have made my hair green and pink. Daddy says Santa Clause likes that," James said while grabbing Severus' hand.

Severus threw one last pleading look at Harry, but the man, who was something like a brother to him, just grinned. Pookah had stopped dangling on one of the Christmas balls and ran over to Severus. "Team up against me as well?" Severus asked the weasel when he made himself comfortable on Severus' shoulder.

James giggled. "Look, Santa, Pookah wants a present, too."

"Oh, I think I have one for him in my big sack as well." Santa Clause rummaged in his big Christmas sack and pulled a small bar of Pookah's favorite treat out. The moment Pookah smelled the treat he jumped down from Severus' shoulder, ran over to Santa, climbed up at the old man's beard and snatched the treat out of his hand. Then he ran under the Christmas tree and hid.

"Good tactic, maybe I should try it as well," Severus muttered.

"Try it," Santa said, amused, and patted his knee.

"Come on, Sev, I will tell Santa how good you were, and I won't tell him about your lab explosion," James Alastor said, encouraging.

"Lab explosion?" Minerva asked, shocked. She was Santa's helper and picked the sweets and Christmas presents for the kids.

"Calm down, Minerva," Charlie said calmingly. As the Potions Master, he felt responsible for Severus' brewing experiences, even though he let Severus use his lab alone. "It wasn't anything serious."

"Lovely that I learn about it last. I assume my husband knew about it already?" Minerva asked with an edge in her voice that meant trouble for said husband.

"So, Severus, are you unharmed?"Santa said theatrically and prodded Severus playfully.

"Yes," Severus said, annoyed, but he could not stop a giggle when Santa hit a ticklish spot. "It was two month ago, Mum," Severus explained Minerva.

"Now enough worrying and stern looks, Helper of Santa. Please see if we have something for Severus as well," Santa said to Minerva and then turned to Severus. "So, young man, have you been a good boy this year?"

Severus rolled his eyes.

"Severus, you mustn't roll your eyes at Santa. You really should know by now. Your are fourteen already," James said, shocked.

"Yes, I'm fourteen and that means I'm too old to sit on Santa's lap and too old to be a good boy," Severus said and glared at Santa.

James shook his head disapprovingly. "He is a good boy, Santa. He is just scared of you," James whispered so loudly that anyone could hear him.

Amily giggled again, but her father's warning hand on her neck and a glare from her mother made her stop.

"This is embarrassing," Severus whispered.

"I think apart from some small incidents you have been a good boy, Severus, and James here seems to think so as well, don't you?" Santa asked James.

"Yes," James nodded vehemently. "Sev has played with me and Daddy very often, and he has helped Mummy bake the big chocolate cake for my birthday. He promised to teach me flying so that I would be as good as Daddy was in Quidditch." James leaned closer to Santa and again whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm not allowed to talk about it, but Sev promised to show me how to teach little Remus Alexander how to crawl when he comes out of Mummy's belly."

The whole room looked at Tonks now. "So much about keeping it secret for some time," Tonks said to Harry while clasping her hand in his and threw an apologizing look over to Poppy and Alastor. Those two had pestered her like hell during her last two pregnancies. Tonks had hoped to have a few more free weeks before Poppy and Alastor started to relieve her from all kinds of work. They were wonderful grandparents, but they were always so worried about her well being.

Poppy took Alastor's hand affectionately and smiled happily. Another child in our small family.

"Interesting," Santa chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling at Tonks and Harry.

James nodded his head enthusiastically, not realizing what information he had just given away. "And Severus helped Grandpa Al carve more animals for my zoo, and he brews healing potions for Grandma Poppy. And for his daddy, he has made special drops for Christmas, but shhhh," James said and held his finger over his lips. "You must not tell his daddy. He is still working, but he will come back later."

Severus groaned. "Fantastic."

Santa just chuckled and poked Severus playfully in his ribs.

"Yes, Severus is a very good boy," Tancred came over with his cuddle blanket in hand. "He got my blanket out of the lake when some boys threw it in and laughed at me." Tancred held up his blanket for Santa to look at it and then leaned closer. "And he made the legs of the bad boy dance." Tancred's chuckles were joined by Gabriel's, who had come over as well.

"That was funny, and Tancred stopped crying. Severus is a good big brother. Okay, he isn't really our...." Gabriel said.

"Brother," Tancred ended Gabriel's sentence. "But he said we can pretend."

Severus groaned again and shifted uncomfortably on Santa's lap. "Your kids are going to get me in trouble," Severus said reproachfully to Charlie and Harry.

"That's payback for all the times you got us in trouble, little bro," Charlie said, laughing. "Just remember the day when Harry gave you Pookah."

"Oh, yes, I really feared Poppy would kill us," Harry said, amused.

"Grandma Poppy wanted to kill you?" James asked with big eyes.

"Granny never would do, Daddy. Daddy bad boy," Lily scolded and jumped down from her mother's lap to run over to Poppy. "Granny nice." She held her little arms up, and Poppy lifted her onto her lap.

"Daddy is just joking, Lily. Otherwise, he wouldn't have moved in with us later, would he?" Poppy said and cuddled the girl.

"Yes, Daddy is just joking, Lils, but it's true that Severus got your Daddy and Uncle Charlie in trouble and still is doing so," Alastor said, amused, and petted Lily on her head.

"I am not," Severus said sulkily.

Santa chuckled. "I think I have heard enough. So, Minerva, have you found a present for Severus?"

"Yes, I think this one here is for Severus." She handed Severus a heavy present when he had jumped down from Santa's lap.

Severus felt the weight of the present and saw the shape and gasped. Quickly, he ripped the wrapping paper of and yelped excited. "Ancient Potions and their Improvements! Thank you!" He threw himself at Santa, no longer looking like a sulky teenager. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dad!" he whispered in Santa's ear.

When he let go of Santa and went over to his mother to hug her as well, James looked sceptically at Santa. "It's just a book?" Then he threw a worried look at the still-full sack. "You don't have a book for me, do you?"

Santa chuckled. "No, I think there is something else in my sack for you, young man."

James sighed, relieved, and ran over to his granddad and climbed onto his lap. "See, now Severus isn't scared of Santa any longer. My hair has helped," James said proudly.

"Yes, you never cease to amaze me, my boy. Almost like your father," Alastor said, laughing.

James grinned proudly over being compared to his father. "Daddy is the best!"

"You should tell Santa that when it is your Daddy's turn to sit on Santa's lap," Alastor said and looked teasingly at Harry.

"Oh, but I think it's your turn now, Alastor, and I have heard that you put salt in the poor Headmaster's tea a few days ago. Is that the right behavior to get Christmas presents?" Santa asked while trying hard to suppress a grin.

James jumped down from his Granddad's lap and pulled at Alastor's hand. "Come on, Granddad, I promise I will tell Santa that you have been a good boy besides pranking Uncle Albus." James quickly looked at Santa and then back at Alastor. "Santa doesn't know Uncle Albus. He never met him, right?"

"Yes, now that you say it," Alastor said, amused. Good thing that James did not see the suppressed grins from all the adults.