"But I don’t wanna say goodbye to Draco I want him to stay it’s not fair-" Hermione wailed as Draco prepared to leave through the floo.

"I’ll be back some time, don’t worry!" Draco told the distraught girl, looking guilty for making her cry.

"Do you gotta go Draco?" whispered Harry, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, I have to," sighed Draco, kneeling down next to the little boy. "I wish I could stay."

"I wish you could too why not can’t you stay don’t go-" cried Hermione as she ran into his arms.

Draco looked surprised, but I could see a ghost of a smile forming as she clung to him.

"Promise you’ll come back to teach me Kidditch?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"I promise," Draco said over Hermione’s bushy hair.

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart," Draco said, making the motion with his free hand.

Harry rocketed himself at the Slytherin, burrowing himself into Draco’s embrace as well. Draco grinned, hugging the two children tightly. He hadn’t looked this happy in a very long time; not a trace of sorrow could be seen within his eyes.

"Bye you guys. I’ll miss you," he told them as they broke apart.

"Bye bye bye I can’t wait for you to come back-’

"Goodbye Draco," Harry whispered, backing up to where I stood and slipping his hand into mine.

"Thanks for letting me stay the day," Draco said gratefully as he grabbed a handful of floo powder. He needn’t have thanked me with words. His face said it all.

"You are most welcome." I told him.

With a wave and flash of blonde hair he was gone, back to the dysfunction he faced each holiday. Every time he visited me I felt so bad sending him back there. That day was more difficult than ever, especially when looking back on it. If I had known …

***

Dealing with two very teary children I had to do something to cheer them up. So next to the fire I sat, acting out a puppet show with a pair of mismatched socks.

Well, there goes the last of my dignity.

"-but Professor Snape I don’t want to make potions!" I made Hermione’s pink sock say in a squeaky voice. "I want to learn how to knit! Will you teach me?"

"Scary teachers don’t knit!" barked the black sock.

A wave of giggles erupted from Harry and Hermione.

"Today we’re going to disembowel frogs," the black sock drawled to the pink one.

"Eww!" Harry moaned.

"That’s horrible! Why can’t we play with unicorns instead?" the pink sock whined.

"Because scary teachers don’t play with unicorns!" screeched the black sock.

Harry and Hermione burst into peals of laughter. It was weird that someone actually found me funny; it was actually quite nice.

"I think you’re mean!" said the pink sock. "Why can’t you be nice?"

"Because scary teachers aren’t nice!" Harry shouted.

"Hey, I was going to say that," the black sock told Harry, sounding hurt.

"You’re funny Uncle Sev," giggled Hermione.

"You’re good at puppet sho-‘ Harry began before being cut off by a huge yawn. His eyes drooped significantly.

"I think it’s bedtime," I laughed setting the socks aside and picking up Harry, carrying him to the bathroom to brush his teeth as Hermione skipped along beside me.

"Time to brush our teeth brusha brusha brushy-" she sang joyfully.

***

That night I couldn’t sleep. I lay, tossing and turning in my bed. I had a very bad feeling about Draco that I couldn’t shake. For some reason I couldn’t get the sight of him vanishing into the fire out of my head. Eventually I put on my dressing gown and made a cup of tea. Sitting at the table I tapped my fingers upon the wood anxiously.

"Hi," came a whisper from beside me. I jumped significantly.

"Hello Harry," I said.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Drinking tea, I can’t sleep," I told him softly, resting my hand upon his messy hair briefly.

"It’s okay, I can’t sleep too," Harry told me.

"Really, is that so?" I said, picking him up and settling him on my lap.

"Yeah," he sighed resting his head against my chest.

"Is it because you are excited for Christmas tomorrow?" I asked him.

"No. I just got a funny feeling in my tummy. But I’m not sick," Harry told me, fiddling with the button on his green pyjamas.

"Me too," I told him.

"’specally ‘cause I had this weird dream and this scary man was looking for something he really needed. But you know what was really weird? I don’t remember falling asleep!" Harry said to me wide eyed. "Am I crazy?"

"No Harry. I’d suggest you forget about that for now. But if you have any more weird dreams let me know," I said.

I was slightly surprised by his 'dream' because he had shown no signs of his connection with Voldemort so far. It was rather odd if you asked me.

"’Kay."

We sat in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the fire crackle.

"Uncle Sev, can I tell you something?" Harry whispered eventually, looking up at me anxiously.

"Anything,'

"Well, sometimes I pretend you’re my daddy and that Hermione’s my sister and we get to live happily ever after just like the people in Dudley’s storybooks," said the little boy uncertainly.

"Really?" I said, rather touched. Well, that explained why he called me daddy.

"Uh huh. I wish it could be true. But …’

"But what?"

"My aunt and uncle say I’ll never be wanted by anyone," he sniffled.

"I want you," I told Harry, pulling him closer to me.

"You do?"

"Yes, and I’m working on a few things so that you can stay with me forever if you like. It might take some time because I need to get your aunt and uncle to sign some important papers first," I told Harry, deciding that I might as well tell him my plans. After all, I was going to do whatever I needed to do to get Petunia to sign those papers. The only choice she would have would be how quickly she’d sign them.

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, I think it’s time for little boys to be in bed, or Father Christmas won’t come!" I warned, settling him in my arms and carrying him to bed.

"But Father Christmas doesn’t bring me presents. Just ones for Dudley," Harry whispered sadly.

Way to go Snape, how the hell will you answer this one?

I wracked my brain for an answer, and somehow found one ready.

"Your aunt and uncle don’t believe in Father Christmas Harry, so he can’t visit their house. They were the ones to give Dudley gifts. But now that you are here with me, and I believe in Father Christmas, he can finally visit and bring you a present," I told him. Every kid had the right to believe. For them, that was the magic of Christmas.

"You’re sure?" he yawned as I tucked him into bed.

"Yes, positive," I said. "Sleep well, Harry."

"You should go to bed too then if Father Christmas is gonna come," he told me seriously.

"I will Harry, don’t you worry about that," I laughed softly, ruffling his hair and leaving the room.

I shut the door until it was open but a crack, and then I crept to the fire. I needed to check on Draco. I just had to, for that uneasy feeling had not gone away. I had tried to ignore the clawing in my gut and the light twinge in my left arm, but I couldn’t.

Luckily, Draco had a fireplace in his bedroom, and I could stick my head through the fire quietly. Just long enough to ensure he was alright.

"Malfoy Manor, Draco’s bedroom!" I said, throwing a pinch of powder in the fire and sticking my head in the flames.

In a whirl of emerald fire my head came to rest in the grate. But the fireplace was not the only place with a fire: flames were licking the walls of Draco’s empty room. My head sat there in the grate a moment as I watched in horror, the blackened wallpaper peeling away before my eyes. I had to get there. What if he was trapped somewhere? From the floo I could see that the fire was coming from somewhere down the hall, having traveled up the staircase.

I yanked my head out of the fire and summoned Dobby the house-elf, who I had heard liked Harry a great deal. I could have flooed straight into the manor but I would have been running the risk of a fireplace collapsing on me or getting myself trapped.

'What can I do for Master Professor Snape Sir?" cried the house-elf enthusiastically.

"Make sure Hermione and Harry stay safe, alert Minerva that Draco Malfoy is in danger and I have gone to his home to rescue him," I said frantically to the elf, whose grin faded to a look of determination.

"Dobby will do that Master Professor Snape sir!" bowed the elf.

"Thank you Dobby," I said hurriedly, pulling my shoes on and snatching up my wand.

With that I sprinted out of my quarters, running through the castle still in my dressing gown. But I did not care. Draco was in danger, and I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the Dark Lord.

***

When I arrived at Malfoy Manor by apparition, almost the entire building was engulfed in flames. I raised my left arm and passed through the gate, sprinting toward the building. Thick smoke drifted past in a haze, obscuring the grounds.

"DRACO! DRACO!" I shouted, hoping that he would answer. He didn’t.

"Homenum Revelio!" I said frantically, waving my wand at the flaming manor.

The result of the spell told me there was someone in the Malfoy library, and I decided to go after whoever it was. If it was Draco, and I didn’t try to get him it would be yet another thing I could never forgive myself for. So, taking a deep breath I ran into the entrance closest to the library.

The heat blazed upon my face, gasping from the smoke I ran through the smoky corridor and up a staircase. I was getting closer to the heart of the fire, which seemed not far from the library. There was a floor-shaking smash as a thick beam fell in front of me, obstructing my way. The building was getting weaker, and I could not blast the beam out of my way. So, thinking of Draco and gathering my courage I backed up and took a running leap, flying through the flames and smoke. Once on the other side I was closer than ever to my destination and I could hear someone crying out.

When I reached the library, shelves were blazing and the ceiling was catching as well.

"DRACO! NARCISSA, LUCIUS!" I belted out as best I could through the smoke, searching behind furniture and corners for whoever it might be.

"Help!" I heard a weak cry from the corner. I swivelled around, indeed it was Draco. He looked terribly weak, with a gash cut diagonally across his face and one leg pinned by a fallen bookcase.

I ran toward him, he was struggling to take a breath in the thick smoke, he needed air. And I realised that I needed some too. Why had I not used a bubblehead charm?

I carefully levitated the bookcase off his crumpled leg. Draco gave a tired cry, tears running down his smoke-blackened cheeks.

"YOU NEED TO HELP ME DRACO!" I shouted over the roar of the fire, trying to pull him up of the ground with no avail.

Draco took a sharp gasp of tarry air and pushed off with his good leg, while I pulled him up from underneath his arms. Supporting most of his weight I dragged the injured boy over to the door while the ceiling creaked ominously overhead. It was close to collapsing. A small piece gave way and tumbled to the ground in a shower of sparks. I quickened the pace.

"Faster or we’ll never make it, the roof could go any second!." I croaked in Draco's ear after hearing another loud creak in the ceiling.

Draco was trying to tell me something as I pulled him past a suit of armour by the library entrance.

"B-b" he coughed as he tried to tell me something "Br-broo-’

 I followed his gaze and then I saw it. Draco’s broomstick. I snatched it ran out the doorway and into the corridor. The way I came was now completely ablaze, we hadn’t any chance of going that way. There had to be another way. I frantically searched for an exit, finally, I saw one.

There was a large window way down the opposite end of the corridor. That was the way.

"GET ON DRACO!" I cried as a loud cracking sounded from the library door.

I threw the broom underneath my legs, helping Draco on in front of me. The boy slumped back weakly. Bits of rubble began to rain down upon us as I pushed off, speeding forward like a bullet, one arm around Draco and one hand on the broomstick. Behind us I heard the loudest crack yet that was followed by a deafening rumble. But I didn’t look back. I concentrated solely on getting to that window as the roof fell in behind us.

My vision was blurring and my lungs screamed for air. Draco was now completely limp and I struggled to keep him on the broom with me. The rumble grew louder, and a loud smash behind us made me lean on the broom even harder, causing us to rocket at an alarming speed toward the window. It was then that I realised the glass had not been smashed out from the fire, it was quite intact.

I had no hope of blasting the glass out with my wand; we would just have to go through it. I closed my eyes and shielded Draco’s face as best I could; gritting my teeth and awaiting the impact, which came in seconds. The glass was brittle from the heat, allowing us to crash clean through it, gliding for a while before spiralling toward the ground. I was no longer able to hold onto the broom. My hands had grown too weak.

Being on the second floor we had a ways to fall. Thankfully there was a lake near the manor, and that was where we were headed; Draco falling like a ragdoll through the air beside me as I fought to stay conscious. I took a big gasp of air before we fell through the surface of the water.

The plunge was freezing, seeing as there as a light layer of ice on the lake. It took away my breath, making it difficult to keep my grip on Draco’s wrist, which I had grabbed as we fell. I struggled toward the surface of the lake with the unconscious boy, my whole body screaming for a rest. I could tell I was close, for I could see the flaming ruins of the manor shining through the water.

Finally, my head broke the glittering surface, and I took a huge gulp of air before pulling Draco to shore, making sure his head was above the water as well. It was then, resting upon the shore, sodden and tired that the building collapsed completely.

Draco stirred a bit, opening his eyes as I kneeled by his side. The cut across his face was still bleeding, crimson standing out from his white face. He barely seemed to register the fact that I was there as he coughed harshly from smoke inhalation. Suddenly, I heard voices coming from a point down the lake.

"My L-Lord, it was not I who gave the diary away, it was Narcissa!" said Lucius Malfoy, quivering with fear as the Dark Lord advanced upon him.

"You lie Lucius. Where is dear Narcissa anyway? She was far better a follower than you ever were." The Dark Lord hissed at him, fingering his wand.

"Dead, perished in the fire," said Lucius. He did not sound as if he cared.

Draco’s face drained of what little color it had left.

"Ah, and you will be joining her. I am afraid that diary was more important than you can know Lucius, not just a silly little book to write down one’s troubles." Voldemort said dangerously, holding his wand up against Lucius' temple.

"My-y L-Lord …’

There was a flash of green light and a thud of someone falling to the ground. The sound was followed by a loud crack, signalling the departure of Lord Voldemort. Draco gave a small cry.

"Let’s get you out of here," I told the boy gently before hoisting him up and taking him by sidelong apparition to the Hogwarts gate, where he faded into unconsciousness once again.