It was now the first of December, Christmas break was only about a week away…

"And we’re still no closer to figuring out who Nicholas Flamel is!" Hermione said, frustrated.

"Or what ‘Fluffy’ is guarding?" Harry added, quietly.

"Or why Snape wants to murder ‘Arry…?" Ron put in, scribbling on a piece of parchment.

They were in the library, during their free period.

Harry and Hermione were busy researching, while Ron was desperately trying to complete his Transfiguration homework by the time class started right after lunch.

Harry wrinkled his nose at his best friend’s comment.

He still hadn’t told them that Snape was his father…or that his mother was alive, either.

Both go hand in hand, Harry thought to himself, but I’ll tell them after Christmas break. I promise.

"I honestly don’t think Snape was trying to jinx my broom," Harry told them, sighing. "He might have been wishing me to fall…but that’s about it."

"Harry," Hermione sighed, "as much as I would like to believe no teacher would ever harm one of his own students…I told you what I saw. Snape wasn’t even blinking…"

"Yeah, I know," Harry said, sighing. "But didn’t the textbook say ‘anti-jinx’ spells also require the person to not blink, either."

"Hmm," Hermione said, "that is true, but—"

"But Snape’s a mean old git, mate!" Ron growled at him, angrily. "He’s been nothin’ but a snarky ole bat to you since our first potions’ class! Why are you defendin' him!?"

"I’m not," Harry said, quickly. "It’s just…like Hermione said. I don’t want to think a teacher would intentionally hurt me, okay? Hogwarts is the only place I’ve ever felt safe and wanted, remember? I’d like it to stay that way, okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Ron said, blinking at him sheepishly. "Uh, right…I’m sorry, mate. You know my big mouth runs away from me sometimes."

Sometimes? Harry smirked. "Its okay, Ron," he told him. "I know you can’t help being a prat."

"Yeah, I—Hey!" Ron said, realizing what he’d said. He gave him a playful shove in response.

Harry laughed, and retaliated with a playful punch to his best friend’s arm—eliciting a small yelp from the red headed boy.

"Shhh!" Hermione hissed at them. "You know how Madame Pince feels about ‘horse-playing’. If she kicks us out we’ll never find out anything!"

Harry nodded, knowing she was right.

"Yeah," he said, closing his book. "We’ve been in here about an hour and its kinda stuffy. I think I’ll go get some fresh air. Okay?"

"Go on, ‘Arry," Ron told him, sighing. "Wish I could, but…" He held up his quill and parchment.

Hermione sniffed. "You should have thought of that while you were playing that barbaric game ‘til curfew last night instead of doing your homework like you were supposed to," she scolded him, disdainfully.

"Well," Ron said, turning red. "Least I know how to have some fun!"

Harry quickly headed out of the library, knowing full well when to get out of dodge.

Outside snow had started to fall, and a crisp December wind was blowing.

Before heading out, Harry had grabbed his coat, gloves, and scarf, and had stopped by the owlery to retrieve Hedwig.

"Here you go, girl," he told her, stroking the soft feathers on her head. "The perfect flying weather…Go on, spread your wings!"

He watched as she took to the air, her wings pumping furiously ‘til she got enough height so that she simply could glide on the gusts of air that were blowing.

She sure is a beautiful creature, Harry thought bemusedly to himself. She makes flying look so easy…

"Oh, Mr. Potter, there you are," Professor McGonagall called to him, gaining his attention.

"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted the older witch, politely.

"You haven’t forgotten we have class this afternoon, I trust," the Transfiguration teacher said, smiling.

Harry shook his head. "No, ma’am," he told her, truthfully. "I was just getting some fresh air and letting Hedwig get some exercise."

The professor glanced up into the sky, smiling at the sight of the snowy owl.

"Beautiful," she commented, before returning her sharp gaze to him. "I just wanted to let you know I’ve posted a list on the entrance to the Great Hall. It’s for any student who will be staying here at school for the Christmas holidays. I understand from Professor Dumbledore that you shall be one of them. Correct?"

Harry nodded. As if I’d want to go back to the Dursleys, he thought with a silent snort.

"Yes, ma’am, that’s right," he said, quietly.

"Well, then, just be sure to go by and sign your name on the list," she told him, "and enjoy your fresh air. I’ll see you class in a little bit." She then turned and headed back inside.

Harry sighed. He started walking from the courtyard out onto the grounds proper, following the pattern of Hedwig’s flight.

When he neared the lake, he heard the distinctive sound of someone crying and frowned.

Following the sound, he was very surprised—and more than a little shocked—to find that the person crying was Malfoy!

Harry frowned. What could he possibly have to cry about?

The blonde haired Slytherin was sitting against the trunk of a large pine tree, his knees drawn up with his arms crossed over them. His head was down, but the sound of sniffling and sobbing was heard quite clearly.

Harry took a step toward him, causing a twig hidden under some snow to break and snap.

Malfoy’s head flew up, his eyes widening at the sight of him. He quickly stood up, brushing at the obvious tear stains that were on his cheeks.

"What do you want, Potter?" he growled at him, angrily.

Harry merely shrugged. "I was just taking a walk," he told him. "I heard you crying and—"

"I wasn’t crying!" Malfoy growled at him. "Malfoys don’t cry!"

Harry gave him a withering look, one that almost resembled one of Professor Snape’s dreaded gazes.

"C’mon, Mal—uh, Draco," Harry said, attempting to be civil with the other boy for once, "it’s just you and me out here. Nobody’s around. Nobody will see if we actually talk to each other for a minute."

"I have nothing to talk to you about," Malfoy told him, sneeringly.

"You could try," Harry told him, going over and sitting down against the trunk. "C’mon, I don’t bite." He patted the ground beside him.

Malfoy glared down at him a moment, but then sighed.

"All right," he consented, and sat down on the ground next to him. "But nobody better find out about this."

Harry snorted. "They won’t," he said, shaking his head. "Now, what’s the problem?"

Malfoy shrugged. "You wouldn’t understand," he told him, quietly.

"Try me," Harry told him, smirking. "I might surprise you."

"Yeah, right," Malfoy said, but then huffed. "I got a letter from my father today…"

"Oh," Harry said, biting his lip. "Bad news?"

Having had an upclose encounter with Lucius Malfoy, he would have thought any news from the man was bad!

"Just that Mother is going to France for Christmas," Draco told him, sniffing. "Father said he would be entiredly too busy over the break and that I would be better off staying here at school."

"Oh," Harry said, biting his lip again.

Draco scowled at him. "Is that all you can say is ‘oh’?" he asked him, sneeringly. "See? I knew you wouldn’t understand!"

"I understand you don’t like having to stay here for Christmas," Harry told him. "You’re not the only one, though. I’m staying, too."

"Oh, great," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "That makes me fill loads better!"

Harry chuckled at that. "C’mon, quit being a prat," he told him, shoving him gently. "I just meant that you’re not the only one having stay. Aren’t there any other Slytherins staying?"

"No," Draco said, bitterly. "Even Crabbe and Goyle’s fathers want them home, but not mine!"

Why would you want to go to him, anyway? Harry thought, but then felt ashamed of it.

Malfoy couldn’t help his dad was a creep, after all.

He probably just wants him to spend some time with him, Harry realized. To feel like he really cares about him…

As he was going through a pretty similar thing with Professor Snape at the moment, he could relate to that.

"Professor Snape is staying, too," Harry reminded him, gently.

"Yeah, I know," Draco told him, brushing tears off his face. "Who do you think I’m going to be staying with for the holidays?"

"Y-You are?" Harry asked him, hesitantly. "In his quarters?"

"Of course," Draco said, snorting. "He asked me to when he brought me the letter and I’d read it—said he didn’t want me staying alone in Slytherin House."

"Oh," Harry said, swallowing. He glanced at the snow covered ground in front of him.

Why hadn’t he asked me? He wondered to himself. Doesn’t he want me to stay with him?

Of course, he wasn’t the only Gryffindor staying at school. Ron and his brothers were staying, too.

Their parents were going to visit their older brother Charlie in Romania, but couldn’t afford to take all of them.

"Well," he told the blonde haired boy. "Christmas won’t be a total loss…right?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, you’re right," he said. "Its not the first time I had to stay with Uncle Sev…it’s just…it’d be nice, you know?"

Harry nodded. "I know," he told him, quietly. "Believe me, I know…" The Dursleys had never once bought him a Christmas present or anything in the whole ten years he’d lived with them.

Realizing things had gotten a tad bit too serious for his liking, Harry smirked mischeviously down at the snow.

Scooping up a handful, he proceeded to smash it into the Slytherin’s face.

"Hey!" Draco spluttered, through a mouthful of snow. "What’s the big deal, Potter!?"

Harry hopped up. "What’s the matter, Malfoy?" he asked him, smirking. "Scared of a little snowball?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at him, but then smirked. "You’re so gonna get it, Potter!" he growled at him, beginning to scoop up snow.

"You have to catch me first!" Harry taunted, taking off through the trees.

What followed was a very intense snowball fight—snowball war, actually—that left both boys soaking wet.

When it was time to head back in to get ready for lunch, Harry glanced breathlessly at his blonde haired cousin.

"F-Feel better?" he asked him, as he tried to catch his breath.

Draco blinked at him, but nodded. "Actually," he told him, smirking. "I do."

Harry nodded. "Great," he said, "now c’mon…if we’re late for McGonagall’s class she’ll skin us alive!"

Together, though they still double checked to make certain no one was around, they headed back into the castle to get dried off.

Neither one noticed, however, the tall black robed man who’d watched the entire scene from the snowy hill near Hagrid’s hut.

As they headed inside, he didn’t even bother to hide the smile that spread across his face.

HPHPHPHPHP

Severus was headed back to the castle, after having watched his son and nephew willingly engage in a civil conversation with each other and then proceeded to actually play together in the snow, when he was intercepted by the Headmaster.

"Ah, Severus," Albus Dumbledore stopped him, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Out for a bit of fresh air, eh?"

Severus snorted. "Something like that," he told him, smirking.

"I’ve always found a brisk walk around the grounds to be very refreshing," Dumbledore said, taking in a deep breath of air. "Clears the cobwebs, as the Muggles say…"

"Indeed," Severus said, raising an eyebrow. "Was there something you needed, Sir?"

"As a matter of fact," Dumbledore said, smiling. "I do. As you know, we have yet to find a replacement for Professor Quirrel in Muggle Studies, since he took over the DADA spot. I have been attempting to fill the void while we looked, but…with my other duties it is beginning to be a problem. But, I believe, I have found a suitable candidate for the job."

"That is…nice," Severus said, frowning. "This has what to do with me, exactly?"

"Well," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on his back and guiding him through the entrance to the school. "I was hoping you’d take a look at him for me—give me your opinion on his qualifications."

Severus’ frown deepened. "Isn’t that generally Minerva’s job?" he asked. "She is the assistant Headmistress, after all."

"Oh, Minerva has already met with him and approved him," Dumbledore told him, "but it never hurts to have a second opinion on these things, you know."

"Indeed," he said, hesitantly. "Well, what are his qualifications?"

"Well, the predominate one," Dumbledore told him, his eyes practically dancing, "is that he is a Muggle."

"A Muggle!" Severus exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "You want a Muggle to teach here!?"

"Who better to teach Muggle Studies?" Dumbledore asked him, smirking as they reached the entrance to his office—a gargoyle statue.

Severus swallowed his shock. "I suppose…" he said, quietly. "But it must be someone who knows of us, correct? He does know this is a magical school, right?" They had begun to walk up the steps.

"Oh, certainly," Dumbledore said. "He is the parent of one of our alumni, in fact."

"Who?" Severus asked, frowning again.

"Oh, a lad from your year," Dumbledore told him. "Quiet fellow who liked to keep to himself a great deal."

"Do I know him?" Severus asked, curiously.

"Certainly," Dumbeldore chuckled, "most definitely…" They had reached his office door.

"Who, then?" Severus asked, as he was ushered into the Headmaster’s office…

And stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the man waiting there.

He was tall and lean, though wiry muscled from the looks of it. He had honey-blonde hair that was beginning to gray at the temples. His eyes were black and his nose ever so slightly crooked. He appeared to be around sixty years of age. His name was…Tobias Snape.

"Hello, Severus," the man greeted him, pleasantly. "It’s been a long time, son."

Severus spun around to face the Headmaster, who had closed the door and was leaning against it casually; watching.

"What is he doing here!?" Severus all but yelled at the older wizard, furiously.

"I told you, Severus," Dumbledore told him, quietly. "Tobias is the gentleman I am considering hiring."

"B-But you can’t!" Severus growled, angrily.

"And why not?" Dumbledore asked, curiously. "He meets all the qualifications, I assure you."

Severus snorted at that. "I find that hard to believe!" he growled. "I doubt any of them include ‘uneducated drunkard’!"

Tobias winced at that.

Good, Severus thought viciously. The bastard ought to fill guilty!

"It has been twenty years, Severus," Tobias spoke again. "Can’t we please just talk…like adults."

"We have nothing to talk about," Severus growled, angrily. He turned to leave, but the Headmaster blocked his path. "Please, Albus, move out of my way!"

"I will not," Dumbledore told him, firmly. "You have yet to give me your opinion…"

"My opinion!" Severus all but roared. "My opinion is that he is a…a murderer!"

"Severus, please," Tobias spoke again, quietly.

Severus gritted his teeth and refused to turn around.

Clenching his fists, he asked the Headmaster one more time to move and let him leave.

"No, Severus," Dumbledore told him, firmly. "Your father is not the same man he was."

"I find that very hard to believe," Severus snorted. "Snapes are known for being incredibly stubborn!"

"Indeed we are," Tobias muttered, amused.

"Now, as I was saying," Dumbledore told him. "I am considering Tobias for the Muggle Studies position…"

"He was in prison!" Severus argued, angrily.

"But not for the last thirteen years," Dumbledore countered, smirking. "Since that time not only has he earned his high school diploma, but he has also gotten degrees in both history and psychology—specifically child psychology!"

Severus’ eyebrows rose to his forehead and couldn’t help but glance back at the man who had sired him.

"It is true, Severus," Tobias told him, quietly. "I did a mentoring program while in prison—a pen-pal kinda deal—and it really made me start thinking about things. After gettin’ my diploma, I realized I really liked the history and decided to study it. At the same time, I minored in psychology."

"I see," Severus said, quietly. "And the drinking?"

"I’ve not touched a drop since that night," Tobias said, swallowing. "I swear."

"Indeed," Severus said, glancing back at Dumbledore. "How do you know all this? I highly doubt he applied for the position!"

"I have been corresponding with Tobias for some years now, Severus," Dumbledore told him, grinning.

"What?!" Severus growled. "In Merlin’s name, why?!"

"Eileen was someone I cared a great deal about, Severus," Dumbledore told him, quietly. "And she loved your father very much."

Severus snorted. "Cared a great deal about?" he asked, sneering. "Is that your way of saying ‘my illegitimate daughter’?!"

The Headmaster looked as if he’d been slapped.

Severus smirked.

"Oh yes, Albus, or should I say ‘Grandfather’," he told him, coldly. "I know all about your rather elicit affair with Ambrosia Prince!"

"A…misspent youth," Dumbledore said, sadly.

Severus laughed harshly at that. "Mispent youth, my ass!" he growled at him. "You were forty-five years old!"

"Severus, please," Dumbledore said, wincing. "Don’t—"

"Oh no," Severus said, smirking. "You planned this little family reunion, remember? You wanted my ‘opinion’, remember? Well, now you’re going to get it! What would the rest of the wizarding community say if they knew that the all-but sainted Albus Dumbledore wasn’t quite so sainted after all, hmm?"

"I’ve never claimed to be perfect, Severus," Dumbledore told him, quietly.

Severus snorted, glaring.

"Coulda fooled me," he told him, harshly. "But of course…no one knew, did they? There was what kind of age difference between my mother and her sister—your legitimate daughter? Twenty years, I believe it was? And who was that sister, Albus? Oh yes, I remember now…it was Ariana Potter! The mother of James Potter, yes? Your precious golden Gryffindor, who could do no wrong even against me—his own cousin!"

"That is unkind, Severus," Dumbledore told him, quietly. "James did save your life."

"Only after making it a living hell for me!" Severus yelled, angrily. "But what did you do? Nothing. You allowed him to run wild throughout the school, giving him token detentions instead of actual punishments. And what did you do for me? Nothing!"

"That is not true," Dumbledore told him, firmly. "I remember a night upon the Astronomy Tower…"

Severus winced. "Do not even go there," he growled. "One grandfatherly act cannot amend seven years of assumed ignorance!"

The Headmaster sighed. "All I can say is that I am sorry, Severus," he told him. "I cannot change the past."

"Nor can I," Tobias spoke up, "but we can change the future, son."

"My future is not your concern," Severus growled at him and then looked at the Headmaster. "Do what you like, hire him if you wish, but make sure he stays out of my way!"

And with that, he stormed past Dumbledore and exited the office, slamming the door behind him as he went.

Fuming, he headed back to the dungeons.

Of all the nerve, he growled silently to himself. I can’t believe him!

How dare he bring that man into this castle?

How dare he ask his opinion about it?

How dare he—

"You once had a good relationship with him, Sev," Lily's voice drifted into mind—from a conversation they had fifteen years ago. "Just talk to him."

He sighed. He suppose he could have at least heard the bastard out.

Lily will know, he thought with a smile.

A determined expression on his face, Severus headed back out of the castle to the nearest Apparition sight.

SSSSSSSSSS

"Can you believe it, love? The nerve of that old coot!"

Lily listened to Severus as he explained what had transpired in the Headmaster’s office earlier.

"So," she said, quietly. "Tobias will be teaching at Hogwarts?"

Severus nodded. "I suppose," he told her. "Albus had said as much, anyway."

"That’s wonderful!" Lily told him, smiling.

Severus gave her a withering look. "How can you say that?" he asked her. "You know how I feel—"

"I know that its all in the past now, Sev," Lily told him, gently. "Twenty years in the past."

"So, I am just to forget…" he said, incredulously.

"No," Lily said, "but you might try forgiving. What happened was an accident, Severus—a tragic, should-never-have-happened accident. And there is one thing you’re forgetting."

"What’s that?" Severus asked her, curiously.

"Eileen wasn’t forced into that car," she reminded him. "She willingly got into it, knowing he was incompacitated…"

Severus winced that. "She didn’t deserve to die for it, though," he told her, heartbrokenly.

"No, and Tobias must live with that for the rest of his life," Lily told him. "He loved her, Sev. Living without her, as he has all these year, must be hell for him."

Severus nodded. He knew what that was like, after all.

She reached out, she could not move her arms freely without tiring out at all, and touched his face.

"He’s missed out on twenty years of your life," she told him. "Why can’t you get to know each other all over again? Start anew, build a new future…beyond the shadows of your pasts?"

Severus swallowed. "Nobody’s perfect," he repeated Dumbledore’s sentiments.

"Exactly," Lily told him, gently. "You know that better than any one, remember?"

Severus nodded. "All right, love," he told her, smirking. "I’ll give the ruddy bastard a chance."

"Wonderful," Lily told him. "I really want Harry to have a chance to get to know at least one of his grandparents..."

Severus nodded, standing up. "I must be getting back," he told her, kissing her hand. "I’ll bring Harry next time. I promise."

"Christmas break is coming up, right?" Lily asked, and he nodded. "Then, use that time to get to know both your father and your son better."

Severus nodded. "I shall," he told her, bending down to kiss her. "Til next time, love."

"Of course," she told him, as she watched him exit the room. She smiled.

Don’t worry, love, she thought to herself, I have faith in you even when you don’t. I know you’ll do the right thing.