The next day was hell for Harry. Despite Severus' repeated assurances that nothing worse than an essay would befall him for the previous night's escapades, Harry was still wary. Severus couldn't blame Harry - but, he realized, it still stung. Every time Harry gasped or flinched, expecting to be hit, Severus was disappointed. Not in Harry, but rather in himself, for not making his point more clear for Harry - that he would never, ever hit him.

But both of them survived the day, with just another incident behind them, where Severus had not gone back on his word to Harry. Perhaps Harry could eventually one day see that he wouldn't ever go back on his word.

.oO-Oo.

Hermione, on the other hand, after leaving Professor Flitwick's detention, saw none other than Draco Malfoy waiting for her, leaning against the wall. Draco had his customary sneer on his face, but was clearly waiting for her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she snapped at him.

"Why were you in the bathroom last night?" he returned, getting right down to the point.

"It's none of your business, Malfoy!" Hermione yelled at him.

"Seeing as I almost died last night, I think it is," he drawled back at her. Hermione clutched her books to her chest and glared back at him. "Well?" he prompted.

"I was crying, if you must know," Hermione huffed at him. "Now, if you will excuse me."

"But why?" Draco said, causing her to pause her retreat.

"Why what?"

"Why were you crying?" Hermione just blinked at him for a moment.

"Why would you care?" she barked at him. "You're the son of a Death Eater!"

"Without responding to the accusation, which has been declared false by the Ministry, I may note, I do believe we have something in common, namely, Harry Potter," Draco drawled. "So in that interest, why were you crying?"

"Because of that horrid Ronald Weasley!" Hermione sniffed.

"Oh? What did he do now?" Draco asked, now genuinely interested.

"He said that I was a know-it-all and that was why I didn't have any friends." Hermione looked at the ground.

"Well, you are something of a know-it-all," Draco smirked. "But - "

"Look, Malfoy, if you just want to insult me, apparently anyone can do that at any point. A good day to you." Although her tone wished him anything but a good day.

"If you would let me finish, Granger!" Draco snapped. "If Weasley knew what was good for him, he'd keep you close. You might be a know-it-all, but that's not entirely a bad thing."

"Oh," Hermione said.

"And as far as not having any friends, I think Harry's your friend."

"Really?" she asked, but it was more of a prompt for Draco to say more.

"Yeah," he continued. It looked like he wanted to say something more, but he closed his mouth.

"And are you Harry's friend?" Hermione challenged.

"Yes," Draco said, pushing himself off of the wall. "Don't you ever challenge my friendship," he growled at her. "Hurt Harry, and you've won yourself an enemy for life."

"And why should you be so protective of the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Slytherins stick together," Draco offered. "Harry's your friend, and he risked his life last night to save you. Be appreciative."

"I am," Hermione said.

"No," Draco corrected. "I don't think you are. Harry deliberately disobeyed Professor Snape to save you last night. It wasn't my idea. It was his. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Or what has gone on. Be appreciative like you've never been before."

"Alright," Hermione hesitated. "If you mean that Harry was abused, I know that much. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out."

"Yeah," Draco said. "I don't even know why I'm here." Suddenly, he turned and stalked off. He wasn't sure why he'd waited for Hermione, or had that conversation, but he thought it had something to do with wanting to make sure that Hermione didn't dismiss what Harry had done for her.

Hermione, on the other hand, also wasn't sure why Draco had waited for her or had that conversation. Whatever Draco knew, though, was pressing hard against his heart, and she did think that Draco was a friend to Harry. Of course she knew that Harry had been abused. She didn't know how, or the extent, but she knew he had been. She'd read things about abuse, and she could see that Harry displayed those qualities. And that would account for Harry's staying with Professor Snape too. But Draco's odd mannerisms confirmed it, and honestly, they concerned her a little about just how far the abuse had gone. Draco obviously knew what was going on. But that was to be expected. Harry and Draco were both Slytherins, and he was Professor Snape's godson on top of being a Malfoy. Perhaps she should go about finding out what Ron or Neville knew...

.oO-Oo.

It wasn't more than a couple days later, when Hermione went over to the Hufflepuff table, and found Neville laughing over some inside joke with some of his housemates.

"Neville," Hermione said, "I need to talk to you and the Weasley boy. Can you tell him to meet us in the library tonight after supper?"

"Sure," Neville said. "What's it about?"

"I'm not too sure yet," Hermione said.

"Alright."

Well, after supper, the three of them all met in the library, although Hermione gave Ron her best death glare she could muster. Suddenly, a blonde head popped into the group.

"Am I here on time?" Draco asked.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron sneered.

"Longbottom said that something was going on with Harry's friends, and I thought I'd show up," Draco drawled.

"Well," Hermione stammered, now not sure she wanted to talk about Harry's abuse, "that was very nice of you, Neville."

"Was I - not supposed to come?" Draco said, faking laughter.

"Oh, no, of course you were," Hermione lied. "I just forgot to tell Neville to ask you. And it was his intuition that made up for that little oversight." Hermione shot Draco a smile.

"Of course," Draco said, full well knowing that he had been purposely left out, and Neville's Hufflepuff skills had told him to add his name to the invitation list. Still, he took a seat with the others.

"Do any of you know about Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione blurted.

"Sure!" Draco said. "He's an alchemist, and he's the one who came up with the philosopher's stone. It was on a chocolate frog card."

"Oh," Hermione said. "I hadn't thought to look there."

"The know-it-all doesn't it know it all?" Ron mumbled.

"What did you say?" Hermione said, in that way that informed everyone that she knew what he'd said.

"Look, Weasel," Malfoy said, "you leave her alone. Insulting her isn't going to help anyone. Apparently." He muttered the last word, because he couldn't believe he was sticking up for a mudblood. How his whole world was turned upside down, he'd never know.

"Well, you look...Malware," Ron threatened, but he started stammering, not able to put a coherent sentence together.

"Do you even know what a malware is?" Draco asked, slightly amused.

"Yes, of course!" Ron huffed. "It's a - a sort of animal. And it eats its pray alive. And it enjoys to make it scream while it's eating it." By this time, Draco and Ron were standing so close it would have been difficult to put a piece of parchment between them.

"Oh?" Draco said. Well, he sure didn't know what malware was, but he didn't think Ron had it right. "Granger? Let's have you settle this. What's malware?"

"It's a thing that infects muggle computers," Hermione supplied. "It causes them to break down and freeze up. It has nothing to do with animals."

"Didn't think so," Draco sneered. He turned back to the group and sat down. "So Nicolas Flamel. Why do we care about Nicolas Flamel, again?"

.oO-Oo.

Over the next few weeks, the four of them began to form something of a group. It had been Harry Potter who united them, and sometimes, that was the only thing that held them together, but it was sufficient. They studied together and they plotted together. Of course, they were trying to break the mystery of what was being held on the third floor and Nicolas Flamel. Others had noticed the odd group, the least of which not being that a Malfoy and a Weasley were sitting at the same table in the library day after day and neither had killed the other. Anyone who cared to observe saw that they still despised each other, though they kept dueling to a minimum.

But as the days continued, Christmas came nearer. Each of the quartet had their own Christmas plans. Hermione had her parents - who had dearly missed their only daughter. Neville was going home to see his grandmother. Draco was going home to Lucius and Narcissa. But the Weasleys, for some reason unbeknown to anyone other than Arthur or Molly, were staying at Hogwarts.

And so Christmas vacation came, and each in their turn, bid Harry farewell. Draco, Hermione, and Neville each made a special visit to say good bye and merry Christmas to Harry before they left. Ron had said that he was staying for the holidays.

"Professor Snape," Harry said one day, just before the students were leaving, "what am I going to do for Christmas?" His tone was measured and his words were such that Severus guessed they had been carefully rehearsed.

"You are not going back to your relatives, if that's what you're nervous about," Severus said, getting to what he thought was Harry's real question as soon as he could. "You're going to stay here at Hogwarts, as will I, and we will celebrate Christmas."

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "I'm sorry to make you stay at Hogwarts."

"I always spend Christmas here," Severus dismissed. "I don't have any family or friends anyway, and so I might as well stay here and brew potions for Madame Pomfrey."

"Yes, sir," Harry repeated.

.oO-Oo.

Christmas Eve dawned brightly, and the sun reflected over a fresh coating of snow. Severus wondered how it always managed to snow at Hogwarts, despite the distinct absence of snow in British weather, and he thought it had something to do with Dumbeldore's spells. Well if only he stuck to manipulating the weather instead of his students.

Severus, of course, had seen to getting a gift for Harry. It was the first time in a long time since he had had to get a Christmas present for someone. He had kept the gift quiet of course, a surprise for Harry. He would go over the concept of Christmas presents that night when Harry opened his.

"Harry," Severus said, "would you like to eat Christmas Eve dinner in the Great Hall? There will only be a few people there, mostly teachers."

"That's fine, sir," Harry said.

"Ron will be there," Severus added. "I don't know what his parents had planned, but all the Weasleys are staying over Christmas here."

"Yes, sir," Harry said. They got ready for supper, and made their way to the Great Hall. Like Professor Snape had promised, the Great Hall looked nearly deserted. The teachers were sitting at one table, and all the students who had remained behind sat on another, regardless of house. The Great Hall was spectacularly decorated. There were wreaths and holly everywhere. Dumbledore had even spelled the ceiling to snow. Candles floated in the air, and it smelled distinctly of gingerbread. So that was why Minerva had requested a gingerbread perfume from him! He thought it had been an odd order. Harry was smiling at all the decorations though, and for that, Severus was glad.

"Go sit with Ron," he whispered to Harry, and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze before sending him off. Severus went to go sit with the professors, although somehow he thought his usual "Bah humbug" routine would no longer be bought by the other professors. He would try to be slightly less cold this year, he supposed. He might even wish Minerva a merry Christmas.

.oO-Oo.

Harry went over to the table where the other students were sitting. He quickly spotted the Weasleys, and among them Ron. He made his way over to his friend.

"Hi, Ron," he gasped, trying not to hyperventilate.

"Hi, Harry!" Ron said, scooting over to make Harry a spot. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," Harry responded, as he sat down with Ron. Suddenly someone reached around from behind him and covered his eyes. He froze and began to gulp in air.

"Guess who?" a voice sang out from behind him.

"Oh, give it up, George," another voice said.

"I'm Fred!" the first voice replied in an injured tone. "Can you even remember your own name?"

"Same could be said of you!"

"So guess who," the first voice said again.

"Fred or George?" Harry squeaked out.

"Brilliant!" and his eyes were released. Fred and George Weasley each sat backs against the table on either side of Harry.

"He's Fred, I'm George," the one on Harry's right said. "We're Ron's brothers. And you're Harry Potter."

"He's lying," the one on Harry's left returned. "He's Fred, and I'm George. But he's right that we're Ron's brothers."

"Regrettably," the first one continued with a disgusted look on his face. "And you really are Harry Potter." Harry didn't react, just looked from one to the other in confusion.

"You are Harry Potter, right?" the one on the left said.

"Yes," Harry confirmed. He looked at Ron helplessly.

"Fred," Ron said pointing at the one on Harry's right. "George," he continued point at the one on Harry's left.

"Aw, likkle Ronnie has no sense of humor," Fred pouted. Ron stuck his tongue out at them.

"These are my brothers," Ron said sullenly.

"I see," Harry said, still glancing between the identical faces on his either side.

"They're twins," Ron continued.

"Twins?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," George said. "Twins. Like, clones. Duplicates. Surprise baby!" Harry nodded mutely.

"So," Fred said, slapping his hand down on Harry's shoulder like they were old chums, "how about a little prank?"

"A prank?" Harry repeated.

"This kid needs a dictionary, doesn't he?" George said. "Yeah, they're fun, tricks and things, and we are the pranking kings of Hogwarts." George laced his fingers behind his skull as he began to look quite proud. "Think of it this way - we're letting you in on one of our pranks, and not everyone gets that. So, you want to?"

"No," Harry immediately said. "I don't want to trick anyone!" Thinking back to what his uncle had called tricks, he didn't want to be involved with anyone who did that to anyone, much less actually do it.

"Aw, common, it's fun," Fred wheedled.

"No, it's not!" Harry said, almost in tears. "It's not fun on the person getting tricked!" He looked over at Ron. "Do they ever trick you?"

"All the time," Ron said rolling his eyes.

"And you don't like it, do you?"

"It's alright," Ron said. "It's not worth the fuss you're making over it. Ending up short sheeted isn't that big a deal really."

"Short sheeted?"

"We really need to get him a dictionary," George commented again.

"How about Hermione?" Ron suggested. Harry blushed a deep crimson. Fred put a finger next to his nose.

"Your secret is safe with us," he whispered into Harry's ear. "Short sheeted," he continued more loudly, "when we take the bed sheets and make them too short so you can't cover yourself all the way. Standard prank."

"Oh," Harry said, the relief apparent in his voice.

"Why?" George said. "What did you think we meant?"

"You don't - tie people up, do you?"

"Absolutely not!" Fred said, suddenly sincere. "These are fun. They're not - bad or anything."

"Oh, good," Harry breathed in relief.

"Did you think we tied people up?" George asked.

"Maybe," Harry dodged.

"Whatever," Fred dismissed. "Want to help us prank someone?"

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Hmm," George said thoughtfully, "I don't suppose you'd want to prank your head of house, would you?" Harry paled.

"No!" he gasped.

"Didn't think so. He doesn't have a sense of humor anyway," George continued. "And we're not pranking McGonagall, so that leaves Percy. We can prank Percy."

"Okay," Harry agreed, reluctantly. He didn't know who Percy was, but he bet it would be loads better than pranking Professor Snape! "What will we do?"

"We have all these vomit flavored beans," Fred said, laying a bag of jelly beans on the table, "and we're going to put them into Percy's mashed potatoes."

"Won't he see them? They're not the same color," Harry observed.

"Ah, that's the beauty of it all," Fred continued. "We're going to spell his mashed potatoes the same color as the beans, and he'll think that's the prank! Little does he know until he takes a bite!"

"Alright," Harry agreed. The prank seemed harmless enough, and they seemed to really want him to do it. "What should I do?"

"We want you to distract Percy while we put the beans in his potatoes and spell them," George said. "He's right over there."

"He's a - a prefect!" Harry gasped.

"Yeah, and he's our brother, just roll with it," Fred interjected. "It'll be fine." Fred gave Harry a little push in Percy's direction and let him think up his own way to distract him. The twins went over to what would be Percy's place at the table and stuck the beans in, spelling the potatoes at the same time. Just moments later, Percy came up to them, Harry trailing behind, shrugging apologetically. George mouthed "It's okay" to Harry and gave him a discreet thumbs up.

"What have you done to the potatoes?" Percy wailed. "You and you stupid pranks!" He rolled his eyes, and sat down to eat them. He picked up his fork, and the twins watched in wrapped entertainment. He brought a forkful of them to his mouth, unsuspecting, and began to chew. It only took him a moment before he began to choke and spit it out onto the napkin next to his plate.

"What did you do?" he coughed, as Fred and George began to laugh hysterically.

"Merry Christmas!" they called as they ran off, sweeping Harry with them. Harry had to admit, the look on Percy's face had been quite amusing. And Fred and George didn't seem so bad. They were just - immature. And loud. Harry wasn't sure how to keep up with them sometimes. But he did like their loudness. It made him feel like he didn't have to say anything. They could do all the talking.

And so Harry had one meal in the Great Hall that didn't end in a mess, either with a breakdown or a troll. After supper, Professor Snape collected him and they walked back to his chambers.

.oO-Oo.

Severus had seen the prank and what was happening among the students. He had seen and decided not to intervene, first of all, because the twins were pranking their own brother, and second because he had seen how they handled Harry, and he approved. They were being brash Gryffindors, it was true, but they were being smart. They weren't such a bad lot to fall in with, Severus had decided.

"Did you have a good time with the Weasley twins?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry said, smiling a bit. Severus nodded.

"It's Christmas Eve," he began, trying to figure out some way of address the concept of opening presents. Harry had a small stack of them because his friends had left presents for Harry with him. "And on Christmas Eve, people give things to each other." Harry gasped and put a hand to his mouth. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have anything for you! Or anyone!"

"That's fine," Severus dismissed. "You haven't had any opportunity to get anything. And that wasn't my point. My point was - " And then a white smoky snake slithered into the room. "My point was that apparently we're not going to do what I had in mind." Blast it! Why did the Death Eaters have to call a meeting on Christmas Eve of all times? Severus wanted to scream. It was probably in their plans though, since it would be an extremely inconvenient time, to see just how far he was willing to go. In fact, it was perfect really. Would he put being a loyal Death Eater ahead of "family time" with the Boy Who Lived?

"I'm sorry," the snake began in Lucius' voice, "but a meeting was called tonight. I've put them off as long as I can. The children are expect. Draco has been instructed to see to Harry's well being. He will try to protect him as much as he can." Severus had narrowed his eyes, and was truly annoyed by this point.

"Alright, come along," he said to Harry, his annoyance apparently in his voice.

"Yes, sir," Harry squeaked, confused by Severus' change of tone, hoping that his annoyance wasn't directed at him.

"We're going to another meeting, but this time, some of the other children should be there," Severus explained quickly while he got his cloak and wand. "Draco will be there. Follow his lead. He'll try to help you if anyone tries to hurt you. And I'll be there too."

"Yes, sir," Harry said. They stepped through the floo into Lucius Malfoy's sitting room, where the others had already gathered.

"May I comment on the absolutely horrid timing you people possess?" Severus barked as a greeting to the others as he stepped through. "I'm sure we all have better things to do on Christmas Eve than this, do we not?" He didn't get an answer. Well, so much for that approach. Severus settled into the chair that usually reserved for him, as he motioned Harry to join Draco who was standing next to Lucius.

"Hi," he heard Draco greet Harry. Harry just nodded nervously.

"Nott wanted to - quiz - the children on various wizarding Christmas traditions," Lucius began, "but it will actually be McNair who does it." Severus nodded. "Thankfully it was decided that Nott was too partial to do the testing." Severus saw Draco whisper something into Harry's ear, and Harry nodded. Then Draco slipped a piece of paper to Harry. Harry smiled nervously at Draco, and muttered what Severus knew to be a thank you. Cheating? Well, Severus didn't think it was a particularly fair test to begin with. McNair collected the lot of children, mostly boys, including Harry, Draco, Crabbe's and Goyle's boys, and a few others, and ushered them into another room.

.oO-Oo.

McNair began to ask questions to each of them in turn. It didn't seem that he was favoring any in particular, Harry noticed, even though he expected to be singled out. Thankfully, Draco had handed him a paper, which he said would have the correct answer appear on it to any informational question that could be asked. It was a forbidden bit of cheating material at school, but Draco had one just so he could ask it questions when he was bored. So Harry could let the paper answer for him, as long as he was discreet. Sure enough, when his turn came, he let the paper take the question.

"What is the traditional Christmas feast include?"

"A roast pig, potatoes cooked in the ashes of a dying fire, and exotic fruit," Harry read off from the paper. But he had spent too long looking at his lap apparently.

"Give me your paper," McNair said in a long suffering way. Harry stood up on shaky legs, and handed to McNair with a nervous glance at Draco. "Cheating, I see," McNair drawled.

"It's mine, sir!" Draco pitched in. "He didn't know what it was going to do and he took it from me. He didn't know it would answer the question."

"So helping another student cheat?"

"No, sir," Draco said. "I didn't miss a question, did I? Well, that's why, and Harry just picked a bad time to pick it up from where I set it."

"You're a horrible liar," McNair said to Draco, and then turned to Harry. "You do know what the - traditional - punishment is for cheating, don't you?"

"No, sir," Harry said, as he began to quake with fear.

"Why don't you read it off of your all knowing paper?" McNair prompted, handing it back to Harry. Harry read it, and paled. "Read it aloud."

"To be subjected to the Cruciatus curse for no more than thirty seconds, and no less than ten," Harry gulped. He knew what a Crucio was. Professor Snape had covered the three unforgivables in the first lesson of Defense. Draco hissed behind him, as Harry handed the forbidden paper back to McNair.

"Draco?" McNair said. "I see no reason why you shouldn't receive full punishment, if things are as you say, and you were the one cheating, do you? After all, you know that rule, I'm sure?"

"I do, sir," Draco said.

"Crucio!" McNair said as he waved his wand at Draco. Thirty seconds of agony followed for the blonde boy as he fought against crying out. Flailing on the floor, half way into it, he gave up screamed. Harry didn't know what to do, and just watched in horror as his friend suffered for a lie on his account. When it was over, Draco got up and gave Harry a weak smile. One that was clearly meant to say "It was nothing" but failed at every turn.

"Now, Mr. Potter," McNair said, turning to Harry, "I believe that since you read it off the paper, this also qualifies as cheating, whether you intended it or not, and as I do not believe Mr. Malfoy's story, you, also, shall receive the full punishment of the law."

"Please, no," Harry begged. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"Crucio." With having years of experience behind him, Harry thought he'd be able to not cry out under the spell. But nothing he had endured measured up to the torture of the curse. It ripped through his body like fire he couldn't escape, and he screamed the moment it hit him. Harry stopped paying attention to anything in the room other than his own agony. He wasn't aware that Draco was nearly attacking McNair to defend him, and he wasn't aware that Professor Snape burst into the room at his scream.

.oO-Oo.

The men in the other room sat glowering at each other, no one saying much of anything. Severus waited, clearly impatient for the night's activities to be over. He hated the whole situation, and just wanted to be back in his chambers with Harry opening Christmas presents. Was that such an unreasonable wish? Then Draco's scream echoed through the building. Severus was on his feet in a moment.

"Severus," Lucius said, and shook his head. Severus glared at him, but took a seat again. Well, if he didn't want to interfere on behalf of his son, so be it. "I'm sure whatever has happened to Draco is within tradition, Severus," Lucius whispered. "Who am I to go against tradition?" Severus didn't respond. A moment later, he heard what he knew to be Harry's scream, and this time, he didn't hesitate, but rather burst into the room to interfere with whatever was going on. It took him only a moment to assess the situation. Harry lay on floor, screaming, as McNair pointed his wand at him.

"Stupefy!" Severus screamed as he waved his own wand at McNair. McNair collapsed to the ground, releasing Harry from his spell. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw Draco rush to Harry's side. Glancing behind him, Severus saw Nott and his group of cronies raising their wands against him. Lucius stood by Severus. A battery of spells, both light and dark, flew between them, and by the end, all of them were seriously worse for wear. Severus was thankful that no one threw a killing curse. Not even Nott wanted to explain away killing him. It seemed like an eternity of casting and avoiding spells, but once it was over, Severus looked around the room, and spotted Harry crying in a corner, as Draco tried to offer comfort but was refused.

"Good night!" Severus screamed at the lot of them, excluding Lucius. He stormed over to where Harry and Draco were. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he gently put his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry shuttered and tried to pull away. Draco looked up at him with a most apologetic look.

"I - I'm sorry," Draco stammered. "I tried to help him - "

"I know," Severus dismissed. "You did everything you could, I'm sure." Draco nodded, and crept away from Harry and Severus.

"Time to go home," Severus whispered to Harry, who didn't react. Quietly, Severus picked Harry up, balancing Harry's weight on his hip and allowing Harry to bury his face into his robes. Wordlessly, the two of them disappeared through the floo back to Hogwarts.

Severus laid Harry out on the couch, but Harry curled into a ball as soon as he let go. Harry let out one shuttering sob before silencing himself once again.

"I don't even know what to say," Severus said, taking a seat beside Harry, and pulling him close. As expected, Harry didn't respond. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, but I can assure you, that you didn't deserve that. No one does, save perhaps a select few individuals I can think of. Would you like to open your Christmas presents now?" Severus wasn't sure it was the most appropriate time to bring that up, but he was hoping to distract Harry. He was sure was in pain from the remains of the curse, so he summoned a pain killer for him. It wouldn't do much, Severus knew, against a Crutatius, but even if it could take the edge off of Harry's pain it would be worth it. After administering it, he still hadn't received an answer to the original question.

"Would you like to open your Christmas presents now?" Severus asked again. He, Severus, was in awful shape, he knew, and he looked a mess, but he could take care of himself later. Harry just shook his head.

"No, sir," he finally managed. "Please don't make me."

"Why?" Severus asked.

"I - I don't know what they are," Harry stammered. "What if they're bad?"

"What do you mean?" Severus replied. Harry put Severus' hand over his forehead, and Severus felt himself being pulled into a memory.

.oO-Oo.

It was Christmas at the Dursleys, that much was for certain. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, and a tree in the corner of the room. Under the tree, a mound of presents wrapped in every color paper imaginable sat spilling into the room. The scene looked quite serene and pleasant actually, but Severus knew better than to trust it. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley then came into the room. Dudley began to search through a mound of presents. He began opening them and finding the newest and most expensive toys in them. Finally, he reached a particularly large box, and began to open it up. Inside, he found new school clothes. New white shirts, and brown trousers, a belt, and even a few colorful ties. Immediately, he began to pretend to cry.

"But - but - " he protested, "I thought this was going to be a real present!"

"It is, Duddikins," Petunia cooed at him. "You're just growing up so fast that we needed to get you some more school clothes."

"But it's not a fun present!" Dudley whined. "What fun can I have with a load of shirts and a belt? Only Daddy gets to beat the freak."

"You'll look really smart and handsome in your new clothes," Petunia tried to say.

"But I want it to be fun!" Dudley wailed. "If I'm going up so fast, why can't I have fun like Daddy?"

"Fine," Vernon growled. "Boy!" he screamed, and Harry came stumbling out of the kitchen, where, Severus knew, he had been fixing Christmas dinner, after having been forced to fast for an indefinite period of time. Harry was shaking and terrified, and from his size, Severus judged that this was likely just one year ago.

"Yes, sir?" Harry said, the terror apparent in his voice. His eyes wandered over the belt in Dudleys hands, and he wanted to run back into his cupboard for the rest of the day.

"Your Christmas present," Vernon said, and gestured to Dudley's belt. Dudley cracked it experimentally in the air, and Harry jumped.

"Get over here, and take off your shirt," Vernon said, and Harry edged closer to him and Dudley, though everything about his mannerisms was jerky and told of his intent desire to run in the opposite direction. Finally, Harry stood, quaking and shirtless, in front of Vernon, with Dudley to his left.

"Please no," Harry whispered. "I haven't done anything, really I haven't." He began to cry softly, and he put his head in his hands. Dudley pulled his belt back, and caught the back of Harry's knees in the blow, knocking the unprepared boy forward. He fell to his hands, and made a noise that was more from surprise than pain. But it didn't take a couple more minutes, and Dudley was throwing more lashes at him, causing him to bite back screams of agony. After what seemed like an eternity, Dudley got bored, and moved onto the next gift.

"This one's labeled for Harry," Dudley announced. "Why does he get a present?"

"I have a present?" Harry gasped, not sure whether he could believe it or not.

"Here," Dudley barked as he thrust the shoe box sized present at Harry. Harry began to open it up, still wary, but clearly hopeful. The box turned out to have a spring in it, and as soon as he opened it, glittery red and green confetti sprayed everywhere. Dudley screamed in delight, and Harry smiled though the remnants of his tears.

"Clean up the mess during supper," Vernon warned, "every piece, or there will be hell to pay."

Next thing Severus knew, Harry was being thrown into the cellar outside, with only a pair of pants on, as the door was closed above him. It was freezing cold, and Harry curled up into the darkest corner, trying to stay warm, and failing. He began to shiver, until finally he got too tired for it. Severus was sure Harry had been close to death by exposure that night, but apparently he had survived despite having the odds stacked against him.

.oO-Oo.

"I'm sorry," Harry said as his mind pulled away from Severus'.

"It's not your fault," Severus said, pulling Harry under his arm. "Christmas presents aren't like that. I promise."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, silent tears running down his face.

"Would you like me to show you that they're not? You have presents from your friends waiting for you."

"Alright, sir," Harry said, but what Severus didn't know was that Harry said yes more out of deference to him than out of actual desire. So together, Severus brought Harry over to a small tree they had set up earlier that day. Severus had set a time spell on the gifts so that they would appear under the tree. And there they were.

"Here's one from Draco," Severus said, handing Harry a small package. "Open it up." Harry cautiously began to undo the wrapping paper, careful not to rip it. Upon opening the box, he pulled out a model dragon. Attached was a note.

I hope you like it. His name is Amico. Merry Christmas. Draco

"He's beautiful," Harry gasped as he turned to dragon over in his hands.

"Here's one from Hermione," Severus said. Harry opened it and found a book on how to play more games than just Exploding Snap with a deck of a cards. From Neville, Harry got a plant. And from Ron, Harry got a wizarding chess set. Attached to the chess set though, was a sweater that Molly had made for Harry. Severus noted that she had used green for the majority of it, and put a large silver H on the front. Finally, Severus handed Harry his own gift. Harry opened it up and found a potions kit, complete with ingredients and recipes.

"You can make any of them on your own," Severus said. "They are all safe enough that you don't even have to wait for me to help you."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, nearly in tears again, but this time from happiness and confusion over receiving real Christmas presents. Severus spotted one more present near the back of the tree. One that he didn't recognize. Taking it out, he performed some simple spells on it to make sure it was safe. Once he determined it was, he gave it to Harry.

"I don't know who this is from," he said, puzzled. "But it's safe enough." Harry opened it up, and out fell a silvery cloak, and a note that read, "This was your father's. Use it well."

"An invisibility cloak," Severus observed, clearly not happy with the situation.

"Sorry, sir," Harry said, though he wasn't sure what he was sorry for.

"Those are dangerous," Severus continued. "Don't actually use it, though I will allow you to keep it if you promise me you won't use it."

"I promise," Harry said.

"Very good." Severus knew who had given him that. It was Dumbledore, and he was none too pleased at having anything of James Potter's in his chambers, least of all a cloak that could prove problematic for keeping Harry safe.

"Don't you get any presents?" Harry asked.

"It's fine," Severus assured him. Setting the cloak aside, Harry got up nervously from where he had been sitting on the floor and went over to Severus. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around the potions master.

"Merry Christmas, sir," Harry whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Harry," Severus replied.