The holidays had been rather more subdued than Emmeline had prepared for. That was to be expected of course. After all, Lucy had been essentially orphaned right from the start. No one expected her to be happy or cheerful. Despite this, the girl had still managed a few smiles here and there. Harry took her riding on his broom a few times which she initially found slightly terrifying but gradually came to enjoy. Snappy had been overjoyed when Harry woke him up and Lucy was there. He jumped up and down making happy flappy noises before crawling into the girl's lap with a gentle purr. Emmeline had gone out back and did a bit of magic to make their little pond freeze so the three of them could do some ice skating. Now it was Christmas Eve and after a week of all that excitement, Lucy was buzzing with anticipation.

"Lucy darling!" Emmeline called from the kitchen. The girl looked up from Snappy's chapter on unicorns.

"Coming!" She called back before gently closing the enchanted book. But as she got up from the couch there was a knock at the door. "I got it!" She called out as she walked up to the door.

"Lucy!" Emmeline cried in a panic. She'd forgotten to warn the girl about the dangers of opening the door during a wizarding war. But then the door opened. "Mother!"

"Emmeline!" Mary Vance cried with a beaming smile.

"Now what am I? Minced manticore?" Arnold Cleansweep cried with a jovial sniff.

"Grandfather!" Emmeline cheered as she rushed forward, wiping her hands from her baking to give them both firm hugs. 

"Granddad!" Harry cried in delight as he rushed down the stairs and nearly bowled the elderly gentleman over with an enthusiastic hug. 

"Oof! Well, I'll say! You've certainly grown in the last few years!" Arnold said with a big grin. Harry laughed before he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and blinked.

"Is that..." he began, trailing off slightly.

"welp! Ffraid the cats out of the bag Mary!" Arnold cried as he picked up the broom from where he'd leaned it against the door frame.

"Maybe because you didn't even bother to hide it?" Mary argued with a roll of her eyes. Harry looked at the Nimbus 2000 with a wave of nostalgia before he frowned. 

"Granddad... I already have a firebolt."

"That's why it's not for you," the man said with a wink before he thrust the broom toward Lucy "Happy Christmas!"

"Grandfather!" Emmeline cried in slight horror "She's eleven!"

"And? Harry got his at eleven didn't you?"

"Yeah,"

"And it's not that fast right?"

"Er..."

"See! It's fine!"

"I... thank you," Lucy finally got out.

"Well, I was going to suggest we hide them so they could all come from Santa Claus!" Mary began with a pointed look at her father, who wasn't the least bit abashed "But I suppose we can give you all your gifts now." Then she reached into her purse and pulled out four wrapped packages, including two that didn't appear as though they ought to fit in said purse. "Truly though, happy Christmas."

"Thanks, Nana!" Harry cried ecstatically as he took the two packages marked for him.  Emmeline tore her paper off first and blinked.

"A waffle maker?"

"Yes!" Mary cried happily. "I won it! In that golden waffle raffle! I thought of you instantly."

"Thank you, Mother," Emmeline said with a chuckle as she looked at the waffle iron's specifications a little closer. Lucy was already flicking the dials on her new wireless with an intrigued expression. 

"I've never had my own radio before..." she murmured softly. "I wasn't allowed..."

"Goodness! Well, Emmeline can help you figure out how it works!" Mary cried with a bat of her hand. Harry opened the smaller box and frowned. It looked like a snow globe attached to a wristwatch. But it was meant for an extremely thin wrist.

"Erm... thanks," Harry began casually "What is it?"

"It's a clock, a barometer, a speedometer, a compass, and an altitude gauge." Arnold supplied. Harry raised an eyebrow and looked down before he dawned on him.

"Oh! For my broom!"

"Yes!" Arnold agreed with a laugh. "It should also have a proximity alert system and should be able to navigate."

"like GPS?" Harry asked. Arnold blinked.

"That a muggle thing?"

"Yeah. For navigating."

"Well if it gives directions with arrows then probably" Arnold agreed. Harry grinned before he frowned. 

"How does it work?"

"Voice commands." Arnold said before he cleared his throat. "speed!" The little bobble glowed blue before it projected the current speed of 0 km/h in smokey blue letters. Harry grinned. Now this was bloody useful. "Let me know how it works alright? It's a prototype. The first one we completed. I wanted you to be the one to test it out."

"I'll send you a letter once I'm back at Hogwarts." Harry agreed happily before he tore into the last package. Inside was a pile of hand-knit socks lined with soft woolly fleece. He grinned as he felt the side and his hand instantly warmed.

"I put gripping charms on the bottom as well," Mary explained, turning a pair so Harry could feel the surface. "perfect for wearing around the house!" 

"Thank you, Nana!" Harry cried before he leaned in for a hug.

"They're also charmed to muffle footsteps," Mary muttered into his ear as she hugged him back. The teen pulled away in time to see his Nana give him a cheeky wink she cleared her throat. "Now all that's left is to wait for Augustus."

"F-father?!" Emmeline cried in shock. "Coming here?!"

"Yes!" Mary insisted. "he promised me he would take some time off work and come meet his grandson."

"I suppose you'll be staying for dinner then..." Emmeline said slowly.

"As long as it's no trouble!" Mary cried worriedly.

"Oh, it's not!" Emmeline assured her mother. "It's just that I have a lot of baking I wanted to get done before then."

"Oh! Well, that's no problem!" Mary cried before she waved her wand with a flourish. Instantly she, Arnold, Harry, and Lucy were all wrapped up in matching cook's aprons, bright red with little snowflakes on them. "Let's get to it!" Harry laughed before the five of them entered the kitchen. 

It was hours later when all the baking had been finished and the family had just started preparing dinner when there was another knock on the door. Harry was the one to get it this time marching up to the door with a smile.

"Seasons greetings!" The man in the doorway cried. Harry blinked and took a small step back.

Where Mary and Arnold were all soft edges and round shapes, Augustus Vance was the picture of angels. With a sharp jaw, a sharp nose, painfully stiff starched robes, and a delicately manicured and pointed moustache. The only round part of him was his mostly bald head which he was trying, rather desperately and pathetically in Harry's opinion, to hide with an unflattering comb-over. The only familiar part of him was his eyes. His eyes were the same soft hazel colour as Emmeline's. But while Emmeline's were almost always glittering with mirth and positivity, Augustus seemed cold, even to Harry.

"Augustus! You made it!" Mary cried happily as he came forward to give her husband a peck on the cheek. "We were starting to think you'd never arrive..."

"I know!" Augustus began somberly. Harry winced. His voice reminded him vaguely of Gilderoy Lockhart in all the wrong was. "But you know how it is! Christmas issues, holiday book deals, every business this side of Cornwall wanting a spot on the papers!" He let out a wheezing laugh. "It's positively exhausting! But forget all that! Where is my grandson!"

"Hi." Harry began softly. Augustus beamed.

"There you are! Strapping fine lad, aren't you! Here you are! Happy Christmas!" Then he thrust a magazine at Harry. The teen blinked and took it with a strained smile.

"Uh... thanks, Mr. Vance," Harry said softly.

"Oh, none of that!" Augustus insisted. Harry felt his apprehension dip somewhat. "Grandfather or sir will suffice!" And suddenly it came back. Harry looked down to avert his eyes and then blinked again. The magazine was the latest issue of potions masters monthly.

"Er... isn't this more for... you know... masters?" Harry argued. Augustus laughed.

"Well! Always a good idea to read what the masters do!"

"Sure..." Harry murmured with a wince. It also didn't help that his father already had a subscription to this magazine. Surely Mr. Vance must realize that.

"Did you bring anything for Lucy?" Mary asked casually.

"Who?" Augustus asked with a blink.

"Lucy," Mary began with a bit of an irritated tone. "The little girl Emmeline is taking in for the holidays. I told you about her weeks ago."

"Ah," Augustus said, trailing off with a somewhat irritated expression of his own. "Right... here," he held out the magazine with a little less graciousness than he had for Harry. The young girl frowned a bit but took it nonetheless.

"Thank you," she muttered softly without even bothering to look at it. Augustus immediately looked away as soon as she grasped it with a bright smile, seemingly airbrushing the girl from his sights 

"So! Is dinner ready yet?" he asked jovialy.

"We were just about to start making it," Emmeline told her father with a slightly clipped tone. He was being awfully rude today. 

"Ah well! Arnold! Harry! Why don't we relax in the parlour while the girls get to it." Augustus offered with a smile. Harry frowned.

"Actually," Harry began softly. "I usually help Mum with dinner."

"Really? Don't you and your father have better things to do in the evening?" Augustus argued.

"Dad usually helps make dinner too." The boy scathingly told the man.

"Really? You'd think a potions master would be more diligent." Augustus muttered with a sniff. Harry scowled at him before turning away and back into the kitchen. Emmeline pursed her lips and gave her father a dirty look before following suit. 

"Augustus!" Mary hissed coldly. 

"What?" The man asked looking a bit put out. 

"That was incredibly rude!"

"I only meant-"

"Go apologize!"

"Oh alright..." Augustus muttered as he went into the kitchen with a contrite expression. "Emmi," he began softly. "I'm sorry... you know how easy it is for me to put my foot in it... can we let bygones be bygones? It is Christmas after all!" Emmeline was standing with her back to him, peeling carrots over a board. Only she'd paused in her peeling as her father spoke. She sighed and put the knife down.

"Oh alright," she said weakly before she turned and gave her father a soft hug and a kiss on the cheek. Harry watched this from the corner of his eye as he stirred the rice on the stove. 

"Now Augustus," Mary began gently. "Why don't you and Dad go wait in the living room? I'm sure we'll have dinner ready before you know it!" Arnold gave his daughter a pitiful look which she glared at until the elderly man relented and let out a played-up groan.

"Yeah, I suppose I should take a bit of weight off the ole knee..." Arnold ‘agreed' as he came to sit in the living room with Augustus. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the man was out of earshot. Christmas Eve dinner sure was turning out to be exhausting.

Lucy curled up against Emmeline, wrapped up into her shawl and sipped her cocoa slowly while Harry flipped through the magazine Augustus had given him with a bland expression.

"How could he possibly think this was a good magazine for a teenager?" Harry complained as he flashed the page he was on, which had a series of complex alchemical tables and arithmantic circles detailing the latest theories proposed by some potions master from who knew where. Emmeline sighed.

"My father has never been much of a family person," she muttered, "work has always come first."

"Hmph,'' Harry grumbled as he tossed the magazine onto the coffee table. Suddenly the clock on the mantle chimed out. As the twelfth bell chimed the fire in the grate suddenly burned emerald green.

"Sorry I'm late," Severus began casually

"DAD!" Harry cried ecstatically as he and Lucy both dove for the fireplace with brilliant grins. Severus chuckled.

"I had to wait to make sure Delores was asleep."

"Happy Christmas darling," Emmeline said with a bright smile of her own.

"I know it's a bit unorthodox, but it is technically Christmas day is it not?" Severus began softly. "And I would love to see you open your gifts."

"Can we?" Lucy asked Emmeline excitedly.

"I suppose." the woman said with a soft smile and a knowing glance at her future husband. Lucy squealed in excitement as Harry raced across the room to pull their gifts out from under the tree. There were a few more for Lucy than Harry, but he didn't mind much. Lucy got the same sort of gifts he got the last few years. Enchanted PJs, these ones with little owls that flew across the fabric. Homemade mits and hats, charmed to always be warm and never get wet. Meanwhile, Harry made a noise of intrigue as he opened the small box from his mother. Inside it was a strange disc with two overlapping layers made of a smooth stone. The inner and outer rings were each etched with the runic alphabet. Harry turned the inner disk and made a noise when two symbols lined up and glowed, projecting a new rune in the middle.

"It's a runic codex," Emmeline explained casually. "It's a helpful tool for memorization, but it can also be used to combine runes in new and interesting ways. There are a few basic interactions etched onto the back to get you started." Harry flipped it over and saw the star his mother was referring to. 

"Thanks!" Harry cried genuinely. 

Suddenly Lucy gasped. Harry looked over. The girl was holding a small hinged jewelry box and staring at its contents with glittering shocked eyes. What she pulled out made Harry's jaw drop. It was a stunningly gorgeous vintage jewelled hairpin. The body was made of pure glittering silver while its wings were fitted with delicately formed sapphires that glittered in the firelight in such a way that the pegasus' feathers seemed to be rippling in the wind. In its eye was a single glittering diamond, sparkling like mad even in the dim light.

"That," Severus began softly. "belonged to my mother." Lucy looked over in awe. "It was the only piece of the family jewels she was allowed to keep. The Pegasus is the crest of the Prince Family. It symbolizes freedom, self-determination, rehabilitation, and above all hope."

"I-I can't take this!" Lucy cried in distress "It belonged to your mother! It's a family heirloom! I-"

"I insist," Severus told her firmly. "My mother would want you to have it. You are quite a lot like her, and I think she would be pleased." Lucy was left speechless as she stared down at the hairpin again before she swallowed thickly.

"Thank you..." she said softly. Harry smiled wide.

"My turn," he said with a hint of excitement. He knew his gift would be just as wonderful as Lucy's. But as he tore the paper off and opened the box his smile wavered a bit. It was a mirror. True it was a relatively nice mirror, with a nice frame, but it was just a mirror.

"Thanks, Dad," Harry said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice. Suddenly Severus made a noise.

"Oh. Terribly sorry. I've run out of time."

"Huh?" Harry cried in shock. Before suddenly the fire flashed orange for a moment then sputtered out. "Dad?! Dad!" Harry cried in horror as he tossed the mirror aside and dove for the fireplace

"Yes?" came the voice of Severus Snape from behind him, sounding a bit mirthful. Harry blinked and whipped his head around. 

"Dad?" he called again.

"Over here," Severus called. Harry blinked and scrambled back to the sofa and looked in the mirror. Severus chuckled as Harry's face filled the mirror in his own hands with almost comical shock and awe.

"Bloody Wicked!" Harry cried ecstatically.

"Language!" Both his parents cried with scowls.

"S-sorry..." Harry cried with a wince before he held the mirror away from his face so that Emmeline and Lucy could see into it as well. "Does... can Umbridge see us?"

"This is a secure connection," Severus said casually with a smile.

"Wicked..." Harry cried in awe. "How did you figure this out anyway?"

"Your uncle."

"Uncle Remus?"

"Apparently Black and Potter had mirrors like this at Hogwarts, which explains quite a lot," Severus complained scathingly, making Harry and Emmeline chuckle. "I told him how I was looking for a way to be with you all for Christmas without prying eyes. He helped me figure out how to recreate them." Harry grinned. "According to Remus, the mirrors are quite effective even at long distances, though distortion can take effect if you try to use it on the mainland. Unfortunately, they aren't terribly discrete. Apparently black and Potter tried testing the charms out on smaller mirrors and found they never quite worked as well as the big ones."

"Well, it's not like I'll be trying to contact you about sensitive stuff in public anyway," Harry argued.

"Yeah but with Umbridge around, anything could be sensitive," Lucy complained. Harry huffed.

"Now there'll be no more talk of Delores Umbridge tonight!" Emmeline insisted with a grin. "It's Christmas Eve! Or... well Christmas day actually!"

"Yes," Severus began slowly. "In fact, you children should probably be heading to bed."

"Oh but-" Lucy began with a pout.

"You can speak with Severus again tomorrow darlings," Emmeline assured them. The little girl sighed before getting up to give Emmeline a hug.

"Thank you for all the wonderful gifts..." she paused and gave Severus a worried expression. "Are you sure about the harpin?"

"Yes!" Severus insisted again with a slight huff.

"Here Dad," Harry began, "I'll leave the mirror with Mum for now."

"Oh thank you, darling," Emmeline began with a soft smile.

"Have a good night!" Harry called from out of frame before dashing up the stairs.

"Happy Christmas my dear," Severus muttered softly. Emmeline smiled.

"To you as well my darling."