Harry Potter One Shots

Snowflakes

All rights belong to the author, SnapeGirl

It was Christmas Eve and London was full of the spirit of Christmas. A fine coating of snow had swirled in from somewhere up north and coated all the lamp posts, trees, and sidewalks with a lacy white lattice of dazzling silvery white. The tinkling of bells could be heard through the air and the echo of children's laughter drifted upwards as the excited kids ran in the snow, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and whispering to each other about their hopes for Christmas morning. Carolers were going street to street singing a capella and wishing all who heard them a very merry and happy Christmas.

Severus Snape had just recently accepted the position of Potions Master at Hogwarts School and he was currently enjoying a cup of eggnog laced with a bit of brandy in front of his fire. He was wearing a soft black velvet robe with green trim and a pair of black trousers and a white cable knit sweater. He could hear the voices of the carolers down the street and the soft crunch of small booted feet sliding and scrambling on the snow. His little house on Spinners End was blanketed by snow, and the only sign that anyone lived there were the soft glow of lights in the window and a small evergreen wreath upon the door.

Inside, Severus had a small tree, tastefully decorated with green and silver beads, and ornaments that his mother had saved over the years from Sev's childhood. He had found the box up in the garret and spent an hour putting them on the little evergreen, smiling a little as he recalled Christmases past. He had not had the best childhood, Lord knew, but Eileen had always done her best to make Christmas special for her son, even if they barely had money to spend on gifts. They had always received a Christmas food basket from the church, so at least they had a decent Christmas dinner. Of course Severus hadn't known that their dinner had come from charity until he was older, when he was a child he had assumed that his mother had made it.

Now it was just himself, for his mother had passed away when he was still at Hogwarts and his father was gone as well, not that he missed the miserable bastard too much. Tobias had made the holiday season memorable by getting drunk and being nastier than his wont, and his son used to pray he'd get good and sozzled by dinnertime, so he'd pass out and leave them in peace. Tobias had usually obliged.

Severus stretched out his long legs to the softly blazing fire, lifting his head and gazing out the window that faced the street. Snowflakes were slowly drifting through the air and he watched them idly, recalling a time long ago, when he and Lily had been eight and they had raced outside to celebrate the first snowfall of the season.

"Sev! Look at all the snowflakes!" Lily cried, spinning around and sticking out her tongue to catch them. Her gold-red hair shone in the winter white landscape like a fiery beacon. Snow was falling on her hair and her quilted red coat. Her green eyes sparkled in mischievous delight.

Severus watched her, clapping his hands and smiling quietly at his best friend, who loved the snow and could never resist racing out in it. He was wearing an old coat of his father's, cut down to fit him and a pair of soft blue mittens, which were a gift from Lily's mum, Daisy.

"C'mon, Sev! Try and taste the snowflakes!" Lily called.

Severus shrugged and stuck out his tongue, and immediately felt the cold tingle of a snowflake upon it. "Mmm. Tastes like . . .frozen water!"

Lily huffed at him in exasperation. "Sev! You can pretend better than that." She tasted another snowflake. "It tastes like a strawberry ice cream float!"

Sev tilted up his face and allowed the cold snow to fall upon his tongue. "All right then. Mine tastes like . . .cherry ice."

Then he scooped up a handful of snow and tossed it at the girl's shoulder. "Tag! You're it, Lil!"