Chapter One, Leta [top 100 novels txt] 📗

Chapter 1: An unexpected present

It was cold outside but it was a beautiful coldness. All the snow that had fallen and sparkled now in the light of the sun, which was rising. A new day had begun, a happy day for most of the people. It was Christmas, finally and all were looking at the ends of their beds to see what they had gotten. The few students, that had remained in Hogwarts over the holiday were happily chatting about their presents and what they had sent to their parents and friends. Even at the table of the teachers the presents were the main topic.

The Great Hall was decorated in Christmas fashion and some of the ghosts sang to Christmas songs, when the students and the staff entered it for breakfast. Only one single man looked as if not the snow was sparkling outside but the rain pouring down. He looked as if Christmas was not a holidays of joy and love but one of great mourning and grief. As ususal the others didn't speak to him at Christmas, because they wanted to enjoy it and the company of Severus Snape at those days was unbearable bad. So he only sat at the table, looked as grumpy as ever at Christmas and ate his breakfast in silence.

Severus Snape hated Christmas. His mother had died at Christmas and his father had left him alone. He had become Death Eater at Christmas and once he had to stay in Azkaban over it. No, Christmas had always been something not worthy enough to remember. Ha had never received some presents after the death of his mother and he couldn't say that he cared much about those. But every year, he sat at the table at Christmas and listened when the others spoke about their presents and there was always a thorn of jealousy in his side. Then he often wished that he had somebody he could give a present or receive one from, not that he would ever mention something like that to someone else. With that thorn and the memories of his past Christmas holidays, he looked even grumpier than the rest of the year.

Qickly Severus finished his breakfast, he didn't want to hear what the others had to say and especially he didn't want to be asked for his presents. So he left the Great Hall rather in a hurry, nobody paid any attention to him. When he arrived at the stairs that led down to his own office and quarters he heard somebody call him back. He turned around and saw Minerva McGongall coming his direction. He noted that she wore a dark red dress instead of her green robes and that she smiled. How could somebody smile at a day like that?

"Oh, Severus, good that I meet you. I was afraid you had gone before I can give you this.", she said, giving him a small package wrapped in green and silver paper. "Merry Christmas, Severus." She said, while he stared at it, turned around and made her way into the Great Hall to eat her breakfast.

Severus only stared at the package. Had he gotten a present, a real present? He couldn't belive it. As if he was in trance he went down the stairs into his chambers and closed and locked the door firmly behind him. What was in this package? What had he gotten? Would he like it? He put the package on the table and stared at it, a small smile creeping onto his face. Gentle and careful he unwrapped the little box to see what it had hidden from his eyes.

After several minutes the work was done and a black watch lay beside the paper. It had several arms, each of them for another thing. There was one that showed him the time, another worked like a compass. Another one remembered him of important birthdays and then there were a few ones Severus liked more than the rest. The watch was especially made for people who had to brew potions and therefore a few arms showed him how long something had to brew or when he had to take the cauldron off the fire. In fact he was that amazed by his present that he forgot the time and only when his new watch told him that he had forgotten to go up for lunch he realised that he had a problem.

Severus paced in his room. He had a problem, a big one. He loved his present, his watch he had gotten from Minerva, but exactly this was his problem. Surely she would expect a present as well. What should he do? Give the watch back? – No, never would he give it back, it was fantastic, wonderful and beside that his first Christmas present for years. So, he had to give her something, too. But his next problem was, that he didn't know what to give her. Maybe sweets – no, she wouldn't like them. Maybe a book – no, she wouldn't read it. Maybe flowers – no, she wouldn't think them suitable for Christmas. Maybe socks – no, she was not Albus, who always wanted to have a pair. Maybe a chain with a locket – yes, that was it. She was a woman and women always liked jewellery. The next minute Severus had taken his cloak and was on his way to an old friend who owed him something and was the owner of a jeweller shop.


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In the meantime Minerva sat in her office and corrected some of the essays she had collected at the last day of school. Next to her there stood a cup of hot tea and a tin with biscuits. A hot fire was roaring in her fireplace and the shadows of her furniture danced at the walls. It was early afternoon but because they had winter it was nearly dark outside. There were no clouds at the sky and the moon was wonderfully round and the snow twinkled in its light like thousands and thousands of diamonds. Oh, how she loved this time of the year.
In two days she would travel to her family for a few days and around the house there were always loads of white snow, not that dirty one of the cities. The children of the neighbors would have build their snowmen and drawn pictures in the white, cold something. She loved that time of the year, although every year she felt a bit lonely. Surely she went to her family but it was not really her family, only her uncle and his wife. Oh, how she wished to have her own family. But, she thought, she should not be so depressed. There were many other people who felt even worse at Christmas and one of them was definetely Severus Snape. She wondered if he liked the present. She had looked for it for weeks and months before she had found it in a little shop somewhere in the middle of Yorkshire. She had known at once that this was the perfekt present.

Minerva wondered what he was doing right at the moment. She had noticed that he was not at lunch and somehow she was worried. Could a so depressed mood be good at Christmas? Wasn't it better to be happy and joyful? Not that she expected him really to be joyful or even laugh but she wanted him to be a bit happy, at least.

She looked at the books she had received as presents. There were a few about Transfiguration but she had the most of them on her own and only one was new. Next to the books there were sweets – probably a present from Albus. She never ate much sweets – what should she do with those? She shook her head. She would give them to the children of the neighbors, like nearly every day. They were always happy about those.

Minerva put the essays away and decided that today was not the day to correct them. She went to one of her chairs in front of the fire and sat down to relax a bit. While she looked into the flames she asked herself again why Severus had missed lunch and what he was doing now. Would he come to dinner? Would her wear the watch? Would he perhaps be a bit happier than in the morning? Oh, how she wanted to see a smile on his face, even a little one. With those thoughts she closed her eyes and fell asleep in her chair.

Publication Date: 05-10-2011

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