The Snake and the Eagle

Chapter 8 - It's Our Christmas

That morning Alexandra woke up early and feeling full of energy. She stretched in her bed, kicked away the blankets, and she jumped out of bed. She put on her dressing gown and smiled at the sight of her Christmas presents at the feet of her bed. She received a beautifully illustrated book about birds of prey from his grandfather, and a bracelet with zapphires from her grandmother. Her best friends sent her a silk dressing gown they bought her during their last trip to Japan. She received presents from some fellow teachers too: a pretty wood jewel box from Dumbledore, a warm tartan scarf from Mc Gonagall, and a huge homemade rock cake which had the vague shape of a bird from Hagrid. The kind half giant was probably trying to reproduce her falcon. Moody gave her a strange device, which was supposed to detect dark wizards' presence, but she really could not figure out how it was supposed to be used. But the present she loved the most was lying on her bedside table, Severus' eagle pendant. She looked through her window, and saw the dungeons were still in complete darkness.

"Well, then. I'll go down and wake him up, wishing him a Happy Christmas," she merrily said, and headed straight to her fireplace to floo herself to his rooms, without even bothering to get dressed.

She emerged in the complete darkness of his sitting room. She lit the room with a swish of her wand and found the door to his bedroom. She went in without even knocking. She snapped her fingers, causing the candles and lanterns in the room to light up, showing a beatiful big room. She was amazed by the luxury of his bedroom. The walls were covered with mahogany pannels, with the Slytherin crest carved here and there. There was some oriental carpet on the floor, and in the middle of the room stood a majestic four-poster with emerald green, velvet hangings. The room was a little gloomy because of its ebony furnitures, but it really reflected its owner's tastes.

"Wake up, Severus. It's Christmas day!" she shouted, opening brusquely the curtains of his four-poster.

"Who cares ? Let me sleep!" protested a muffled voice from a bundle of sheets and blankets.

"Oh come on, Severus! It's Christmas, it's our Christmas! You promised me we'd spend the whole day together, do you remember?" she said jumping on the bed to tear away the sheets from his face.

"Ok, ok. I'm awake," he said coming to sit with his back resting against the head of his bed. He run his fingers though his hair to push them away from his face, and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips.

"Look! You've got presents. Don't you want to open them?" she said, pointing to three packages laying on the floor.

"I don't care. Help yourself, if you want," he idly answered.

"If you insist," she said, and jumped down to gather them, then she returned to the bed. She settled herself close to him so that he could have a clear look on her opening.

"The biggest one first!" she happily stated. She loved unpacking presents, and she did not seem to care much that they were not for her.

"The first one is from Minerva. It's a book about the Celtic druids' ancient potions." She inspected the cover and showed it to him.

"That sounds interesting," he said, smiling indulgently at her childish enthusiasm. She then opened the second one.

"This one is from Albus. It's a bottle of firewisky and of good quality too," she pointed out, reading its label.

"Fortunately, Albus has good taste with bottles," he commented. Then, she opened the last and smallest one.

"There's a note with it... there, read it," she handed it to him.

It was from Lucius Malfoy, it read "Remember where you belong". His smile faded and his face tensed, while he watched her open the small package.

"It's a ring, shaped like a serpent with an emerald for eye. Who sends it?" she curiously inquired.

"Just an old school friend of mine, a fellow Slytherin of course," he said, greatly relieved it was not something compromising.

"Obviously. It's rather pretty," she said slipping it on her ring finger.

"You can keep it, if you want," he carelessly said.

"Sorry, but I can't. What would my students think, if they see their Head of House wearing such a clear sign of fraternization with the enemy!" she teased him. He rolled his eyes to her weak attempt at a joke.

"Bit rich coming from you ... What would they say if they see you here in my bed?" he sneered.

"As I happen to be on the cover and not underneath, I don't think to be doing anything unbecoming," she said faking to be scandalized by his malicious question.

"Then get off of my bed, and let me get dressed, or I will drag you under the covers, and put you in a compromising position," he sneered. She jumped off the bed giggling, before he could try to catch her.

"See you at breakfast," she told him above her shoulder, and run out of the room. Snape stood a few minutes staring at the door she had just exited from, with a small smile arching his thin lips.

"If a few months ago, someone told me this was going to happen to me, I would have called him a fool and laughed my head off in his face!" he mused, then he get off his bed.

***

It was a beautiful sunny day, a true rarity in the month of December. A thick layer of snow covered the countryside and the surface of the lake was frozen. Many students were now leaving the castle to spend the rest of their holidays with their families. Harry and his friends, instead, they were going to stay there. Harry was used to spend his winter holidays at school, but Hermione had no choice because her parents were skiing in the mountains, and she hated that sport. Ron and Ginny could not go back to the Burrow too, because the Weasleys were all in Romania, paying a visit to Charlie.

"Alexandra, dear. Would you like to come home with me this afternoon?" Moody asked her during breakfast.

"I'm sorry, Alastor. But I'm going to spend the whole day with Severus. I'll go back home tomorrow morning," she kindly refused his invitation.

"I see ... ," Moody darkly muttered, throwing a malevolent look at Snape, who was silently drinking his coffee.

"What would you like to do today?" Snape asked, as they left the Great Hall.

"What about a sleigh ride in the country?" she proposed.

"Good idea. I'll ask Hagrid to lend us his sleigh," said Snape looking around for the half giant.

They bound her horse to the big sleigh and took seat in it, covering their legs with a warm tartan blanket. Then, they left the castle grounds passing through its towering gates. How beautiful it was to ride on the lonely country roads and wood paths. They were happy, they were carefree, they were alone ... only a woman and a man. A chilly wind blew on their faces in the sunlight. The only sound they could hear was that of the sleigh sliding on the smooth ground, and the muffled stumping of the horse's hooves on the snow. They had lunch at the castle. Their fellow staff members were astonished to see Snape in such a good mood. He looked more relaxed, and they even heard him laugh at some of Dumbledore's jokes, and Alexandra was simply beaming. For some weird reason, any improvement in Snape's mood seemed to give on Moody's nerves.

In the afternoon, Severus and Alexandra had a walk to Hogsmeade, and stopped at the Three Broomsticks Pub for a drink. inside, they saw Hagrid sitting with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Alexandra would not have minded joining them, but Severus nodded her to follow him to a quieter private room, at the back of the pub. Harry was relieved at seeing Snape going away, he still hated him for his attitude during the events concerning Sirius' death.

"Blimey! I really can't understand why, a lovely woman like Professor Falconbridge, can be friend of a man like Snape?" Ron exclaimed disgusted.

"Snape's not that bad, when ye get to know 'im bette', Ron," Hagrid said, before taking another gulp from his huge tankard.

"Maybe he has some qualities we don't know about," suggested Ginny, causing Harry to scowl at her.

"I think he fancies her," Hermione giggled.

"Ye bette' not mix up in adults's matters, Hermione," Hagrid mildly admonished her, but deep inside he agreed with her.

On their way back from Hogsmeade, Alexandra insisted on having a stroll along the lake shores. It was a well reknown place among couples for a romantic walk, but being it now deserted, Snape had nothing to object. At a certain point, Alexandra remained behind, saying she had to tie up the strings of her shoe. Severus took advantage of the pause to walk a few steps towards the lake and have a look at its frozen surface.

"Severus!" she called him. As soon as he turned his head, he was struck by a snow ball straight in the face. The strings were all an excuse she had made up for taking him off guard.

"You naughty little girl!" he muttered drying his face on his sleeve. Then, he bent down to take a handful of snow and made a ball with it.

"Oh, don't you dare?" she said giggling, and she took some steps away from him. He threw it, striking her on a shoulder. He was a gentleman and he obviously could not aim at her face. She fired back, aiming at his head again.

"Catch me if you can!" she challanged him, and run away. She dived once right then once left, but he soon caught her around her waist. She tried to free herself from his grip . By doing so, she caused them both to loose balance. They fell on the soft snow, laughing. Their laughters were cut off when Severus found himself on top of her, their faces inches apart. They stared at each other for a few seconds, hypnotized, then he slowly moved away helping her to her feet.

"We'd better go back to the castle, it's almost dinner time, and I still have to pack my things for the trip," she said embarassed, staring at her feet. That sudden reminder of her departure was like an icy shower for Severus, which made his good mood fade away. He nodded and they silently made their way back.

***

Those days without her were for Severus harder than he could have ever imagined. How was it possible he could miss her so much? He had not even missed his beloved mother like that, and she had been the only person who had ever loved him. Was he falling in love with that witch? No, he refused to even take it into consideration. He was so ashamed of his past, that he believed he had lost any right to love and be loved. How could he ever be able to love somebody, if he hated himself so much? But still, there was a frail hope hidden deep in his lonely heart.

He was back to his old bad mood. He began spending whole days alone, locked in his office with the mild excuse of some important research. He madly read, over and over, the potions book Minerva gave him for Christmas. He was always glad to see her falcon fly across the Great Hall to bring him her nearly, daily letter. The bird had finally got used to Severus, and had given up trying to peck his fingers off. It now even let him stroke its feathers, while he read its mistress letters.

At night, his mood got worse and it was harder for him to stand the loneliness. Sometimes, he payed a late visit to Hagrid's hut to have a drink with him. He had been knowing Hagrid for a long time. They were not exactly good friends, but he had enjoyed his company at the pub many times. Hagrid was just the jolly good fellow one needed to cheer up a lonely night. If it was not for Hagrid's unvoluntary, abysmal lack of discretion, they probably could have been good friends too. Alexandra was his friend because she was trustworthy, and could keep a secret, while Hagrid had the bad habit to let private things slip, even when he was asked to keep something secret.

School was soon back to its routine, but people still talked about the unforgettable Yule Ball. To say the truth, the amount of students' crushes for teachers had allarmingly increased, after they saw Professors Snape and Falconbridge at their best. Yes, weird as it is, Snape had now his own fanclub! Even if he was back to his evil, unkept self, he still found too many girls following his Potions classes with too much interest for his tastes. He was in Dumbledore's office when a very shy Colin Creevey came in, carring a big parcel.

"Oh, Colin! Please, come forward," Dumbledore kindly beckoned the mousy boy towards his desk. Colin was very excited to be in the Headmaster's office, but Snape's presence there greatly dampped his enthusiasm. Snape was well aware of his influence on students, and amused himself giving the boy one of his most terrifying looks.

"I-I have b-brought you t-the pics of the B-Ball, sir," stuttered the boy, trembling from head over heels, deadly afraid of Snape.

"Thank you, Colin. I'm sure you did a good job.You can go now," Dumbledore kindly dismissed the boy. Colin did not wait to be told twice, and almost run down the gargoyle staircase.

"Did you really had to scare that poor boy like that?" Albus lectured Snape.

"No, but it was funny," Snape smirked.

"You're incorrigible, Severus," Albus said staring at him over his half-moon spectacles. They selected the pictures for the album together.

"I have to admit it, the boy has got a true talent for photography," Snape observed, impressed by their quality.

"Why don't you take some picture for yourself ? There are enough of them to fill ten albums, at least," Dumbledore suggested.

"Let's see... Maybe one of myself, I don't have a decent one," Snape lazily said, holding a full body picture of himself. He was rather tempted to take one with Alexandra too. But how was he going to justify the thing, without putting some weird idea in the old wizard's head?

"Take this one too," Albus said handing him a wizarding picture of a dancing couple. It had been taken while Alexandra and Severus were waltzing alone on the dancefloor, eyes in eyes, smiling to each other. It was moving, and it was beautiful. Snape blushed a little at its sight. He had not even noticed when the boy took it.

"If you insist ..." he casually said, trying to sound detached.

***

The relationship between the two teachers had not yet moved a single step forwards. They still considered themselves as good friends. However, it was not that hard to see one of the two throw a furtive look at the other, and then suddenly look away before the other could notice. Really a weird way to behave for two friends, and someone else did notice it too. Dumbledore had once called Snape in his office without any apparent reason.

"You wanted to have a word with me, Headmaster?" he asked emerging from the gargoyle staircase.

"Yes, Severus. Please have a seat," the older man invited him, with a serious expression on his face.

"You know I love you like a son, and it's like a father that I want to speak to you," he solemnly said.

"What's now, Albus?" Snape muttered with annoyance.

"I'm worried about your happiness, my boy,"

"My happiness?" Snape arched an astonished brow.

"I'm afraid, there's a secret that could damage your chances to be happy," Albus whispered mysteriously.

"What secret? Please, speak clearly!" the younger wizard pressed on.

"Before I can tell you, I need you to answer sincerely to a question. What are your feelings for Alexandra?" Albus inquired.

"She's a good friend," Snape diplomatically replied.

"Do you care for her?"

"Yes," he curtly answered, wondering what was passing through the older man's mind.

"And do you love her?"

"No! Well ... I don't know," Severus muttered starting to panic, for he did not know what he truly felt for her.

"I don't mean to intrude in your private life, my son," Albus fatherly explained pacing the room, "but there's an important thing you should know about Alexandra. Her parents were murdered by a group of unidentified Death Eaters before her own eyes, when she was only a small child."

Severus froze at this revelation, and suddenly realized why the boggart had turned into one of them, when she faced it that terrible night.

"It's up to you to tell her about your delicate position or not. But beware that, if it ever comes out, you could loose her forever," Albus sadly admonished him, resting his old hand on Severus' shoulder.

Severus felt his heart go into pieces, as the Headmaster's words echoed in his head. That little hope that the seed of a growing love had put in his heart, suddenly died under the weight of that unveiled secret. What was the right choise? Tell her or keep the secret? He did not know if he loved her or not, but he knew she was very important for him, and did not want to lose her.

"No! I won't tell her. She wouldn't understand! On the other hand, how the hell will she ever found out?" he though, trying to find some peace of mind. In that moment of confusion, he obviously seemed to have forgotten about the Dark Mark burnt on his left arm.