For Our Parents Willed So

For Our Parents Willed So

*

Christmas

*

It was a late evening at the Christmas Eve. All was happy and well in the home of Potters.

For once, James felt happy. He sat with his family in their sitting room - his family, and nobody else. His fathers were occupying one of the couches, while he and Severus sat on the other one, the Slytherin's head leaning against his shoulder. Sirius was seated in one armchair, his head deep in a Quidditch magazine.

Sure, it was an odd family. Not that his parents had been weird - they were wizards, it was completely normal for him to have two fathers and not a mother. But, well, Severus was a part of his family already, even though they weren't married yet. And Sirius was like the brother he'd never had. The other boy had spent most of his summers at the Potters' ever since the boys had become friends, which had been over ten years ago. The more Sirius's family neglected the boy, the more affectionately Luke and Cedric treated him. James was also sure that Sirius thought James to be more a brother to him than Regulus Black had ever been.

Suddenly, a tap on the window startled him from his thoughts. As they all minus Severus turned to look there, they saw three owls carrying a huge package. James got up and went to the window, opening it to let the owls in. They flew inside for just enough time to drop the package, then flew away again.

Looking at the card attached to the package, James broke into a huge grin. "I was beginning to wonder when this would come," he said, then happily tore at the wrappings.

"What it is, James?" asked Luke seriously. "Because if it's a Christmas present and you try to open it now, I'll hex you. It isn't Christmas until tomorrow."

"It's not for me," his son replied cheerily while he finally got to open the box. "Look at this!" he then said.

And they looked. And gaped. It was a stuffed stag, at least three feet tall.

"What it is?" asked Severus, not sounding annoyed but with a tone that told that the feeling wasn't far away. "If you remember, I hardly can 'look at it.'"

"Here, Severus, have this," James said, pushing the stuffed toy into his fiancé's lap. "It's for you. And besides, Mr. Prongsie wants to tell you merry Christmas a bit early."

A chuckle escaped the Slytherin's lips as he realized what it was. "Where did you get it?" asked Severus wonderingly, trying to get a clear picture of the huge toy with his hands. Luke and Cedric were all the time eyeing them amusedly, while Sirius was giving them disbelieving glances.

"From Diagon Alley, when you weren't looking," replied James, grinning. "No, seriously speaking, I'd ordered it quite a while ago. I'd just told them that it should be delivered here, as I didn't think you'd approve if your father saw you receiving something like this. And now that you are here, well, it's just as well for you to receive it now than anytime else, right?"

"I suppose so." He then reached out a hand, grasped James's arm, and pulled him close. Once he got the other boy near enough, he placed his lips over James's.

Luke, Cedric, and Sirius grinned as they saw this. However, when they had watched this for quite some time, Sirius finally spoke. "Um... Prongs? There's a thing they call oxygen, you know, it can be quite nice at times, you really should try it..."

However, the two boys didn't seem to hear.

*

Early in the Christmas morning, Remus was woken up by two owls tapping at the window of he and Peter's room. Yawning slightly, he rose from the bed and went to open the window to let the owls in. They carried several parcels that looked like Christmas presents. As he took the parcels from the birds, a wizarding photo dropped from under a ribbon tied around one of them. He bent down to pick up the photo, and then took a quick glance at it.

His eyes almost dropped on the floor to the place where the photo had lain at. There were two people in the photo. More specifically, Severus and Sirius. Instead of their usual bickering, they were sitting next to each other on a couch, both having an arm thrown around the other's shoulders, chattering and completely oblivious to the photographer. As he turned the picture around with slightly trembling hands, he saw James's familiar scrawl. "Happy now?" was the only message.

And as he turned the photo around again, it was no more only Sirius and Severus there. James had come over to the couch, sitting down next to Severus. The two were holding hands, and then, under Remus's disbelieving eyes, they leant towards each other and kissed warmly. The photo-Sirius just smirked as he watched the two fiancés, then flashed a broad grin to the camera.

There was something else a bit off than the surprising behaviour of his friends. Something about Severus...

And then it hit him. The Slytherin's eyes weren't their usual black anymore. Instead, they were almost milky white. Blind, completely blind.

'Oh, shit,' Remus thought. 'So Philip Snape succeeded.' Suddenly he felt very, very sick.

"What is it, Remy?" asked Peter's sleepy voice from the bed behind him.

"Look yourself," he instructed his fiancé, handing out the photograph. "This came just along with our presents from James, Sirius, and Severus."

Peter's first comment was a simple statement, "He's blind." Then he continued, "They seem to be really getting along, don't they?"

"Yeah..." Remus shook his head slightly, then smiled. "Shall we open our presents from them, then?"

"Of course," said Peter, flashing him a warm smile.

So, they started opening the parcels. They both had a good laugh at the collar and leash Peter had got from Severus, and Remus put aside the most interesting-looking book in the pile Severus had sent him. Chewing the sweets the Slytherin had also sent to them both, they started opening the presents they'd got from James. Remus got Quidditch gloves -- just what he needed, his old ones had got rather thin -- and Peter got an extra large package of Dungbombs.

Their presents from Sirius were the last. Remus opened the tiny package he'd got, really curious to see what was inside.

It was a small glass globe. There was a miniature Seeker in the Montrose Magpies robes inside it, his hand reaching out as he flew around the globe. As Remus shook the globe, tiny Snitches appeared from seemingly nowhere and started to fly around the globe. The Seeker flew after them until he finally caught one. All other Snitches vanished as the Seeker circled triumphantly the Snitch in his hand, and an applauding noise rose from inside the globe. Then, the Seeker returned to his usual flying pose.

"This is sweet," he said with a smile. "What did he get to you?"

"Care of Magical Creatures and Where to Find Them with colour pictures," replied Peter cheerily. "This is just what I wanted -- he's seemingly tired of me always borrowing his own book."

"Always so thoughtful, our Sirius," laughed Remus. Then his eyes lit up with mischief. "Hey, I bet that the house elves are already awake," he said. "What about stealing some extra breakfast before they serve anything in the Great Hall? I know almost everyone is already awake despite the ungodly hour, but they'll at first wait until the students have adored their presents long enough, and I'm starving."

"Sounds like a perfect idea," said Peter with a smile. "However, as much as I appreciate the sight, I'd rather not let everybody else see it."

It wasn't until then that Remus realized that he wasn't wearing anything but his pyjama bottoms, as he always slept topless. Laughing a bit in slight embarrassment, he started to dress, seeing Peter doing the same. Then, when they were both ready, Remus grasped his fiancé's hand. And thus, they went.

*

"Wake up!" a cheery voice called right into James's ear. "It's Christmas morning! You have to get up right now!"

James grumbled angrily as he slowly sat up. "I don't care what I have to do, it's too bloody early," he muttered, "why the heck are you --" Then he snapped his eyes open, suddenly fully awake. "It's Christmas!" he exclaimed. "It's Christmas already!"

Sirius laughed at his best friend's excitement. "Yeah," he said with a grin. "As your parents have been so nice as to take me here, I thought it'd be the best if we let them sleep for still some time. But, there are already presents we can open without going downstairs."

"I swear," they heard a sleepy voice, "of all the stupid, horrid, bloody Gryffindor things in existence, this is the stupidest one. I'd like to wake up first, Sirius. So, sod off and come back next year."

"Aww, don't be such a spoilsport, Sevvie-poo," James cooed then, reaching a hand to ruffle the dark hair of his fiancé. Severus grumbled something unidentifiable and tried to hide his head under the covers.

Neither of the Gryffindors, of course, cared about it. "Say, James," Sirius said cheerfully, eyeing the form of his Slytherin friend under the covers in the bed next to James, "does he have any clothes on when he sleeps?" With a bit of amusement, he noted that Mr. Snuffles was, while indeed in the bed of his rightful owner, rather obviously more on Severus's side of the bed than James's. Mr. Prongsie, however, had had to settle to standing next to the bed.

"And why're you interested in my fiancé's state of dress or undress?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm going to pull those covers off him at any minute, and I'd rather not see anything I'm not supposed to see." While saying this, the nonbespectacled Animagus grasped the end of the covers like he was getting ready to fulfill his threat.

"You do that, Black, and you're dead," Severus's voice came from under the covers. Then he put his head to sight, blinking sleepily. "Fine, you win," he sighed. "As I'm seemingly in the company of four-year-olds, I am the wiser and give in. Get back in five minutes so we can get properly dressed."

Sirius, of course, was happy to do just so. So, when he some time later returned with various packages, he found the two engaged boys in their robes, also with some packages around them.

James glanced at Severus, noting how pale he looked in his usual black robes. Seemingly it truly hadn't been a bad idea when his Dad had suggested him to get the Slytherin a couple of new robes as well as the stuffed stag, as all his clothes they'd managed to find in the Snape Manor were black. However, he doubted that even colourful robes could take away the unique paleness of his fiancé. It both fascinated and worried him, just like Severus's slender, light body did. The Slytherin looked like he'd been kept in dark all his life, and been fed only the little he needed to live. And, being what he was, James couldn't help but worry slightly.

"Whoopee!" exclaimed Sirius suddenly, shaking him from his thoughts. "Look at what Lucius gave to me!"

James turned to look at his best friend and the object Sirius had in his hands. As he saw the large, ancient book, he gasped aloud. "Most Potente Pranks -- Extended Edition," he read the book's name from its front cover. "That's unbelievable! I thought that no copies of that still existed! How did he get it?"

"There's a note here," said Sirius, picking up the small piece of parchment that stuck from between the pages. "Let's see if it has any explanation. 'Hello, Sirius. When I saw this book in my uncle's bookshelf, I thought that you might have more use for it than he, so I bought it from him. However, you can only use this book under one condition: Neither you nor your friends will ever pull any of these pranks on me or Severus. Have at least that much respect to your fiancé and the one who cannot be ware of your idiocy. -- Lucius."

"How very Lucius, indeed," snorted Severus. "Now just remember to follow the instructions -- knowing Lucius, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd cursed the book to destroy itself the moment you pull one of those pranks on him or me."

"Knowing him, I'm definitely going to follow the instructions," Sirius said. "Otherwise, he could make my life really difficult." For a moment, he looked thoughtful, and the two others nodded understandingly -- even if Severus didn't see his expression, he did understand the tone in his voice. In theory, Lucius could demand sexual interaction from Sirius, or, if the younger wizard refused, have his way forcefully. Of course, he wouldn't do that, but in theory it was possible, as both were over sixteen.

"He would never use that against you," Severus said quietly. "Lucius isn't like that, you know it. The most he would do is giving you a detention until you graduate," he added with a slight smirk. "Along with burning the book, of course."

"I know," sighed Sirius. Then, however, he grinned. "In fact, I should thank my mother," he said cheerily. "If she hadn't picked my fiancé so well, my life would be a lot harder!"

"You're unbelievable, Sirius," huffed Severus, shaking his head. Seemingly nothing was indeed able to depress his cheerful friend for more than a moment. "And get your cat off me, she's trying to chew my sleeves."

"She's not mine," Sirius said, but did take the white kitten to his own lap. "She's Lucius's."

"Then we must correct that little mistake, right?" asked James cheerily. "Here, Padfoot. This is my present to you." He took a present he'd previously kept behind his back. Sirius's eyes lit up with excitement as he saw that there were tiny holes all over the package to let air inside the present.

James watched in amusement as Sirius happily tore into the present. At last the other Gryffindor laughed, and lifted a tiny, midnight black cat from the package. "Thank you, James," he said with a broad grin. "She's absolutely adorable!" Then he frowned, however. "I only have a bad presentiment that my father will kill her as soon as I get home if I take her with me," he sighed.

"Just let Lucius take care of her during the holidays, like you're planning to do with the so-called 'his' cat," suggested Severus calmly. "Do you really think that we -- or Lucius, on that note -- don't realize that this stuff about 'his' kitten is just your way to get yourself a pet, if not namely?"

"I see I've been caught," said Sirius with a shameless grin. "And as others are handing out presents, I might do that as well." With these words, he reached into his pocket. "Here, Severus. Thought I'd give you at least someone who would really care for you. And don't worry, I'm not going to make any claims at him," he then added jokingly.

"What it is?" asked Severus curiously. Then, getting the tiny creature into his hands and feeling it with his fingers, he smirked slightly. "A commaroo. Thank you, Sirius. I had expected a lot worse from you."

"Why, I'm hurt!" exclaimed Sirius. "My one and only friend does not trust me! Oh, woe is me!"

James laughed aloud. "You two are impossible," he said, and grinned. Then, with a sly smile, he said, "What about you, Severus? Don't you have any presents to give?"

"Of course I do," replied the Slytherin immediately. "Accio James's present!" At the same second, a tiny package indeed flew to his hand. Grinning a bit, he handed it to his fiancé. "Here you are."

James opened the present curiously. As he saw a miniature owl cage inside, he frowned in confusion, even more so when Severus tapped it with his wand and made it grow to a usual size. "An owl cage? What would I do with an owl cage?" he asked.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," laughed Sirius. "Trust me, you'll get an owl. And now, no more talking about that!" he ordered. "We've given your parents much enough time to sleep, James. It's about the time we tear them from their warm and comfy beds, it's Christmas morning after all!"

*

The morning went by like could be expected. More presents were exchanged, and James did get his owl -- "Hedwig? Why the hell is her name Hedwig?" "Let it be, Prongs, you don't really want to know -- and a few kisses, too.

At the moment, however, James was not present, as he'd gone to get their old book "How to Handle Your Owl" that Luke had put into the attic after his owl, Mercury, had died three years earlier. So, it was just the Potter parents, their future son-in-law, and their current almost-son. They were all chattering slightly, although Severus was all the time more concentrated in the book he had in his lap, his fingers quickly flying over the pages of more and more text in Braille.

"May I have a look at that book, Severus?" asked Cedric at last. "I used to know Braille once, I'd like to see whether I still have the old skill."

After a moment of hesitating, Severus handed the book to the man. He ran his fingers over the coverlet of the book, examining the title. Suddenly, he chuckled. "You're one very mean boy, aren't you, Severus?" he asked cheerfully from his future son-in-law.

"So I've been told," Severus replied, shrugging. "Haven't let that stop me before."

"What it is?" asked Luke curiously. "What's so funny about the book?"

"Nothing," chuckled his husband. "Just the fact that James most probably doesn't have a clue about what his fiancé is actually studying." Showing the book to the other adult wizard, he said, "This is Animagia Exclusiva, the Braille edition."

"You won't tell him anything," said the Slytherin with a threatening tone. "We've all been working really hard for ages to make sure it will be a surprise for him. I'll be damned if I let you spoil that surprise."

"So, how are your studies going?" inquired Luke. "Have you made any progress?"

"He's going slowly but surely," Sirius cut in. "The worst part is not that he couldn't do it - he's a brilliant guy, I'll grant him that." Ignoring the self-satisfied smirk from the Slytherin, he continued, "No, the problem is just that he cannot see. We already know what his form will be, but all his memories of the exact appearance of any animal are about seven years old. Therefore, he's having a hard time to picture his form in his mind, leave alone picture himself turning into that form. And no, I won't tell you what his form is, you already know more than you should."

"So how are you handling the problem, then?" asked Cedric curiously. "Is it even possible?"

"Yes," said Severus. "You know the Bat Radar charm, right? Well, it's pitiful at best - even some clearer gestures can be ignored in its basic form. However, real bats can for example locate strings thinner than a hair. So, we're currently working on developing my charm. It's quite funny, really - I claim to be tutored by Lupin in Transfiguration, when I'm in fact taught in Charms by Pettigrew. But James would become suspicious if I suddenly changed my word about that. But, about the charm - once I've got it good enough, the boys will conjure me a replica of my animal form. The Bat Radar isn't quite the same as seeing, not in the same way, but it should be enough to allow me to picture my animal form in my mind clearly enough to actually turn into that animal."

"Quite impressive," said Luke, nodding slightly. "You're a remarkable young man, Severus."

"So he is," said James cheerfully, stepping to the room. "Although I think my opinion is based on very different reasons than those you have. And on reasons you wouldn't even want to know, mind you. Why is he so remarkable right now, anyway?"

"Believe me," chuckled Sirius, bending down to take the "Lucius's" kitten to his lap, "you don't particularly even want to know."

Eyeing his family, James took in Sirius's grin, Severus's smirk, and his parents' slightly amused expressions. "You're right," he said then, "I don't think I don't want to know."