Christmas Blessings

It was the noisiest Christmas Snape had ever spent.

At first, the children seemed shy around a stranger. They only dared steal glances at him from the corners of their eyes as they ate.

Good. Just don't bother me.

He had no fondness for any of these chattering little Cornish pixies.

Stony-faced, Snape worked his way through a towering pile of macaroni.

But then—

"Go on. Be confident."

A familiar voice rang out, one that made him want to grind his teeth the moment he heard it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eliana give someone a little push. A tiny boy tottered up to him, holding a glass of milk.

"Professor Snape, merry Christmas."

The boy rattled it off, raised his glass to Snape, then turned and bolted.

Snape: ...

He watched Eliana clap for the boy. "Wow, Paul, you were amazing! So brave! You'll be the greatest captain someday."

The silly little boy beamed at her praise.

Eliana popped a sweet into his mouth, then turned to the others. "Mary~"

A little girl stepped forward with the expression of someone marching to her death. Eliana whispered a few words in her ear, and the girl nodded repeatedly.

Snape's face fell. Sure enough, the little Cornish pixie came toward him.

"P-Professor Snape," the little pixie stammered, "merry Christmas. I hope you're happy every day."

Happy every day?

Snape fixed a dark stare on Eliana, who had pulled another little child aside and was whispering something that was surely no good. He let out a cold breath through his nose.

I have to see that nuisance every day once the holidays are over, and I'm supposed to be happy?

Little Mary fled behind Eliana, then cautiously poked her head out to peek at him.

Smiling, Eliana patted her head and gave her a milk sweet too.

Once the whole string of little children had wished him a merry Christmas, Eliana bounced over to his side. "Professor, merry Christmas!"

Snape's head was buzzing from all the noise.

He was almost too worn down to be angry. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Eliana's eyes curved into crescents. "Wish you a merry Christmas! You're such a good person, Professor. You deserve Christmas wishes from everyone. Now you've received more wishes than anyone else in our orphanage."

Snape said flatly, "I don't believe none of them wished you a merry Christmas."

Eliana tossed her jingling braids. "But everyone here, including me, has wished you a merry Christmas. You haven't said it to me yet, so I've got one less than you."

Snape looked away coldly.

"Huh?" Disappointed, Eliana leaned into his new line of sight. "You really won't say it?"

"Harassing a professor. Five points from Gryffindor."

Eliana's eyes went round. "You can take points off outside school?"

Snape's lips curled in a mocking smile. "You can check the Gryffindor Hourglass yourself when you get back."

If the points aren't gone by then, I'll find Potter at Hogwarts and take them off him. Snape remembered that Potter was staying at school for the holidays.

As Snape left the orphanage, the enthusiastic Mrs. Brown pressed a flatbread stuffed with a whole roast chicken into his hands.

He walked to a shadowy corner, ready to use Apparition.

Then a faint sound came from nearby. He turned toward it, alert.

A small head appeared around the corner, followed by several more. Snape recognized the noisy little pixies from the orphanage. The two children in front exchanged a look to bolster their courage, then jogged unsteadily toward him while the others watched nervously from behind.

Snape stood where he was, impatient.

"P-Professor Snape, Ellie said you're the best professor at school, and that you take good care of her."

The one called Mary stumbled over the words.

"You girls can't even get a sentence out. Let me do it." Paul shoved Mary aside with a look of disdain. Then he turned, met Snape's bottomless black eyes, and started stammering too.

"P-P-Professor Snape, I wanted to say, um, thank you for looking after Ellie. This is a present we got for you."

He held out a little box with trembling hands, then turned and ran.

Mary, left behind on her own: ???

She glared furiously after the fleeing Paul, then forced a slightly shaky smile. "W-Well, Professor, merry Christmas."

She ran after him.

The little heads along the wall vanished one by one. Snape heard their chattering argument carried on the wind.

"What was that you said back there? You were so lame! You didn't even tell him about my present!"

"Wow, if you could do better, why didn't you go?"

"No way. That professor in black is scary."

"He took our presents. He'll be nice to Ellie now, right?"

"You go ask him."

"I'm not going!"

A little head cautiously poked out and met his eyes. It whipped back behind the corner as though it had looked down the barrel of a gun.

A more terrified cry came from behind the wall. "Wah! He's looking at us!"

"Run!"

A flurry of pattering footsteps faded away, leaving the alley utterly silent.

Snape opened the little box. It was full of odds and ends: carefully cleaned seashells, paper cranes folded from shiny candy wrappers, pebbles, a little slingshot... All treasures in a child's eyes.

His mouth twitched. He slipped the little bits of junk into his pocket.

With a full stomach, the children's trinkets, and Mrs. Brown's flatbread, he returned to the desolate silence of Spinner's End, carrying the warmth and bustle of the orphanage with him.