Saturday, December 11, 2010

Harry Potter Holiday Blogfest - A Surprise Christmas Gift

Michael has created a wonderful Harry Potter Holiday Blogfest. If you get your entry in by Sunday afternoon, you can still join in the Harry Potter fun :http://writing-art-and-design.blogspot.com/p/harry-potter-blogfest-my-first.html




A Surprise Christmas Gift

Twelve-year-old Severus Snape hunched over the thick volume of Moste Potente Potions. It was a book from the restricted section, but he talked Professor Slughorn into giving him a pass. The Head of Slytherin had been in a rather jolly mood with the holiday season, so the request was too easy to obtain for the dark-haired Slytherin.

A slight noise startled him, and he glanced around the library. Not a soul was stirring, not even the Grey Lady, who he'd seen earlier. The librarian wasn't even there. Then again, it was Christmas morning, and he had chosen to remain at Hogwarts instead of returning home. Yet, he couldn't remain in the dorms because the other Slytherins were opening their presents. He didn't want to show him his pair of repaired socks and a box of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. He hated Bertie Botts, and his mum knew it too.

His finger ran down the page as he memorized the ingredients for the Polyjuice potion. He looked at this page often once he found it. If only he could be someone else for a day, but he shook his head, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. He'd never be able to get the items necessary to brew the potion. He couldn't afford powdered bicorn horn or shredded boomslang skin.

"Happy Christmas, Sev." The voice was soft, feminine, and familiar, but he still jumped and tensed his shoulders.

"Hello, Lily," he said without turning around to face her. "I thought you'd be home for Christmas."

She laughed and sat beside him. "It was bad enough last year. Petunia has been rather frightful since I started attending Hogwarts. I decided this year I would stay. Now, what are you doing in the library on Christmas morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing." His voice drawled over the words. Everything was much simpler between the two of them when they were in Spinner's End. "You shouldn't be sitting here beside me."

"Think it would ruin my reputation?" Lily's voice contained an amused lilt.

"It would ruin mine more," he said, and the two friends shared a hesitant laugh.

"I got you something." She removed a wrapped box from her school robes and set it upon the book.

He stared at the shiny green and silver paper. Slytherin colors. It was too kind of her. They really shouldn't still be friends, but he couldn't help himself. He liked Lily. "Er…thanks. I didn't get you anything, though."

"Don't worry about it. I hope you like it." She smiled at him, and he finally glanced over and met her green-eyed gaze.

He cleared his throat. "Thanks again."

"Well, don't just sit there. Open it." 

"Sure." His long fingers tugged at the ribbon. Then he unwrapped the rest of the gift. She had given him chocolate frogs. Not that he would tell anyone else, he did like to collect the cards. She knew him too well, and he felt happier from the small gift.

19 comments:

Nicki Elson said...

Aw, Lily knows him better than anyone. A very nice peek into Snape's past.

Cherie Reich said...

Thank you, Nicki! Snape is my favorite character, so I just had to use him. :D

erica and christy said...

Everyone deserves a little happiness during Christmas. Nice entry!
erica

Cherie Reich said...

Thank you, Erica!

Dominic de Mattos said...

That is so touching and well written.

Who knows what might have happened if James had not finally caught Lily's heart?!

Well done Cherie.

:Dom

Cherie Reich said...

Thanks, Dominic. If I had read the post after the initial one about it being interactive, I would have written something completely different. Oh, well. I enjoyed writing a little Severus-Lily scene.

Editor Cassandra said...

Yay chocolate frogs!

Cute story, thanks for sharing it!

Cherie Reich said...

Thanks! I love chocolate frogs, mainly for the cards. :D

Anonymous said...

Love your take on the theme. It shows you are a great harry Potter fan with all the details, too. :O)

Cherie Reich said...

Thank you, Madeleine. I absolutely love Harry Potter. I wrote some fanfic of it between 2003-2005, and I've roleplayed in J.K. Rowling's fantastical world since 2001. So, I had to write something for this blogfest.

Jessica said...

Aww, I love Snape. And chocolate frogs! ^_^

Lisa Galek said...

This is cute! I wrote about Snape and Lily, too. I just have a soft spot for them :)

Melissa said...

Awe Lily and Snape! The beautiful romance that never was but could've been. Very, very cute.

N. R. Williams said...

Nice to meet you Cherie. This is well written. Snape is such a sad figure in many ways. Nice you portrayed a part of his life that had some happiness.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Michael Di Gesu said...

Well Cherie,

I am not holding any entry against not being in the story. I was a huge misunderstanding that I tried to correct days ago. So don't worry about it. If you wish to write another(not necessary for contest) I am not making my final decision until tomorrow night. Email me and let me know if you do.

Now for this entry.

I like Snape, too. His heart was broken at such a young age and he was an abused child. You showed a tender scene between Lily and Severus. I enjoyed reading it.

You showed great description and details. Well done.

Thank you so much for entering. There were several Lily stories, but this one was different showing her friendship to Severus on Christmas morning.

Michael

Brenda Drake said...

Awwww how sweet of Lily to get Snape a present. I enjoyed reading this and love the interaction with the characters. Well done!! :D

Su said...

No wonder everyone loves Lily. She's so sweet! This story is great.

William Farnsworth said...

This is what I was hoping would have been included in Deathly Hallows! I was sure J.K. would give us a more detailed taste of this! Very well done!

watch movies online said...

Really very nice blog.I think one of the biggest stories of the year was the Sea World incident, but it just seemed so unhappy of a thing to vote for.... I found the Singapore news to be more pleasant.
I suppose Harry Potter Land really was one of the biggest deals this year (the turnout for it was impressive I suppose, although somewhat expected maybe?). I just thought that the Singapore park had a lot of interesting elements and features (it seems a little different from the other Universal Parks..... and some of the rides are pretty unique to me).
I really enjoyed reading about Universatl Singapore and seeing pictures of it (and it's attractions), and it was probably the thing I searched youtube to find footage of the most this past year (out of the things on the list). Only thing is..... I wish I would not have to get a passport to go see it!!