Severus & Serena One Shots

Christmas Cookies

This is just fluffy fluff. I love Christmas and making cookies has always been my favorite thing to do. It brings people together no matter what your lifestyle is like. I always enjoy the contrast between seemingly bright and happy situations and the dark and snarky personality of Snape. Enjoy!
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"What are you doing up so early my little dungeon bat?" Severus teased her that morning as he shuffled out of their bedroom, just barely after dawn.

She laughed. Night was still her favorite time. It held a mood of contemplation, thoughts were silenced, and she was free to create and relax. She made herself get up early, it was two days before Christmas and she was ready to make her holiday cookies and candies.

Last year she had done it alone like always. Her relationship had felt too new with Severus to let him in on her favorite holiday tradition. It was something that she held sacred, the only thing that she could still treasure from her childhood.

This year they were spending Christmas together as a couple, in their home. The mood still surreal. She couldn't believe that she had a home, with a man who she loved. Safe. Warm. Happy. She tried to stomp down the nagging thought that continually threatened to overtake her; that something bad was going to happen. The other shoe would drop and she would be alone again after having finally experienced love. Shaking her head, she tried to ignore it and continued rolling out sugar cookie dough, the muggle way.

"I'm making cookies for Christmas. I do it every year. Want to help?" she held up a reindeer shaped cookie cutter as she began pressing down into the dough.

Severus looked skeptical as he watched her cut out assorted animals and shapes, re-rolling the dough and cutting out more. He eyed the counter of colorful sprinkles and candies, chocolates and icing. It was outlandish, but the way Serena's eyes sparkled hopefully made him reconsider.

"What do I do?" he asked kindly.

She grinned at him, holding out a hand mixer.

Severus stared at it in complete ignorance. Something about his naivety made her happy. It was a way she could teach him, let him into her life, and make some connections to the muggle world that she still missed often.

"Baking is like potions. You need the exact amount of ingredients at the exact time or it won't turn out. It takes practice but I think you're up to it" she informed him, still gleefully reveling in his confusion.

Determination spread across his face, smirk in full swing. She quickly explained about sugar cookie dough, handing him a recipe card. She kept an eye on him as he carefully poured out teaspoons of vanilla, eyed a stick of butter like it was a live bomb, and scooped perfectly level cups of sugar with a knife. Turning to take out the hot cookies from the oven, she took her eyes off his procedure.

The mixer turned on and she felt a fine mist fall over her hair. Slowly, she turned around to see Severus standing with the mixer, black hair covered with white flour, emerald green robe saturated. His face was frozen in disbelief. He had stuck the running mixer into the dry ingredients. Classic beginner mistake.

She clapped a hand to her mouth, then decided it wasn't worth it. Severus was a prideful man and it was a guessing game as to what he would choose to be sour about.

Doubled over she began howling in laughter. The stern and emotionless professor covered head to toe in flour surrounded by multicolored confections. No one would believe it if they saw it. Straightening up, she leaned up on the tips of her toes and kissed him. He smiled beneath her lips.

"I believe I performed a step out of order...My batter blew up" he deduced concisely, a grin breaking out on his thin face.

"I would say you're correct. Want to try again?" she asked with a lilt, humoring his potions vernacular; easily cleaning up the mess with a flick of her wand. Some things weren't better the muggle way.

"I'm no quitter. Is this something Muggles do? My family wasn't one for holidays" he asked, placing butter and sugar into a clean bowl.

She rolled a dough ball in bright green sprinkles before popping it onto a cooking sheet. Slytherin style sugar cookies. Working side by side in a warm kitchen, snow falling outside, soft instrumental music in the background...It was a Christmas movie, like the ones she used to watch.

"Most families in America have their own traditions but cookies and overconsumption of sugar are high on the list. My family did this every year and we would hand out cookies to all the kids in our town...It's something that always made me happy. Christmas time is what I think the whole year should feel like: joy, love, and warmth. I needed that little bit of hope for myself after I found out I was a witch..." she divulged a little bit of her life to him.

Her family had abandoned her when she was accepted to school. He knew this, but the details were patchy. The same as his family history. Each wanting to keep the grim and dreary details to themselves. Because once it was out in the open, there was no taking it back. If it was kept inside, then maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe it wasn't as traumatizing as it seemed. If it was spoken aloud, that gave it power to be frightening and real. Letting out details here and there felt safer.

He nodded solemnly, holding up a nearly perfect bowl of batter. She gave him a satisfied thumbs up and watched as he rolled it perfectly flat and picked up a snowman cutter. The juxtaposition was off the scale hilarious.

"Thank you for allowing me to do this with you...I rather enjoy confectionary alchemy" he thanked her with a smile on his face.

This moment would go in a pensieve. It should be locked in a vault. It was perfect.