Light in the Dark

The Yule Ball

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Five days later, Severus got the book with many rituals pertaining to the dead, bringing back that which was lost or healing soul damage. She told him that when he found the ritual he wanted, to write to her so she could get the ingredients fresh because most have to be fresh or they risk subpar results or a backlash. He also received a letter that he was expected to visit on Christmas with Tom or his Nana would be most displeased. He chuckled and sent off another missive, confirming the visit and thanking his Nana for her help. He gave the book to Lucius to read since the man seemed to be heading this little task, Enperadorea reading over the blonde's shoulder.

This made Severus curious because as far as he knows Naragi and Nagini cannot read English, Parselscript yes, but nothing else. So Enperadorea was not a normal snake because Naragi's bond with Marvolo was very strong, it was how he knew that his mate was not dead, his Familiar would have died with him. But then again, Tom was still an infant and it is possible that Naragi lived as long as she had because her master's offspring was still a Hatchling and needed guidance and protection. While Severus could provide that, he could not teach him much about being a Naga. Naragi, like all Magical Serpents, was born with eons worth of knowledge and experience. This made her a very valuable tutor for his son.

But Enperadorea was a puzzle. However he would not bother with it for now, he had three young boys to shop for, and a soon to be 12 year old to get extra presents and his favorite cake. Maybe he could bake it like he use to before the stresses of being a working mom took over and he was forced to buy the cake. Tom never complained, but Severus could tell that his son prefered the homemade taste verse the lackluster bakery perfection. Severus looked up when the boys came rushing into the parlor. They paused long enough to greet them before Draco quickly grabs the tape dispencer off his father's desk, a quick 'we need this' being shouted and off they went again, Tom had one in his hand, the silver bats telling Severus that his son grabbed that one from his own office and Harry had one too, most likely Narcissa's.

"What are they doing?" Lucius asks as he blinks confused.

"§Gift wrapping..§" Enperadorea says. "§They kicked Naragi, Nagini and I out so we would not accidentally spoil the gifts they got for everyone, they will wrap the gifts to each other in their rooms respectively. I am assuming your sons have never wrapped gifts before.§"

"And how do we know that Hadrian knows how?" Lucius asks back.

"§The filthy Muggles.§" Was all he hissed and the two men growl.

Enperadorea knows that Harry was quite good at gift wrapping, having watched as that horse faced woman forced him to wrap all the gifts for the neighbors or the winter charity events. The only ones she ever wrapped herself was for her precious 'Duddy Wuddy' and her husband. Shaking off the memories, he kept reading over Lucius' shoulder...

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Yule arrived and the Manor was a glittering Winter Wonderland, a grand feast and Ball had been arranged and invites had been sent out with RSVPs coming back almost at the same time. Unfortunately, Hermione couldn't come because of previous family plans, but the boys had made sure to send her gifts to her before her family left so that on Christmas she could open them. Harry sat in the bathtub, Enperadorea soaking with him, though he kept his back to Harry as he usually did when they bathed together. Dobby was washing Harry's growing hair, combing it out and carefully adding a special oil in to help tame it down. But it seemed the longer it grew, the weight was helping to tame the wild curls.