The Beginning - Things start again

I held my god child in my arms and looked down at her tiny little smiling face. I adore her, my little god daughter. She was lovely, curly brown hair and lovely hazel eyes, every bit like her mother. I started to sing her a lullaby.

Christmas time, and the livin' is easy

The fire is burnin' and there's snow in the sky

Oh! Your Daddy's rich and your Ma is good lookin'

So, hush little baby, don't you cry . . .

One of these mornin's you're gonna rise up singin'

Then you'll spread your wings, and you'll take to the sky

But 'till that mornin' there's a nothin' can harm you,

With Daddy and Mammy standin' by . . .

I look around the infant's room. I had often been in here but now he really saw it. The rich furnishings, bought specially. All the toys on the shelves and the expensive hand made and sewn robes for when she was old enough. All the best things money could buy. It would be a curse and a blessing in the future that is if the child doesn't show self control. She could turn out like a Malfoy. But then she would never want for anything, she would always have the best of everything. Just like her father wanted for her.

Who would have ever guessed that the child's father would be capable of giving her all this, owning all this. Owning her in fact. It was almost impossible to guess the paternal influences on the child. Almost, every now and again a resembles would show, in a flash and disappear almost as quickly.

"Well my darling little Amber, I suppose I had better go downstairs its time for your bed. Anyway Father Christmas should be here soon and this will be your first Christmas." he said putting the tiny child back into her crib and bending down to kiss her head.

"Merry Christmas Amber Janet Snape." I said and left the room and headed down the vast stairs into the 'evening' room.

"Oh Harry you were gone a while, did amber go off alright?" she said handing Ginny a drink.

"Yes she went to sleep fine. Well once I had stopped keeping her awake by talking to her." I smile and sit down on the arm of Ginny's chair and put my arm round her, round my wife.

Hermione smiled she knows what a soft spot I have for my god daughter.

We heard a noise outside the house before the door opened and a figure entered the house brushing snow off as they went. Hermione walked out into the hall and took the cloak of the figure and kissed them.

"Severus, how was London? Busy?" she says as she brushes the snow off the cloak and hangs it up, casting a drying spell on it and a draught charm on the puddles in the hall.

"Yes it was rather busy and damn cold." I heard Severus Snape's cold voice say in the hall before Hermione started giggling.

"Severus stop we have guests." She says backing into the room.

"Evening." Severus said shortly to the assembly of people in the room.

He didn't look too pleased at being invaded and not being notified. The room wasn't full of strangers, not really. There was me and my wife Ginny. Ron and his son Alfie. Alfies's mother was unknown. She had left Ron with the child, sent it to him and left it on the doorstep of the burrow when Alfie was just 3. They had never been able to track her. At first Mrs Weasly had been very cynical that it could be Ron's son. But there was no mistaking the shock of bright red hair. Alfie was 5 now and an intensely quiet little boy, all large staring brown eyes and a pale face. Apart from that there was Neville, Remus and Sirius.

After surveying the room for a few seconds Severus seemed to soften slightly, realizing that he had obviously agreed to this, or that Hermione would kill him if he caused a scene now.

"Would anyone like another drink?" he asked almost friendly. "Or something to eat?" he didn't wait for the answer, but went straight into the kitchen.

For a moment the whole room was stunned and then we stared at each other in amazement. Severus Snape, being hospitable? Was this for real?

"Well the sly old dog! He's been human all this time after all." Sirius laughed.

We all started to giggle.

"Hey are we staying the night?" Ron asked.

"Yes of course you are!" Hermione said walking in with a two bowls, one full of marshmallows and the other full of chestnuts. "It wouldn't be a real Christmas without you all." She smiled and handed Alfie a toasting fork and the bowl of marshmallows. She put the other bowl down and took Alfie to the fireplace and started to show him how to toast the marshmallows.

Severus walked in with a bottle of Ogden's fire whisky and coffee on a tray with a beaker of juice for the small boy sat trying to eat gooey marshmallows and getting most of them down Hermione's clothes as she assisted him.

"I'd like to say something." Severus said and cleared his throat slightly.

"Uh oh we're going to get detention!" Sirius joked again.

"Not quite." Severus said and he was smiling. "I think we can all agree I have been a total idiot in the past. Unfair and unjust and basically a bastard." He said as everyone shouted at him because there was a child present.

"But I want to say I'm sorry and believe me its a change for good. And its all because of our gorgeous Hermione and the darling little angel upstairs asleep in her cot. So thank you." He said and sat down.

Everyone clapped and laughed. It was so nice to forget the past years quarrels and battles, all the dark times that in the year just past had been the climax of the dark revolt and the eventual victory of the allies.

At about 2am when Alfie had finally succumbed tot the sleep he had been fighting we all traipsed upstairs to our allocated rooms. Originally Neville was supposed to share a room with Sirius and Remus but he complained so much about the noises they made that he ended up sleeping on the couch in Ron's room. This didn't work out too well either as Alfie squeaked in his sleep and the wall that the couch was against was the one next to where Severus and Hermione's bed was, needless to say Neville did not get a good night sleep.

The next morning Neville and Ron were woken up at 7am with Alfie bouncing on their stomachs squeaking something about Father Christmas and clutching a stocking. Unfortunately poor Alfie had to wait until everyone, including Amber was awake.

It was 8.30am before Alfie was allowed to open his presents. We had gathered in the evening room again as that's were the tree and the presents were. We all watched the delighted little boy open present after present that people had bought him. things like a toy broom and a toy snitch (from myself and Ginny), New robes and clothes, (Hermione and Severus), toy trucks (muggle ones, from Neville) and jokes and tricks from Zonko's along with an endless supply of honeydukes sweets (from Remus and Sirius). We all waited eager to see what the largest present was, the last one to be opened was from Ron and had only been put there last night after we had all go to bed. It was a large boarhound. Much like fang, the dog Hagrid used to own. It was still only a young dog, not a puppy but still very young. Alfie adored it from the first moment he saw it.

"Is it mine? All for me? Daddy? What's his name?" he was flushed with excitement and he couldn't stand still, the bunny ears on his slippers were bouncing about.

"It's a girl. You have to name her." Ron said beaming.

"I'm going to call her... I think... erm what about... Trista." Alfie announced. "Yes Trista I like that name."

Ron's smile had left his face and he was looking very hard at his little boy.

"Why Trista?" Hermione asked soothing the atmosphere that was building.

"Because that's what my mummy was called." Alfie said and was so absorbed with his new friend that he didn't see the looks on everybody's face.

"Well that's nice isn't it?" Hermione said trying to lighten the mood.

Silence.

"How about we give each other our presents then?" Severus asked shifting a wriggling Amber in his arms.

Hermione took charge and opened all the tiny presents that people had given Amber. Mainly plush toys and tiny clothes, some sentimental things like ornaments and pictures of her in ornate flames. Hermione practically cried when she saw them all. Every present she opened she would show to Amber who was contentedly gurgling on her fathers lap. Then it came to exchanging our own presents. Ginny and I gave Severus and Hermione portkey tickets to go to Egypt and a promise to baby-sit Amber. We got Ron a 5 year season Ticket to the Chudly Cannons and the ticket included children under 11 went free as well. For Neville we bought a new designer cloak to go with his new important post in the Ministry. For Remus and Sirius we had an awful time thinking of what to get them so we gave them vouchers for a week of resting and relaxing in the Blue Zephyr Health Spa, the best in the wizarding world. (I shan't say what everyone else got it would take too long. Except it caused a riot when Remus presented Severus with his present, a whip and handcuffs and gave him a knowing wink.)

Ginny surprised us all.

"Harry and I decided not to buy each other presents this year, it seemed silly. But I'm afraid I broke the deal because I have a present for Harry and its something I think he is going to enjoy immensely." She stopped talking and came and took hold of my hand and pulled me up and looked into my eyes.

"I'm pregnant Harry. I'm going to have our baby." She said smiling.

I can hardly contain myself, I know how Alfie was feeling. I pick Ginny up and twirl her round.

"Really? Your having a baby?" I cry in excitement before kissing her hard and hugging her tight.

It takes me a few moments to remember that everyone else is in the room.

"Oh Ginny I'm so pleased for you." Hermione squealed while Remus, Sirius, Neville and even Ron (but he wasn't smiling, obviously still preoccupied.), shook my hand. Severus even came and gave me a hug.

Christmas dinner was a fun event. Mountains of food, and this year Hermione had decided on Victorian Christmas as a theme. So we had goose and chestnuts and all the usual Victorian accompaniments and accoutrements. For pudding there was plum pudding, a large Christmas cake, Yule log and an enormous trifle. Alfie, having been hyper active all day had lost all his energy and fell asleep face first into his trifle.

After Alfie and Amber were safely in bed we took a tray of coffee into the evening room and discovered a huge gingerbread house there. Although we all said we couldn't eat another bite we all managed to make a reasonable dent in the gingerbread house.

For the first time since the end of the war I felt like it really was worth it. All those losses really did help the cause. And the cause was really worth fighting for.