Chapter 65. Christmas
December 24, 1976. Hogwarts
Studying the ceiling, where dry, fluffy snow kept drifting down, Severus weighed whether he should stay at Hogwarts for those two weeks and finish with the Room of Requirement, or return to Diagon Alley and continue working there on potions and the artifact. Slughorn was also staying in the castle to watch the students along with several other professors and the Headmaster, and Slughorn was the one who suggested he remain in the castle and continue his studies.
It was a good idea, of course, but he definitely would not be able to properly handle his work in the Room of Requirement, and he doubted he could act covertly with only about two dozen students left. He would be in plain sight of five professors and Dumbledore, and that was not something he could ignore.
Then he glanced at the huge Christmas tree behind the staff table, decorated with gold balls, stars, and candles. He sighed tiredly, took a knife, cut off a piece of steak, and fed it to Nagini, who had suddenly slipped out from under his robes. She swallowed it and immediately slipped back under his robes again.
"Delicious!"
"Glad to hear it, but tell me, how do you chew? If I remember correctly, snakes usually swallow food whole," Severus asked with mild interest, mostly to distract himself, because he still had a whole day to think it over.
"It is not difficult. I help with my tongue, holding the food and biting. It is uncomfortable, but I am used to it," Nagini answered calmly in his mind. She emerged again and took another piece. "You eat too."
"I would gladly." Severus glanced at the deer, the dog, and the rat in the corner, all of them staring at him with open fury. "What do you think of venison stew?"
"Severus. do not dirty your hands on them. They are idiots. Do not pay attention."
He could not help smiling as he stroked Nagini's head with a finger.
"I am not talking about them. I would not feed that rotten meat to pigs, not even to stray pigs. I mean normal venison. The day before yesterday I asked Tobby to buy good meat. After all, it is New Year. We should spoil the children with something very tasty and unusual, and the Headmaster did not refuse my gift. Lately funding has been very tight because of this war." After that, Nagini looked at him strangely.
"And you still call me a cunning one. You should be ashamed, mister!" They both glanced at the deer.
Nearby, Regulus watched with interest as Severus fed Nagini, as if he was communicating with her, judging by the emotions on his face. Nagini herself behaved oddly too, as if she understood their speech. Sometimes Regulus would say something stupid, and it seemed to him that Nagini looked at him with contempt, or hissed as if she was laughing at him. It was too strange, and he felt embarrassed to ask.
"What is it?" Severus asked, noticing Regulus's thoughtful stare.
"Just thinking. Do not pay attention," Regulus said quickly with a crooked smile. Severus shrugged and went back to feeding Nagini, not forgetting himself either. No one could compare to house-elves when it came to cooking.
After breakfast, after a long bout of persuasion from Nagini, Severus finally agreed to rest today. Lessons were canceled for the holiday, and he had promised to give Regulus some attention, to see how far he had advanced with that spell, and how much the quality of his core had improved, because strength and casting speed depended on it.
Regulus did not disappoint him. He had truly given one hundred and twenty percent. In only a few months he had risen from apprentice to beginning master, and he had already managed to form two spears, and had nearly formed a third, despite having no affinity with fire at all, which spoke to his talent.
In his opinion, Regulus could reach middle master rank by the end of fifth year, and by seventh he might even reach high. But even then Regulus would hardly compare to the professors, because even if their cores were on the same level, the difference in experience was far too great. Of course, there are exceptions, like himself. At the rank of Archmage in his past life, Alan had killed a dozen Great Archmages with his own hands, and at the rank of Master, with the help of dark flame, he destroyed an Archmage with a material core, which shocked many. Then the hunt for him began, and his name spread across the kingdom.
And after lunch, leaving Regulus alone to study a new spell he had recently created using runes from this world, Severus left the room and wandered around the castle. The corridors were decorated with garlands, wreaths of holly and mistletoe, and all sorts of toys, brooms, hats, stars.
This time he was not looking for anything. He was simply spending time with Nagini. From the Astronomy Tower there was a beautiful view of the snow-dusted grounds and roof, and the shining village not far from Hogwarts. In the center stood a huge Christmas tree decorated with toys and garlands, and happy children ran around it while cheerful adult wizards watched.
A festive mood filled the castle, even though the civil war had not stopped. Still, no one wanted to think about it today.
Closer to seven, Severus left the tower and headed down toward the Great Hall. Several Slytherins joined him on the way, along with Regulus, all of them especially excited because he had taught Regulus another powerful spell. Regulus could barely wait to go home tomorrow and start practicing.
They reached the hall ten minutes before dinner. Most of the professors and the Headmaster were already seated, and the students were gradually taking their places.
A few minutes later, light music began to play, and food started appearing on the tables. The main dish, of course, was turkey, the traditional Christmas meal, and beside it lay steaks, ribs, brisket, tenderloin, and other deer meat. Of course, there were also salads, fruit, and juice.
The students, and some of the teachers too, were surprised, but the meal began quickly enough.
In the corner, a deer sat at a small table with his minions, a dog and a rat, and they were also having dinner. James did not understand why, at the sight of beef, he felt a faint disgust. He had never felt that before. Still, he forced himself to take a bite, and he was surprised to find it was delicious. The meat was tender and had a strange, specific scent that only sharpened his appetite.
"Strange meat. I have eaten beef many times, but why is this one a little tougher than usual, and tastier."
His friends did not lag behind. They eagerly attacked the food, ignoring the turkey, because they ate turkey every year anyway, often on holidays, and this beef looked much tastier and smelled magnificent.
Dinner passed calmly. Students chatted cheerfully. Finally Potter finished the ribs, and if he could have, he would have smiled in satisfaction. But the next moment the bones vanished from his plate, surprising him. He was even pleased, thinking dessert would finally appear.
As soon as I get home, I will ask Father to find that bastard who did this to us, he thought. But for some reason, as he thought about it, he kept looking at Severus, who was smiling and talking with Regulus. He is definitely connected to this somehow. And according to Lily, that bastard is interested in Dark Magic. I need to remember to tell Father so he deals with him.
And then, in the middle of his thoughts, dessert finally appeared on the table, and his heart nearly stopped. A deer's head lay right on his plate, an apple in its mouth, steam rising as if it had just been cooked. It had no eyes or fur, only two olives where the eyes should have been.
When he was about to fling it away in panic, the apple and olives dropped out, and the head smiled like a real demon.
Horror danced in Potter's eyes, and in Sirius's and Pettigrew's too, because they could not look away in shock as it squinted.
"I hope you enjoyed my meat." a quiet voice said. Their blood froze, because it came from the head. "And now I want to eat. EEEEAT!" It opened its toothless mouth and flew at James. James froze in place, and the next moment his eyes rolled back. With a dull thud he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, foam spilling from his mouth.
At the same moment, Sirius howled and lunged at the head to protect his best friend. Pettigrew, like a real rat, jumped off the table and fled in terror toward the professors.
The barking drew the other students' attention, and they stared at the strange scene in bewilderment: a deer lying on the floor with foam at his mouth, a dog tearing a turkey apart, and a rat sitting in salad, squeaking something at a tomato. It was too surreal, especially when they realized these were not animals, but people.
Noticing the commotion, Dumbledore rose from the table and, seeing it, quickly walked over to the animals.
He noticed the deer head on the plate at once, then looked down at Potter.
"Madam Pomfrey, please examine him," Dumbledore said with a tired sigh. Looking at the rat and the dog, he immediately understood why they were acting that way, and with a flick of his wand he froze them.
Sirius blinked, then stared at the turkey in confusion.
"Calm down, Mr. Black. Everything is all right."
At the same time, Nagini narrowed her eyes and looked at the smiling Severus, who was calmly drinking juice and paying no attention to the mood in the hall.
"Want some?" Severus asked, offering her a piece of venison. Nagini stared at him for a few more seconds, then swallowed it in one gulp. "More?" He cut off another piece. Nagini ate it just as quickly and finally looked away. "What a cunning one."
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