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Measure of a Man	By : SailorSol Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 71274 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Disclaimer: I don�t own them, please don�t sue me.

MEASURE OF A MAN

Why do you ask him move to heaven and earth

To prove his love has worth?

Would he walk on water?

Would he run through fire?

Would he stand before you,

When it is down to the wire?

Would he gave his life up

To be all he can?

Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

Chapter 11: Christmas

Harry woke early on Christmas morning. He had acquired the habit of waking early when he was very young, and he could not break himself of it. Now, he was burning up with curiosity to see what Severus and Draco thought of his Christmas presents.

With Lucius� help, he had sent to China for some rare potions ingredients, and a set of jade, crystal, and porcelain phials and mortars and vessels for potions making. He had also found, through Lucius, a wizard in Central Europe that was licensed to sell dragon parts. He had obtained an entire heart, and an assortment of scales.

Draco had been more of a problem. What did you give the wizard that had everything? Draco already had a portion of his heart and soul. What else could he give him? Again, Lucius had provided assistance.

A carefully written message to Magical Menagerie and a few thousand galleons later, and carefully packed into a box with Draco�s name on it was the most exotic familiar possible: a feathered serpent from Mexico. The egg was about to hatch, and was under stasis until the lid was lifted. It would hatch a few minutes later.

As always, Hermione was simple. Harry had written to an antiquarian book dealer and had obtained an exhaustive treatise on alchemy written by Le Comte de Saint Germain while he lived in Paris.

Lucius had been as difficult as Draco. With Severus� assistance, Harry had obtained a bottle of two hundred year-old brandy, and it was waiting for Lucius, wrapped in Slytherin green.

There were also presents for Dumbledore and McGonagall, who would be joining them for breakfast.

He remembered a chance comment that Dumbledore had made in his first year, and had ordered two dozen pair of socks: six cotton, six virgin wool, six silk, and six made of the wool of a South American animal called an alpaca.

McGonagall�s present was a thick cloak of the same alpaca wool, in the dark forest green that she seemed to favor. It would keep her warm at Quidditch matches.

After he had seen the cloak, Harry had ordered one for each of the others in his new �family�. Draco�s was Slytherin green, Hermione�s was a dark blue, and the cloaks for Lucius and Severus were both black.

He wriggled out of bed as carefully as possible, but before he had completely cleared the mattress, Severus� ebon eyes were fixed on him.

�So eager to leave, Harry?� he asked.

�I have to go to the loo,� Harry said. �Besides, I�m anxious to see what materialized under the tree while we were asleep.�

�Since we�re all awake,� Draco�s voice broke in. �We might as well get up. I can�t see Granger lolling around in bed.�

�I don�t know,� Harry said. �I suppose we�ll just have to find out.�

�Besides,� Draco continued. �I�m getting hungry.�

Severus sighed over the appetites of teenage boys, and climbed out of the bed.

***** *****

When they entered the sitting room, they found Dumbledore and McGonagall seated on the sofa, both sipping cups of hot tea. Hermione was fussing with tea for Lucius, and he was fussing with some toast for her. Harry grinned happily, and he didn�t miss the twinkle in Dumbledore�s eye as he watched the two of them interact.

After everyone had eaten something, it was time to distribute presents. Hermione insisted on being first.

Hermione�s present to Dumbledore was a large jar of something that looked like Bertie Bott�s.

�Those are a muggle candy,� she told him. �There�s no unsafe flavors in there. They�re all good. Harry told me about your bad luck with Bertie Bott�s.�

Her present to McGonagall was a box of pheasant feather quills, just like the one that the professor wore in her hat.

She gave Harry and Draco both books on Dark Arts and on Occlumency, and she gave Severus his own copy of Most Potente Potions.

�I know you don�t have one, Professor,� she said. �I also know that you wanted one desperately. Lucius helped me find it.�

�My thanks to both of you, then,� Severus said, hefting the book. �This is a most welcome addition to my library.�

When Hermione gave Lucius his present, she watched him with uncertainty while he unwrapped it.

Lucius looked at the device curiously, and then looked at his future wife, puzzled.

�It�s a calculator,� Hermione explained. �It�s something Muggles use to do accounting. It adds up figures without making mistakes.�

�How curious,� Lucius said. �Harry, do you know anything about these things?�

�Something about them,� Harry admitted. �They taught us how to use them in the Muggle school I went to before I started at Hogwarts.�

�Well, perhaps between you and Hermione, you can teach me to use it,� Lucius said. �I assume that it will work in a magical building?�

�Yes,� Hermione said. �I use one to check my Arithmancy work before I turn it in.�

�My turn,� Harry said. �You�ve given out all your presents.�

Harry made quick work of handing out the presents, and then watched, hardly daring to breathe, while Severus opened his present.

The smile on his face as he pulled out each item would have been worth ten times the price.

After Severus� gift, Draco eagerly opened his box, and then pulled out the elongated egg with a puzzled expression.

The egg had barely cleared the box before it started rocking, causing him to grab it tighter. He looked at his father, and then at Harry with worried eyes.

�What do I do?� he asked.

�You make sure you are the first thing it sees,� Harry said. �They imprint at hatching. It will never let anyone else touch it.�

�What is it?� Draco wanted to know.

�Something completely appropriate for a Slytherin,� Harry replied, grinning.

The egg gave a convulsive shudder and a large piece of it broke off. A small head, glistening with fluid and covered with wet down, poked out. Draco raised the egg to the level of his eyes and looked at the tiny creature.

�Hello there,� he said. �Come on out, no one will hurt you.�

Hesitantly, the newly hatched animal moved out onto Draco�s wrist. It raised the front part of its body and unfurled tiny wings that had been folded immediately behind its head.

�A feathered serpent?� Hermione asked. �I read about those. They�re supposed to be very hard to catch, but very loyal if you can tame them.�

�It�s easier to have them from hatching,� Lucius said. �The Dark Lord had one at one point, but he killed it in a fit of temper.�

�His loss,� Harry said.

Lucius picked up a covered bowl that no one had noticed until now and handed it to Draco.

�Feed it, Draco,� he said. �Any hatchling is ravenous.�

Draco took the bowl, removed the cover, and started feeding his serpent bits of chopped meat.

A delighted sound from Dumbledore made them all turn towards him. The headmaster was looking through the socks that Harry had given him, chuckling with glee.

�Thank you very much, my boy,� he said. �I am delighted that you remembered one comment that I made so long ago.�

McGonagall was also stroking the new cloak, smiling maternally at Harry.

�This will be wonderful at Quidditch matches, dear boy,� she said. �Thank you so much.�

Harry held his breath while Lucius unwrapped his present. The older wizard was pleased with the brandy, and the alpaca wool cloak, and admired the silver snake clasp. He thanked Harry for them rather formally, and then he pulled the other item out of the bottom of the box the cloak had been in.

Harry hadn�t known what else to get Lucius beyond the cloak and the brandy. A present was supposed to be specially chosen for the recipient. He had been at his wit�s end when he had stopped by Weasley�s Wizard Wheezes during his shopping trip. An innocuous item on the counter had struck him as funny, and he had purchased it on an impulse.

Lucius pulled out an elegant leather bag, suitable for carrying purchases while shopping. On the outside of the bag, in Slytherin green letters, were the words �For the Wizard Who Has Everything, A Bag to Put It In�.

Lucius looked at the bag for a long moment, reading the writing. One side of his mouth curled up after a moment, and then the other side. His smile widened as he turned the bag so that everyone else could see the writing.

While the others read the printing, Lucius started to chuckle. Dumbledore joined him. Draco and Hermione started laughing hysterically and both of them slid out of their seats and onto the ground, holding their sides while they shook with laughter. McGonagall covered her mouth while she Dumbledore and Lucius moved up to laughing, and even Severus chuckled in amusement.

�Harry, that�s wonderful!� Draco howled. �I want to know where you got it! I�ve got to get one for Zabini! He�s always complaining that nobody gets him anything original anymore!�

�You can owl my business partners,� Harry told Draco cryptically. �They�ll be happy to have it delivered for you.�

�Business partners?� Lucius asked. The mere mention of business was enough to get his attention. �I never knew you had an interest in business, Harry.�

�I don�t,� Harry replied. �I gave Fred and George the seed money to start their joke business because they could always make me laugh, and because I thought Zonko�s could use the competition. Imagine my surprise when business boomed.�

�How much did you give them?� Lucius said. �How much have you made in return?�

�I gave them my TriWizard winnings,� Harry said, his face saddening. �I wanted something good to come of that money. I don�t know how much money they�ve sent me. I think it�s been three or four thousand galleons.�

�Three or four thousand in two years?� Lucius asked. �I�d say that was an excellent investment. What do you think they could do with more money?�

�Start more shops,� Harry said. �They were talking about expanding to Hogsmeade. I think they want to really see who has the best tricks.�

�If their last pranks were any indication,� McGonagall said. �I would say that Zonko�s should just close their doors and admit defeat.�

Severus gave out his presents next, and he did so without fanfare. He gave Lucius another bottle of hundred year-old brandy. He gave Dumbledore a jar of lemon drops. He gave McGonagall a rack of filled potions vials, half labeled �flea repellent� and the other half labeled �hairball potion�. His gift to Hermione was a copy of a potions book the he had written, but was difficult to find. He gave Draco a set of silver quill-tips and an assortment of feathers to mount on them.

His only uncertainty showed when he handed Harry a box with his name on it. Inside the box was an elongated egg a bit larger than the one Harry had given Draco. It was bright orange, with red swirls on it. It reminded Harry a great deal of the dragon egg that Hagrid had once owned.

�You need to keep it near the fire,� Snape said. �It should hatch within a few hours.�

�What is it, Severus?� Harry asked, wondering what kind of creature his lover had seen fit to give him.

�It�s a fire snake,� Snape said. �It�s the only serpent in the world, except for a basilisk, that is more poisonous than the Dark Lord�s familiar. It is also faster than any other serpent in the world. It can protect you, even during the final battle.�

�Thank you, Severus,� Harry said. �I don�t know where you found it, but it couldn�t have been easy. What does it eat?�

�Fresh killed prey, like any serpent,� Snape said. �For now, you can either kill it mice or feed it chopped meat, like Draco.�

�My Christmas gift to each of you is a bit more complicated,� Lucius said. He pulled three envelopes out of the pocket of his robes.

�These are for you and your two young men, Severus,� he told him. �Those are season tickets to every Quidditch game in England, Scotland, and Ireland. You don�t have to go to all of them, but you can go to as many as you wish. I know how much Quidditch means to Draco and you, and I believe it means just as much to Harry. Enjoy it in good health, and keep me informed of how everyone is playing.�

He reached behind the tree, and produced a leather box, which he nervously presented to Hermione.

�This is for you, my dear,� he said.

Hermione took the box with a questioning look, and her expression changed to one of wonder as she opened the box.

Inside the box was a necklace of white gold and pale blue diamonds. It was accompanied by a matching bracelet and earrings.

�Lucius,� she gasped. �I�ve never even seen jewelry like this.�

�This is not from my family�s vaults,� he said. �I had this made especially for you. I have never forgotten a picture Draco showed me, from the Yule Ball in your fourth year. You were wearing a set of blue robes that looked absolutely exquisite on you, and I have realized that even though you are a Slytherin now, blue is definitely your color.�

�I�ll never forget this, Lucius,� Hermione said, carefully closing the box. �I just don�t know when I�ll have the opportunity to wear this.�

�As to that, Miss Granger,� Dumbledore said. �I haven�t made it public knowledge, but the Ministry of Magic has requested permission to hold their annual Yule Ball here, tonight.�

�Tonight?� Hermione exclaimed. �I don�t have anything to wear!�

�Of course you do, Granger,� Draco said. �Remember when we took that trip to Diagon Alley? Part of what my father ordered made up was formal clothes. I had to order some more dress robes for father, as well, since the ones he had with him were ruined. You have several things that are appropriate for the Ministry ball.�

�Thank goodness,� Hermione said. �But, is this jewelry appropriate? Isn�t it a bit much?�

�Stop thinking like a muggle, and start thinking like a Malfoy,� Draco scolded her. �My mother wouldn�t be caught at something like this without more jewelry than you�re going to be wearing.�

�That reminds me of something else,� Lucius said. �I need to send a house elf to the Manor today. I have something for Harry, that he wouldn�t have had available to him until now.�

�You�ve already given me a Christmas present, Mr. Malfoy,� Harry said.

�Nonsense, Harry,� Lucius said, smiling at him. �You are family, now, between your relationship with Draco and your friendship with Hermione. There are certain appearances that everyone in our family must keep up, and you need a proper education in a Wizarding society.�

�Thank you, sir,� Harry said. �I�d be pleased to take lessons from you.�

TBC
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Measure of a Man