Harry Potter and the Cursed Heart ~discontinued~

Chapter 19

The next morning, Alice woke still on the floor, her head pounding and her entire body stiff. She could faintly make out the blurry image of Dani as she leant over her, her brain still not catching up with her in the early morning. She groaned, holding her head as she stumbled to her feet, before promptly falling face first onto her bed, moaning deeply into the mattress.

Dani sighed, lightly sitting on the space next to her on the bed. "I heard Luther shouting last night." She began softly. She exhaled sadly as she got no response. She watched her sister figure with heartbroken eyes, reaching over to softly stroke her hair. "I'll always be here for you. Whether you want ice cream, to cry (even though you say your eyes aren't green enough to pull off that look), or even to commit 7 counts of murder. Whatever you need." Still no response came from the girl beside her.

But she stayed with her, leaving her side only for a second to tidy up her room and help her find clothes for the day. She gently grabbed her hand, pulling her from the bed as she brushed her hair and helped her change, finishing it off with a woolly scarf around her neck so she wouldn't have to see his mark on her. She smiled at her, despite the troubled look on her face as she tried to get through to her. She ran her hands through her hair again, "There, all ready to go replace Mrs Brown's sugar with salt in her morning tea."

Alice finally looked at Dani through the reflection of the mirror. She gave her a weak smile, but her eyes were still empty and void. She turned to face her, patting her on the head and handing her a lollipop. "You're too good to me." She whispered, scanning Dani's face as if to memorise every detail of her.

Dani grinned at her, glad to see she was trying, "I'd do anything for you."

She didn't have time to react as Alice threw herself at her, seeking comfort in her hug. "Thank you." She murmured as she huffed her tighter. Dani could only hug back, praying for her friend.

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2 days later and it was finally Christmas, to which Severus awoke, and headed straight for the firewhiskey as he anticipated a day of dealing with snot-balled dunderheads. He was, however, surprised to find a gift waiting for him as he entered his living room. He approached it cautiously, knowing the Weasley twins had stayed for Christmas.

Before he even reached for it, he ran every diagnostic spell he could to find nothing. 'Odd.' Slowly, he reached for the note on top:

"Dear Mr Snape,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I know you don't want a Christmas present from me so take this as my thanks for not killing me when you first met me or any day since.
From, your favourite non-Weasley Weasley"

He didn't know what to make of the card except that the foolish girl really was a Hufflepuff. So instead he decided to judge her on her gift which he was already sceptical of due to her poor wrapping quality. But he found a small smile tugging at his usually downturned lips as he opened it to find an assortment of lollipops, each containing a different potion.

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Now that Harry had friends he was certain of staying with him for Christmas, he was more excited than ever. But that mood dimmed when he noticed a familiar looking present. He calmly took the package and started scanning it. He knew there was no way Dumbledore would just leave it to him of the goodness of his heart so he had a right to be cautious.

He soon found that both the note delivered with the present and a small thread he had woven into the cloak had compulsions spelled onto them. Harry was furious with the old fool and it took everything in him to not commit murder and instead work on removing the spellwork on the items. He knew he had to give the illusion that it had worked but he hated having to play the old fool's game.