Title:Project Eve
Authors:Avatar Arkmage and Nigel Tatsuya
Rating:PG
Summary:When Voldemort places a bounty on Severus Snape and Harry Potter's heads just weeks before Christmas, they are forced to seek the protection of The Ministry of Magic Asia/Pacific. Cho assists their transition. Part of the Remembrance and Renewal Universe
Author's Note: Happy Holidays Folks! This story may or may not make very much sense if read alone, but it is part of the Rememberance in Renewal Universe. In fact this scene was originally meant to take place during the holiday season of 1996, but we're not there yet in our writings unfortunately. But, we still wanted to give you readers a holiday story, so if you don't mind being spoiled slightly, we hope you enjoy this fic.
*Note* Severus Snape and Harry Potter are father and son in this fanfiction. If you would like to read more in this Universe, check out "Remembrance and Renewal." It will offer some insight into the events leading up to the start of "Project Eve."
Warning: This story contains both a sap alert (so get your buckets ready) and a facial tissue factory warning, so proceed with caution.
Enjoy the story folks and have a safe and happy holiday season! And when we say "Happy Holidays" we really mean it because we really do celebrate everything! Looking forward to the start of Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, the rest of Hannukah, and the BIG HOLIDAY of the region this story takes place in: SHOOGATSU! (NEW YEARS!)
ENJOY!
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Project Eve
by Avatar Arkmage and Nigel Tatsuya
"Albus!" Severus Snape shouted, bringing his fist down firmly on the desk with enough force to send a shiny, 19th century triangulation device clattering to the floor. "That is by far, the most preposterous idea you have suggested to date! I will most certainly not..."
"Severus!" The aged headmaster forestalled the younger wizard. "I am well aware that these measures are unpleasant for you, but we have no alternative at the moment."
"But..."
"You, as well as Harry, are in great danger." Headmaster Dumbledore said, coming out from behind the desk and patting Severus on the shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. "Voldemort's forces have grown exponentially since the Summer and wizards all across the United Kingdom and Europe are either living in fear at the moment." Dumbledore looked darkly over his half moon glasses. "Or they are waiting for the opportunity to vanquish what remains of the side of the light and raise Voldemort to a position of full and supreme power."
Severus grasped Dumbledore's desk and lowered his head below the level of his shoulders. "Then send only Harry into hiding. Let me stay and continue the resistance against the Dark Forces."
"Severus!" Albus said sharply.
The younger wizard raised his head and glared at the older wizard through his curtain of obsidian coloured hair.
"As noble as your loyalty to the side of the light may be, you are also someone's father now. You are the father of Harry Potter, who needs you now more than ever." Albus said, meeting Severus's crystal black eyes.
"Even so," Severus stood to his full height, "with the situation as treacherous as it is, our forces will need all available hands to uphold..."
"Granted, we have lost many of our number since the second war began, as well as many ministry aurors." Dumbledore let out a heavy hearted sigh as he said that. "But Severus, you as well as Harry, are in especially grave danger. Voldemort's drive to put Harry to death has only intensified since his second rise. There has been a bounty placed upons his head and I strongly suspect there is also a bounty on yours as well." Dumbledore paused when Severus drove his fist into the table once more, surely bruising his knuckles. "You of all people should know that you are in just as much peril, if not more so than Harry, as Voldemort has been torturing you much more frequently and with more ardour than in times past. Each time you've gone to a meeting since June, of this year, you required hospitalization? Need I remind you about the whole incident with the Interventio Interferous potion?"
"I see no logical reason not to continue in my task, I've been bringing the Order valuable information for years have I not?"
"You have, Severus." Albus gently coaxed Severus back into the chair behind him. "But Harry is not yet powerful enough to face Voldemort. He needs to grow and he needs to learn, and until such time that he is fully prepared, both to face Voldemort, as well as life, he needs his father."
"Albus, do not force me to..." Severus said warningly.
"You leave me no choice, my child." Albus said, his face only inches from the younger wizard's. "Severus, I am hereby ordering you to join Harry in going into hiding. With most of the staff and students of Hogwarts gone for the Winter break, there are too many places a breach in security could occur, and if you or Harry are here when that happens, one or both of you could be killed. You both are marked men. The targets of choice for Voldemort's forces should they invade the castle."
"You want me to leave the war now? Now, after so many years, perhaps when the deciding blows on either side shall fall?" Severus looked up at Albus, his dark eyes wide. "Harry has his whole life ahead of him, so he should be kept safe. But I have worked so hard for our side, for the entire duration of my adult life, and a portion of my formative years as well I have been fighting amoungst the side of the light. I have sacrificed so much already, Albus. Please don't force me to turn tail now... even if in that battle I were to die..."
At that point, Fawkes groused his disapproval.
"Severus, we cannot afford to lose you, there is no dispute about that. But Harry cannot lose you. Do you think he could bear your loss as well? He has lived most of his life without a family who truly saw to his best interests, would you deprive him of your guidance now?" Albus no longer looked at Severus as a superior officer or a headmaster would, but like a fatherly figure would. "And I do not wish to lose you, not yet my child. As I have trusted your judgement many times over the years Severus, please... trust mine now. Go into hiding. Live, so that you may fight in the deciding battle at another time. Stay with us just a while longer. A father never wishes to bury his child. Do not force me to bury one I regard as my child... not yet... "
Albus slowly pulled the younger man into his embrace. Although Severus did not resist, he did not reciprocate as he acquiesced. "Very well, Albus. I'll go pack."
***
The arrangements were hastily made with the Asian/Pacific Ministry of Magical Arts to transport Severus Snape and Harry Potter to safety, and by the next morning, a day in early December, Minister Kapahi of the Asian/Pacific ministry, arrived discretely with her small entourage at Hogwarts.
Minister Kapahi was a sturdy woman roughly the same age as Dumbledore with Polynesian features and flowing hair so white that it seemed to luminesce in the morning sunlight. She had tawny skin and wore a bright red mu'u mu'u dress which matched the garland of hibiscuses and ferns adoring her hair. After exchanging brief greetings and gifts with the Hogwart's staff and officials, Severus and Harry were introduced to the entourage.
"Are you ready to go, children?" Minister Kapahi said to Harry and Severus with twinkling chocolate coloured eyes.
Although he was slightly offended at being referred to as a juvenile, Severus still responded reverently towards the foreign minister. Harry showed the same respect. Both he and Harry concluded that to anyone over one hundred and fifty years of age, people under the age of sixty or so must appear to be children by comparison.
"Then let us begin our journey." The minister said, motioning to Asian Ministry Official YiChung Chang and his Grandaughter Cho to take their positions behind Harry and Severus.
Severus handed a vial containing a liquid the colour of young green leaves to Harry and unstoppered another similar vial for himself. "Take it all at once Harry, its effects are almost immediate." And with that he swallowed the entire contents of vial.
Both Father and Son cried out less than five seconds after taking their potions, and reeled back into YiChung and Cho's arms respectively. Within a few minutes, in Severus and Harry's place stood two young children. One had long flowing black hair, sallow skin, a relatively large nose, large wistful black eyes and appeared to be approximately nine years of age. The other young boy had short, disheveled black hair, brilliant green eyes the colour of young leaves early in spring, heavy spectacles, and appeared to no older than four or five.
Albus Dumbledore made his way over to the now child Severus and knelt beside him.
"This is humiliating, Headmaster." Severus said, his decidedly cute child's voice completely failing to instill any sense of fear in the people present.
"Ya' mean 'ere jus' smaller?" Hagrid said, unable to resist the urge to pick up the child Harry and place him on his shoulder. "Nut'in wrong wid 'ere minds?"
"No you ignoramus!" Child Snape shouted at the giant who now towered much higher over the boy.
"Severus, please don't be rude." Albus chided. "Yes, Hagrid. Harry and Severus retain most if not all of the memories they had in their former states. They do however have child's bodies now and their ability to reason will be impaired as their brains are at much younger developmental ages.
"Aww you are so cute Severus!" Remus said, tousling the youth's glossy black hair and squeezing his rosy cheeks.
"Quit it!" Severus shouted, kicking Remus in the shins. "I may be in a little kid's body, but I could still hex you from the British Isles all the way over the Ural Mountains! And I can still kick your bum at anything else, Moony!"
"SEVERUS!" Professor McGonagall scolded.
Harry seemed to revel in his restored juvenile state. Hagrid still had him on his shoulders and was hopping high into the air, giving Harry a ride he had never experienced in the past.
"Faster Hagrid!!" Harry said, holding onto the half giant's unruly black hair.
"Be assured!" YiChung said to Albus Dumbledore looking very excited. "We are most delighted to be having Severus and Harry at our home for the Winter Break. "Our home has been without children ever since Cho joined the exchange program and went to live in the UK. It will be nice to have the energies only children can bring again."
"I shall miss you very much, child." Albus said, lifting Severus into his arms.
"Put me down, bloody he--" Severus protested.
"Now Severus, swearing is an unacceptable behaviour." Albus scolded. "Especially now that you are a child again. I do not wish to make you sit in the corner for your transgressions."
"I'm sorry, Headmaster." Severus looked as though he wanted to say more, but his eyes filled with tears which he desperately tried to dash away.
"Aww, it is okay, child." Albus said, squeezing Severus tightly and patting him on the back. "I know it can be hard to get used to being a child again. Some outbursts are understandable."
Within the hour the entourage said their farewells and were en route to Yukiguni, a remote wizarding town hidden in the mountainous area just east of muggle Hokkaido.
Because the child Severus could no longer apparate safely, and Harry couldn't either, the Asian/Pacific entourage transported them in a charmed muggle jet plane.
"Father?" Harry said, turning to the slightly bigger boy next to him. "I thought magic people weren't s'pposed to mess with muggle artifacts. Isn't charming an airplane messing with a muggle artifact?"
"I guess the Asian/Pacific Ministry has different rules or something? This is real fun!" Severus said, not looking up from the portable video game console Cho had brought for them to play with. Severus threw Harry one of the other controllers. "Wanna try?"
"I'm not 'lowed to." Harry said, remembering what Dudley would do to him when the larger boy caught him playing with his video games. Once when he had tried out Dudley's Legend of Zelda game, not only did Dudley and his friends chase Harry around the neighborhood and beat him once they caught him, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had both spanked him afterwards."
"Harry, it's okay." Cho said, kneeling in front of the tiny Harry when she noticed tears in his eyes. She carefully placed the controller in his small hands. "This is my video game console and you can play if you want. It's okay with me."
"Will you play too, big sister?" Harry said, patting the seat next to him.
"Yes yes!" Severus said, scooting over to allow Cho to sit next to them. "Mario needs his friends to fight Koopa."
"Okay!" Cho said joining the two boys. "Let's go free the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"This is fun!" Harry exclaimed once they passed the fourth world in Mario Dream Factory. "I hope we can free Britain, too!" Harry said, guiding Luigi over a large trench with his controller.
"You will Harry!" Both Severus and Cho said together.
***
Although it had been difficult to get used to in the first few days in Japan, with the new foods and different culture from what they were used to. By the start of the second week in Yukiguni,both Severus and Harry seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience as children once more and were eager to try every new experience.
It became apparent almost immediately why Cho had truly been sorted into the Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts. It turned out she was not only an expert in magic, math and science, but was also proficient at mechanics. She was soon teaching Harry and Severus the basics of electronics and robotics, and even built small toys for them to play with, using nothing more than wires and a few scraps of metal from a muggle factory in Hokkaido.
Severus, who did his best to keep his position as potions professor known, was often seen paying the utmost attention to Cho's lessons in robotics. Harry nearly fell out of his chair laughing one day when Severus raised his hand in the air to ask a question. When Cho didn't answer him right away, Severus jumped out of his chair while still raising his hand.
What was an even bigger paradox would be if Cho treated Severus Snape the way he had treated his students, particularly the Gryffindors and especially Hermione Granger.
"Harry, what's so funny?" Cho asked, barely able to keep herself from surrendering to laughing herself at the way the child Harry carried on.
Harry could not answer and continued shaking in the throes of intense laughter. In his mind he was seeing the image of Cho scowling at professor Snape and saying "Sit down, Mr. Snape." Or calling Severus and insufferable know it all when she was explaining the types of oils (potions) different types of engines worked best on. Surely he would speak out of turn trying to explain what he knew about potions and get a mean scolding.
***
"Come on Sev, and Harry." Cho said, emerging from the dressing area with only a cotton robe on. "Let's get into the water."
Cho's parents and grandparents waved to the threesome. They were already soaking in the healing, mineral-rich waters of the onsen (hot springs) with other Japanese, Ainu, Chinese, Russian, Mongolian, Korean(yes wizard Korea is unified), Polynesian and Southeast Asian Wizards, each speaking in their own language but somehow understanding one another perfectly.
"But we have no proper swimwear." the boy Severus protested, clutching his robes tightly around himself.
"You don't wear swimsuits and stuff in the onsen." Cho said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"WHAT?!" Harry shrieked and jumped a few feet off the ground at the same time.
When Cho patiently explained that going into the onsen here was the same as having a bath, both Harry and Severus took off running with Cho in hot pursuit.
"Awww! Isn't that cute?" YiChung Chang commented as the Harry, Severus and Cho ran around the water for about the third time. "They are playing tag!"
"Yes father." Mr Chang said, leaning back in the water. "It is wonderful to have children in our community again."
"When are you and Ayame going to make us more grandchildren?" YiChung's wife YuFong asked, causing YiChung to nod his white haired head vigorously.
"When your boy stops spending so much time in the onsen!" Ayame answered with mock exasperation in her voice. "Do you have any idea what water of this temperature does to a man's sperm count?"
Mr Chang sunk up to his neck in the water.
***
"How are things going?" Albus Dumbledore, who had arrived about nine days later in the Japanese wizarding village, asked Cho's mother, Ayame.
"Just wonderful, Headmaster Dumbledore." The Dark haired mediwitch answered. She had returned to Japan with her daughter and husband for the holidays. "Forgive me Headmaster, but I almost did not recognize you at first."
"Oh..."Albus replied, as he accepted a cup of tea and a mochi (confection made from sweet rice and bean paste) from Mr. Chang who joined them in the room. "I took some of the antiaging potion Severus and Harry did so I wouldn't be so easily recognized."
"You look nice with chestnut coloured hair!" Mr Chang commented.
"Thanks," Albus said, wondering if he had taken a bit too much of the potion. His beard only had a few silvery strands in it now and the hair on his head was nearly all auburn. Not even he would recognize his own reflection right away if he were to see it unexpectedly in a magical mirror.
"So," Albus began after helping himself to another almond cookie from the plate Ayame brought them, "Are the boys well? Where are Harry and Severus now?"
As if on cue, Severus charged through the room, followed by Harry... both boys slightly damp and very naked.
"Harry Potter!" Cho yelled, charging into the room moments later with two sets of child sized wizard robes in her hands. "Severus Snape! While it is fine whilst we're at the onsen, it simply will not do for you be starkers all time! It's cold in Yukiguni!"
"But we're not cold!" Severus protested as he disappeared into the other room.
"They're just fine." Ayame Chang said grinning at the shocked look on Dumbledore's face.
***
Hermione Granger and her parents, Neville Longbottom and his grandmother, the entire Weasley family and a battle injured Nymphadora Tonks arrived at the Chang's residence on Christmas Eve. Both Cho's Japanese and Chinese relatives were there as well, and Harry was sure that Cho's house had charms on it to allow it to accommodate all of the occupants in the house.
"Thanks you so very much for having us over!" Arthur Weasley shook Mr. Chang's arm so intensely that Severus was sure it would have fallen off if he continued the action.
"Would you like to see our electronics?" Cho asked the excited red haired man as she led him to her work room.
"Hey mate!" Ron said to the miniature version of his best friend. "Enjoying it here?"
"Oh yes," Harry said. "Old Moldyshorts won't think of finding us here! And he's not expecting to find two little kids besides."
"Heh heh!" Ron laughed his cheeks soon matching the colour of his freckles. "Hey Harry, I like that name for him better! I'll start calling him Moldyshorts too!" Ron said, not cringing for once at Harry's reference to the Dark Lord.
"It is horrible that we can't assemble freely back in the UK anymore." Hermione said, joining her two best friends. Her unrully brown hair adorned with Japanese hair accessories. "Voldemort's forces trounced two large parties at wizarding homes just this week." Hermione pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet from her pocket and unrolled it for Harry to better see it.
This time Ron cringed, both at Hermione's use of the Dark Lord's name and the sight of the pictures printed in the daily prophet. The burned house, the dead family, the utter carnage...
Severus, who was standing close enough to the trio to hear, marched over to Albus and pulled him aside.
"Albus!" Severus said. "I think I should take the potion reversal draught now."
"Severus," Albus said, smoothing the youth's long black hair which Cho had obviously washed, conditioned and arranged into an elaborate topknot. "You need not resume your adult form just yet."
"But Albus," Severus persisted, climbing into Dumbledore's lap when the older wizard sat. "The Dark Lord trounced two Yule parties!"
"Severus, that was back in the UK, many many miles away..."
"What if he blasted those gatherings looking for Harry? Or me? Wasn't one of those parties held very close to Little Whinging?"
A look of apprehension spread across the older man's cheeks momentarily, then faded. "Severus...there are no threats of any immediate attacks here in Asia. And besides the counterpotion is instantaneous is it not?"
Severus nodded.
"Well then you can take it only when it is needed."
"But Albus." Severus protested, making no gesture to jump off the older man's lap.
"Severus," Albus said, stroking the boy's back. "I would prefer you remain as a child. At least until the day after Boxing day."
"WHY?" Severus shouted so loud that people turned and looked at him.
"Because, Severus... you've never had an enjoyable Christmas as a child. All those years you were left at Hogwarts while your peers went home to their families..."
"ALBUS!!" Severus said sharply, not wanting to be reminded of his painful childhood and adolescence. "Mum couldn't take me home then, and I HAVE NO parents now!!"
"I know it's hard to understand for you now since you are a child, but you do have family, and I order you to remain a child until after Boxing Day."
"YES..." Severus said, his young face only millimetres from the aged headmaster. "....SIR" he said with a sneer and stomped over to join Ginny and Neville in front of the Chang's large screen projection telly and watched Hokuto No Ken with them.
When Professors McGonagall and Lupin arrived several hours later, everyone sat down to a grand yule feast, served by the house elves. Afterwards, everyone ate Christmas Cake, Hot Tea, Hot Sake(rice wine) and Ice Cream.
Within a few hours, the children and adolescents were tired and soon all fell asleep on futons spread out on the floor in front of the Chang's giant Christmas tree which was lit by spelled candles and glowing apples from Aomori.
The older wizards either apparated back to the UK or else retired to one of the futons the Changs had set out for them in their other rooms.
Ayame Chang and Mr. Chang stood in their living room, watching the children and adolescents as they slept in front of the Christmas tree, long after everyone had fallen asleep. It was surely wonderful to have children in the house again and they stood there a long time watching their little chests rise and fall as they slumbered.
***
Harry awoke early on Christmas morning, not knowing where he was at first, until he rolled into Hermione, who was still fast asleep next to him. It was not yet daybreak, but he saw a faint glow coming from the room where Cho normally worked on her electronics. But Cho could not have been working in her lab, because she was still asleep on the other side of him...
Harry took a quick census of who was laying on the futons and noticed that Severus was missing. Harry lay back and waited, thinking that Sevvie was merely using the loo or something. When Severus still did not return after nearly three fourths of an hour, Harry boldly ventured toward Cho's lit work room. Perhaps Little Sevvie was in there.
And he was. Asleep with his head on Cho's work table was Severus Snape! An adult Severus Snape. Apparently he had taken the counterpotion despite his promise not to do so until after the 26th. Before him he had set up a makeshift potions lab and had obviously worked himself to the point of exhaustion.
Harry was about to wake his father when he felt the warmth of some one's gaze upon him from just inside the door. At first, Harry suspected that it was Mrs. Weasley, Headmaster Dumbledore or even Cho until he turned....
All his guesses had been wrong.
Seated on a the tatami mat floor, her flaming coal coloured hair fixed in an elaborate geisha-like style complete with jewelled pins and combs, and wearing the most beautiful brocaded silk kimono Harry had ever seen was...
Mervidith Snape! His beloved Grandmother!
"Grandmum!" Harry screamed, scaring poor Severus awake in the worst way possible. Harry did not care and scampered across the tatamis and dove onto his grandmother's lap. Because he was truly a young child now, he had very little self control and bawled loudly enough to wake everyone in the whole Chang household and in all likelihood the witches and wizards in the neighbouring houses as well.
"Grandmother...oh grandmother!" Harry said, once he had composed himself and gained the audience of everyone still in the household. "Am I dreaming? If I am I don't want to wake up. I don't want you to be gone! Never never never never never!"
"No Harry, you're not dreaming." Mervidith said, wrapping her long kimono sleeves around the small boy. "And I'll always be with you for the holidays... I promise."
"But...how?" Harry whimpered, leaning against his grandmother's shoulder.
"Well, when Sevvy, uh your father and you first arrived, your father was impressed by how far advanced the science of robotics was in the muggle world here. Because the magical world of Asia and the Pacific embraces both the magical and the muggle sciences, they were able to create very human- like androids." Mervidith stated, resting her head against Harry's.
"So you're a ande- roid, grandmum?" Harry said touching the older woman's cheeks and hair.
"Well my body is artificial, but I'm the same grandmother that greeted you all those years ago... who longed for you to join us at the table back in Alsace." Mervidith kissed Harry on his tiny forehead. "The same grandmother who loved you even before you were ever born..."
"But you're so warm and you feel so real. And you're breathing." Harry said, noticing that he was not the only one in the room who was crying.
"Thank your father and all your wonderful friends and their families for that." Mervidith said regarding the group with the deepest of reverence in her twinkling nigh sky coloured eyes. "While Cho and her engineering friends built my body, Hermione, Ron and everyone else researched the feasibility of this project, particularly the part about the soul chamber."
"Soul Chamber?" Harry asked, his teary green eyes wide with wonder. "What is a soul chamber?"
Hermione, who was busily dabbing her eyes on a wad of tissue moved close to the grandmother and grandchild. "It is a receptacle assembled under very complex magical conditions. It was originally used in the middle ages to trap unwanted spirits from old castles and the like so that they could be easily disposed of. When you told us about how you could see your grandmother's spirit but how she couldn't communicate to people who aren't perceptive of the spirit world because her body sustained so much nerve damage from the prolonged cruciatus curse being used against her, we all began to research on this with the original intent to place her spirit somewhere close to you. When we learned that Cho and her friends built androids as a hobby, we decided to join forces on this project."
"Yes, sweet Harry." Mervidith said, watching as Severus gulped down a vial of deaging potion and turned back into a nine year old boy. "Your friends and their families spent many hours researching about creating a soul chamber and adapting it to reside in an android's body."
"They brought your soul over here?" Harry said, his young mind having difficulty comprehending all he was told.
"Yes just after you went to sleep," Mervidith said, enjoying the fact that she could finally hold her beloved grandson in her arms and actually feel him due to specially created sensors in her fingers. "They installed the chamber into this artificial body."
Harry looked to the other people in the room with his large teary eyes and mouthed a silent "thank you." He had lost all of his ability to speak on his own.
"And finally, your father developed the potions that make me so lifelike. Almost every day since the first day you both arrived here, he has been turning himself back into his adult form and working on potions, and only sneaking back to bed just before daybreak." Mervidith said, regarding her son who looked as though he were repressing the instinct to run off. He never liked being praised for his work. "Originally, I would have looked like a true cyborg with only rubber laytex to cover my circuitry. But Sevvie, uh your father, created artificial skin that conducts heat well and is porous enough to allow the sensory circuits to let me feel. Your father even managed to develop a potion making me endothermic... Er...so that I feel warm, just like a real living person."
"So you're not a machine... not just a machine." Harry said with only the wisdom an innocent child was capable of. "You're not really an ander-roid. You're truly alive and were created by the love of many people."
"Yes...all of the people that love you, worked on this...a project they only called Eve amoungst themselves. Project Eve. All their love helped create me, so that I could be with you once more, my precious grandson." Mervidith Snape said, looking at everyone in the room in turn. "And their hard work will also allow other wizard children who have lost loved ones to spell damage from the cruciatus curse..." Mervidith looked at Neville Longbottom. "...to have hope once more."
"So you're really like Eve." Harry said, thoughtful again. "You're the first one in your species."
"The first of many..." Neville whispered silently.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" Everyone present said in unison.
"Thank you." Harry said, hugging everyone present in turn, being careful when he hugged Nymphadora Tonks as her wounds were still considerably fresh.
When Harry returned to his grandmother's arms, he discovered that the nine year-old version of his father had joined him there as well. Harry hugged them both contentedly, happier this year than he had ever been in any previous holiday season.
"This is the best holiday season ever!"
"And it's just starting, Harry!" Ginny said smiling. "From what I understand, these wizards are from so many cultures that they celebrate not only Christmas, but Kwanzaa, Hannukah, and they have the biggest celebration on New Years!"
"And you're all very welcome to join us!" YiChung said smiling as he offered everyone almond cookies. "Children make the holidays all the brighter, like flowers upon a deserted plain."
"And family," Harry observed, "...is like sunshine that makes the flowers on that deserted plain grow."
For a longest moment no one moved. All were too moved to do so.
The End!
Authors:Avatar Arkmage and Nigel Tatsuya
Rating:PG
Summary:When Voldemort places a bounty on Severus Snape and Harry Potter's heads just weeks before Christmas, they are forced to seek the protection of The Ministry of Magic Asia/Pacific. Cho assists their transition. Part of the Remembrance and Renewal Universe
Author's Note: Happy Holidays Folks! This story may or may not make very much sense if read alone, but it is part of the Rememberance in Renewal Universe. In fact this scene was originally meant to take place during the holiday season of 1996, but we're not there yet in our writings unfortunately. But, we still wanted to give you readers a holiday story, so if you don't mind being spoiled slightly, we hope you enjoy this fic.
*Note* Severus Snape and Harry Potter are father and son in this fanfiction. If you would like to read more in this Universe, check out "Remembrance and Renewal." It will offer some insight into the events leading up to the start of "Project Eve."
Warning: This story contains both a sap alert (so get your buckets ready) and a facial tissue factory warning, so proceed with caution.
Enjoy the story folks and have a safe and happy holiday season! And when we say "Happy Holidays" we really mean it because we really do celebrate everything! Looking forward to the start of Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, the rest of Hannukah, and the BIG HOLIDAY of the region this story takes place in: SHOOGATSU! (NEW YEARS!)
ENJOY!
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Project Eve
by Avatar Arkmage and Nigel Tatsuya
"Albus!" Severus Snape shouted, bringing his fist down firmly on the desk with enough force to send a shiny, 19th century triangulation device clattering to the floor. "That is by far, the most preposterous idea you have suggested to date! I will most certainly not..."
"Severus!" The aged headmaster forestalled the younger wizard. "I am well aware that these measures are unpleasant for you, but we have no alternative at the moment."
"But..."
"You, as well as Harry, are in great danger." Headmaster Dumbledore said, coming out from behind the desk and patting Severus on the shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. "Voldemort's forces have grown exponentially since the Summer and wizards all across the United Kingdom and Europe are either living in fear at the moment." Dumbledore looked darkly over his half moon glasses. "Or they are waiting for the opportunity to vanquish what remains of the side of the light and raise Voldemort to a position of full and supreme power."
Severus grasped Dumbledore's desk and lowered his head below the level of his shoulders. "Then send only Harry into hiding. Let me stay and continue the resistance against the Dark Forces."
"Severus!" Albus said sharply.
The younger wizard raised his head and glared at the older wizard through his curtain of obsidian coloured hair.
"As noble as your loyalty to the side of the light may be, you are also someone's father now. You are the father of Harry Potter, who needs you now more than ever." Albus said, meeting Severus's crystal black eyes.
"Even so," Severus stood to his full height, "with the situation as treacherous as it is, our forces will need all available hands to uphold..."
"Granted, we have lost many of our number since the second war began, as well as many ministry aurors." Dumbledore let out a heavy hearted sigh as he said that. "But Severus, you as well as Harry, are in especially grave danger. Voldemort's drive to put Harry to death has only intensified since his second rise. There has been a bounty placed upons his head and I strongly suspect there is also a bounty on yours as well." Dumbledore paused when Severus drove his fist into the table once more, surely bruising his knuckles. "You of all people should know that you are in just as much peril, if not more so than Harry, as Voldemort has been torturing you much more frequently and with more ardour than in times past. Each time you've gone to a meeting since June, of this year, you required hospitalization? Need I remind you about the whole incident with the Interventio Interferous potion?"
"I see no logical reason not to continue in my task, I've been bringing the Order valuable information for years have I not?"
"You have, Severus." Albus gently coaxed Severus back into the chair behind him. "But Harry is not yet powerful enough to face Voldemort. He needs to grow and he needs to learn, and until such time that he is fully prepared, both to face Voldemort, as well as life, he needs his father."
"Albus, do not force me to..." Severus said warningly.
"You leave me no choice, my child." Albus said, his face only inches from the younger wizard's. "Severus, I am hereby ordering you to join Harry in going into hiding. With most of the staff and students of Hogwarts gone for the Winter break, there are too many places a breach in security could occur, and if you or Harry are here when that happens, one or both of you could be killed. You both are marked men. The targets of choice for Voldemort's forces should they invade the castle."
"You want me to leave the war now? Now, after so many years, perhaps when the deciding blows on either side shall fall?" Severus looked up at Albus, his dark eyes wide. "Harry has his whole life ahead of him, so he should be kept safe. But I have worked so hard for our side, for the entire duration of my adult life, and a portion of my formative years as well I have been fighting amoungst the side of the light. I have sacrificed so much already, Albus. Please don't force me to turn tail now... even if in that battle I were to die..."
At that point, Fawkes groused his disapproval.
"Severus, we cannot afford to lose you, there is no dispute about that. But Harry cannot lose you. Do you think he could bear your loss as well? He has lived most of his life without a family who truly saw to his best interests, would you deprive him of your guidance now?" Albus no longer looked at Severus as a superior officer or a headmaster would, but like a fatherly figure would. "And I do not wish to lose you, not yet my child. As I have trusted your judgement many times over the years Severus, please... trust mine now. Go into hiding. Live, so that you may fight in the deciding battle at another time. Stay with us just a while longer. A father never wishes to bury his child. Do not force me to bury one I regard as my child... not yet... "
Albus slowly pulled the younger man into his embrace. Although Severus did not resist, he did not reciprocate as he acquiesced. "Very well, Albus. I'll go pack."
***
The arrangements were hastily made with the Asian/Pacific Ministry of Magical Arts to transport Severus Snape and Harry Potter to safety, and by the next morning, a day in early December, Minister Kapahi of the Asian/Pacific ministry, arrived discretely with her small entourage at Hogwarts.
Minister Kapahi was a sturdy woman roughly the same age as Dumbledore with Polynesian features and flowing hair so white that it seemed to luminesce in the morning sunlight. She had tawny skin and wore a bright red mu'u mu'u dress which matched the garland of hibiscuses and ferns adoring her hair. After exchanging brief greetings and gifts with the Hogwart's staff and officials, Severus and Harry were introduced to the entourage.
"Are you ready to go, children?" Minister Kapahi said to Harry and Severus with twinkling chocolate coloured eyes.
Although he was slightly offended at being referred to as a juvenile, Severus still responded reverently towards the foreign minister. Harry showed the same respect. Both he and Harry concluded that to anyone over one hundred and fifty years of age, people under the age of sixty or so must appear to be children by comparison.
"Then let us begin our journey." The minister said, motioning to Asian Ministry Official YiChung Chang and his Grandaughter Cho to take their positions behind Harry and Severus.
Severus handed a vial containing a liquid the colour of young green leaves to Harry and unstoppered another similar vial for himself. "Take it all at once Harry, its effects are almost immediate." And with that he swallowed the entire contents of vial.
Both Father and Son cried out less than five seconds after taking their potions, and reeled back into YiChung and Cho's arms respectively. Within a few minutes, in Severus and Harry's place stood two young children. One had long flowing black hair, sallow skin, a relatively large nose, large wistful black eyes and appeared to be approximately nine years of age. The other young boy had short, disheveled black hair, brilliant green eyes the colour of young leaves early in spring, heavy spectacles, and appeared to no older than four or five.
Albus Dumbledore made his way over to the now child Severus and knelt beside him.
"This is humiliating, Headmaster." Severus said, his decidedly cute child's voice completely failing to instill any sense of fear in the people present.
"Ya' mean 'ere jus' smaller?" Hagrid said, unable to resist the urge to pick up the child Harry and place him on his shoulder. "Nut'in wrong wid 'ere minds?"
"No you ignoramus!" Child Snape shouted at the giant who now towered much higher over the boy.
"Severus, please don't be rude." Albus chided. "Yes, Hagrid. Harry and Severus retain most if not all of the memories they had in their former states. They do however have child's bodies now and their ability to reason will be impaired as their brains are at much younger developmental ages.
"Aww you are so cute Severus!" Remus said, tousling the youth's glossy black hair and squeezing his rosy cheeks.
"Quit it!" Severus shouted, kicking Remus in the shins. "I may be in a little kid's body, but I could still hex you from the British Isles all the way over the Ural Mountains! And I can still kick your bum at anything else, Moony!"
"SEVERUS!" Professor McGonagall scolded.
Harry seemed to revel in his restored juvenile state. Hagrid still had him on his shoulders and was hopping high into the air, giving Harry a ride he had never experienced in the past.
"Faster Hagrid!!" Harry said, holding onto the half giant's unruly black hair.
"Be assured!" YiChung said to Albus Dumbledore looking very excited. "We are most delighted to be having Severus and Harry at our home for the Winter Break. "Our home has been without children ever since Cho joined the exchange program and went to live in the UK. It will be nice to have the energies only children can bring again."
"I shall miss you very much, child." Albus said, lifting Severus into his arms.
"Put me down, bloody he--" Severus protested.
"Now Severus, swearing is an unacceptable behaviour." Albus scolded. "Especially now that you are a child again. I do not wish to make you sit in the corner for your transgressions."
"I'm sorry, Headmaster." Severus looked as though he wanted to say more, but his eyes filled with tears which he desperately tried to dash away.
"Aww, it is okay, child." Albus said, squeezing Severus tightly and patting him on the back. "I know it can be hard to get used to being a child again. Some outbursts are understandable."
Within the hour the entourage said their farewells and were en route to Yukiguni, a remote wizarding town hidden in the mountainous area just east of muggle Hokkaido.
Because the child Severus could no longer apparate safely, and Harry couldn't either, the Asian/Pacific entourage transported them in a charmed muggle jet plane.
"Father?" Harry said, turning to the slightly bigger boy next to him. "I thought magic people weren't s'pposed to mess with muggle artifacts. Isn't charming an airplane messing with a muggle artifact?"
"I guess the Asian/Pacific Ministry has different rules or something? This is real fun!" Severus said, not looking up from the portable video game console Cho had brought for them to play with. Severus threw Harry one of the other controllers. "Wanna try?"
"I'm not 'lowed to." Harry said, remembering what Dudley would do to him when the larger boy caught him playing with his video games. Once when he had tried out Dudley's Legend of Zelda game, not only did Dudley and his friends chase Harry around the neighborhood and beat him once they caught him, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had both spanked him afterwards."
"Harry, it's okay." Cho said, kneeling in front of the tiny Harry when she noticed tears in his eyes. She carefully placed the controller in his small hands. "This is my video game console and you can play if you want. It's okay with me."
"Will you play too, big sister?" Harry said, patting the seat next to him.
"Yes yes!" Severus said, scooting over to allow Cho to sit next to them. "Mario needs his friends to fight Koopa."
"Okay!" Cho said joining the two boys. "Let's go free the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"This is fun!" Harry exclaimed once they passed the fourth world in Mario Dream Factory. "I hope we can free Britain, too!" Harry said, guiding Luigi over a large trench with his controller.
"You will Harry!" Both Severus and Cho said together.
***
Although it had been difficult to get used to in the first few days in Japan, with the new foods and different culture from what they were used to. By the start of the second week in Yukiguni,both Severus and Harry seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience as children once more and were eager to try every new experience.
It became apparent almost immediately why Cho had truly been sorted into the Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts. It turned out she was not only an expert in magic, math and science, but was also proficient at mechanics. She was soon teaching Harry and Severus the basics of electronics and robotics, and even built small toys for them to play with, using nothing more than wires and a few scraps of metal from a muggle factory in Hokkaido.
Severus, who did his best to keep his position as potions professor known, was often seen paying the utmost attention to Cho's lessons in robotics. Harry nearly fell out of his chair laughing one day when Severus raised his hand in the air to ask a question. When Cho didn't answer him right away, Severus jumped out of his chair while still raising his hand.
What was an even bigger paradox would be if Cho treated Severus Snape the way he had treated his students, particularly the Gryffindors and especially Hermione Granger.
"Harry, what's so funny?" Cho asked, barely able to keep herself from surrendering to laughing herself at the way the child Harry carried on.
Harry could not answer and continued shaking in the throes of intense laughter. In his mind he was seeing the image of Cho scowling at professor Snape and saying "Sit down, Mr. Snape." Or calling Severus and insufferable know it all when she was explaining the types of oils (potions) different types of engines worked best on. Surely he would speak out of turn trying to explain what he knew about potions and get a mean scolding.
***
"Come on Sev, and Harry." Cho said, emerging from the dressing area with only a cotton robe on. "Let's get into the water."
Cho's parents and grandparents waved to the threesome. They were already soaking in the healing, mineral-rich waters of the onsen (hot springs) with other Japanese, Ainu, Chinese, Russian, Mongolian, Korean(yes wizard Korea is unified), Polynesian and Southeast Asian Wizards, each speaking in their own language but somehow understanding one another perfectly.
"But we have no proper swimwear." the boy Severus protested, clutching his robes tightly around himself.
"You don't wear swimsuits and stuff in the onsen." Cho said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"WHAT?!" Harry shrieked and jumped a few feet off the ground at the same time.
When Cho patiently explained that going into the onsen here was the same as having a bath, both Harry and Severus took off running with Cho in hot pursuit.
"Awww! Isn't that cute?" YiChung Chang commented as the Harry, Severus and Cho ran around the water for about the third time. "They are playing tag!"
"Yes father." Mr Chang said, leaning back in the water. "It is wonderful to have children in our community again."
"When are you and Ayame going to make us more grandchildren?" YiChung's wife YuFong asked, causing YiChung to nod his white haired head vigorously.
"When your boy stops spending so much time in the onsen!" Ayame answered with mock exasperation in her voice. "Do you have any idea what water of this temperature does to a man's sperm count?"
Mr Chang sunk up to his neck in the water.
***
"How are things going?" Albus Dumbledore, who had arrived about nine days later in the Japanese wizarding village, asked Cho's mother, Ayame.
"Just wonderful, Headmaster Dumbledore." The Dark haired mediwitch answered. She had returned to Japan with her daughter and husband for the holidays. "Forgive me Headmaster, but I almost did not recognize you at first."
"Oh..."Albus replied, as he accepted a cup of tea and a mochi (confection made from sweet rice and bean paste) from Mr. Chang who joined them in the room. "I took some of the antiaging potion Severus and Harry did so I wouldn't be so easily recognized."
"You look nice with chestnut coloured hair!" Mr Chang commented.
"Thanks," Albus said, wondering if he had taken a bit too much of the potion. His beard only had a few silvery strands in it now and the hair on his head was nearly all auburn. Not even he would recognize his own reflection right away if he were to see it unexpectedly in a magical mirror.
"So," Albus began after helping himself to another almond cookie from the plate Ayame brought them, "Are the boys well? Where are Harry and Severus now?"
As if on cue, Severus charged through the room, followed by Harry... both boys slightly damp and very naked.
"Harry Potter!" Cho yelled, charging into the room moments later with two sets of child sized wizard robes in her hands. "Severus Snape! While it is fine whilst we're at the onsen, it simply will not do for you be starkers all time! It's cold in Yukiguni!"
"But we're not cold!" Severus protested as he disappeared into the other room.
"They're just fine." Ayame Chang said grinning at the shocked look on Dumbledore's face.
***
Hermione Granger and her parents, Neville Longbottom and his grandmother, the entire Weasley family and a battle injured Nymphadora Tonks arrived at the Chang's residence on Christmas Eve. Both Cho's Japanese and Chinese relatives were there as well, and Harry was sure that Cho's house had charms on it to allow it to accommodate all of the occupants in the house.
"Thanks you so very much for having us over!" Arthur Weasley shook Mr. Chang's arm so intensely that Severus was sure it would have fallen off if he continued the action.
"Would you like to see our electronics?" Cho asked the excited red haired man as she led him to her work room.
"Hey mate!" Ron said to the miniature version of his best friend. "Enjoying it here?"
"Oh yes," Harry said. "Old Moldyshorts won't think of finding us here! And he's not expecting to find two little kids besides."
"Heh heh!" Ron laughed his cheeks soon matching the colour of his freckles. "Hey Harry, I like that name for him better! I'll start calling him Moldyshorts too!" Ron said, not cringing for once at Harry's reference to the Dark Lord.
"It is horrible that we can't assemble freely back in the UK anymore." Hermione said, joining her two best friends. Her unrully brown hair adorned with Japanese hair accessories. "Voldemort's forces trounced two large parties at wizarding homes just this week." Hermione pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet from her pocket and unrolled it for Harry to better see it.
This time Ron cringed, both at Hermione's use of the Dark Lord's name and the sight of the pictures printed in the daily prophet. The burned house, the dead family, the utter carnage...
Severus, who was standing close enough to the trio to hear, marched over to Albus and pulled him aside.
"Albus!" Severus said. "I think I should take the potion reversal draught now."
"Severus," Albus said, smoothing the youth's long black hair which Cho had obviously washed, conditioned and arranged into an elaborate topknot. "You need not resume your adult form just yet."
"But Albus," Severus persisted, climbing into Dumbledore's lap when the older wizard sat. "The Dark Lord trounced two Yule parties!"
"Severus, that was back in the UK, many many miles away..."
"What if he blasted those gatherings looking for Harry? Or me? Wasn't one of those parties held very close to Little Whinging?"
A look of apprehension spread across the older man's cheeks momentarily, then faded. "Severus...there are no threats of any immediate attacks here in Asia. And besides the counterpotion is instantaneous is it not?"
Severus nodded.
"Well then you can take it only when it is needed."
"But Albus." Severus protested, making no gesture to jump off the older man's lap.
"Severus," Albus said, stroking the boy's back. "I would prefer you remain as a child. At least until the day after Boxing day."
"WHY?" Severus shouted so loud that people turned and looked at him.
"Because, Severus... you've never had an enjoyable Christmas as a child. All those years you were left at Hogwarts while your peers went home to their families..."
"ALBUS!!" Severus said sharply, not wanting to be reminded of his painful childhood and adolescence. "Mum couldn't take me home then, and I HAVE NO parents now!!"
"I know it's hard to understand for you now since you are a child, but you do have family, and I order you to remain a child until after Boxing Day."
"YES..." Severus said, his young face only millimetres from the aged headmaster. "....SIR" he said with a sneer and stomped over to join Ginny and Neville in front of the Chang's large screen projection telly and watched Hokuto No Ken with them.
When Professors McGonagall and Lupin arrived several hours later, everyone sat down to a grand yule feast, served by the house elves. Afterwards, everyone ate Christmas Cake, Hot Tea, Hot Sake(rice wine) and Ice Cream.
Within a few hours, the children and adolescents were tired and soon all fell asleep on futons spread out on the floor in front of the Chang's giant Christmas tree which was lit by spelled candles and glowing apples from Aomori.
The older wizards either apparated back to the UK or else retired to one of the futons the Changs had set out for them in their other rooms.
Ayame Chang and Mr. Chang stood in their living room, watching the children and adolescents as they slept in front of the Christmas tree, long after everyone had fallen asleep. It was surely wonderful to have children in the house again and they stood there a long time watching their little chests rise and fall as they slumbered.
***
Harry awoke early on Christmas morning, not knowing where he was at first, until he rolled into Hermione, who was still fast asleep next to him. It was not yet daybreak, but he saw a faint glow coming from the room where Cho normally worked on her electronics. But Cho could not have been working in her lab, because she was still asleep on the other side of him...
Harry took a quick census of who was laying on the futons and noticed that Severus was missing. Harry lay back and waited, thinking that Sevvie was merely using the loo or something. When Severus still did not return after nearly three fourths of an hour, Harry boldly ventured toward Cho's lit work room. Perhaps Little Sevvie was in there.
And he was. Asleep with his head on Cho's work table was Severus Snape! An adult Severus Snape. Apparently he had taken the counterpotion despite his promise not to do so until after the 26th. Before him he had set up a makeshift potions lab and had obviously worked himself to the point of exhaustion.
Harry was about to wake his father when he felt the warmth of some one's gaze upon him from just inside the door. At first, Harry suspected that it was Mrs. Weasley, Headmaster Dumbledore or even Cho until he turned....
All his guesses had been wrong.
Seated on a the tatami mat floor, her flaming coal coloured hair fixed in an elaborate geisha-like style complete with jewelled pins and combs, and wearing the most beautiful brocaded silk kimono Harry had ever seen was...
Mervidith Snape! His beloved Grandmother!
"Grandmum!" Harry screamed, scaring poor Severus awake in the worst way possible. Harry did not care and scampered across the tatamis and dove onto his grandmother's lap. Because he was truly a young child now, he had very little self control and bawled loudly enough to wake everyone in the whole Chang household and in all likelihood the witches and wizards in the neighbouring houses as well.
"Grandmother...oh grandmother!" Harry said, once he had composed himself and gained the audience of everyone still in the household. "Am I dreaming? If I am I don't want to wake up. I don't want you to be gone! Never never never never never!"
"No Harry, you're not dreaming." Mervidith said, wrapping her long kimono sleeves around the small boy. "And I'll always be with you for the holidays... I promise."
"But...how?" Harry whimpered, leaning against his grandmother's shoulder.
"Well, when Sevvy, uh your father and you first arrived, your father was impressed by how far advanced the science of robotics was in the muggle world here. Because the magical world of Asia and the Pacific embraces both the magical and the muggle sciences, they were able to create very human- like androids." Mervidith stated, resting her head against Harry's.
"So you're a ande- roid, grandmum?" Harry said touching the older woman's cheeks and hair.
"Well my body is artificial, but I'm the same grandmother that greeted you all those years ago... who longed for you to join us at the table back in Alsace." Mervidith kissed Harry on his tiny forehead. "The same grandmother who loved you even before you were ever born..."
"But you're so warm and you feel so real. And you're breathing." Harry said, noticing that he was not the only one in the room who was crying.
"Thank your father and all your wonderful friends and their families for that." Mervidith said regarding the group with the deepest of reverence in her twinkling nigh sky coloured eyes. "While Cho and her engineering friends built my body, Hermione, Ron and everyone else researched the feasibility of this project, particularly the part about the soul chamber."
"Soul Chamber?" Harry asked, his teary green eyes wide with wonder. "What is a soul chamber?"
Hermione, who was busily dabbing her eyes on a wad of tissue moved close to the grandmother and grandchild. "It is a receptacle assembled under very complex magical conditions. It was originally used in the middle ages to trap unwanted spirits from old castles and the like so that they could be easily disposed of. When you told us about how you could see your grandmother's spirit but how she couldn't communicate to people who aren't perceptive of the spirit world because her body sustained so much nerve damage from the prolonged cruciatus curse being used against her, we all began to research on this with the original intent to place her spirit somewhere close to you. When we learned that Cho and her friends built androids as a hobby, we decided to join forces on this project."
"Yes, sweet Harry." Mervidith said, watching as Severus gulped down a vial of deaging potion and turned back into a nine year old boy. "Your friends and their families spent many hours researching about creating a soul chamber and adapting it to reside in an android's body."
"They brought your soul over here?" Harry said, his young mind having difficulty comprehending all he was told.
"Yes just after you went to sleep," Mervidith said, enjoying the fact that she could finally hold her beloved grandson in her arms and actually feel him due to specially created sensors in her fingers. "They installed the chamber into this artificial body."
Harry looked to the other people in the room with his large teary eyes and mouthed a silent "thank you." He had lost all of his ability to speak on his own.
"And finally, your father developed the potions that make me so lifelike. Almost every day since the first day you both arrived here, he has been turning himself back into his adult form and working on potions, and only sneaking back to bed just before daybreak." Mervidith said, regarding her son who looked as though he were repressing the instinct to run off. He never liked being praised for his work. "Originally, I would have looked like a true cyborg with only rubber laytex to cover my circuitry. But Sevvie, uh your father, created artificial skin that conducts heat well and is porous enough to allow the sensory circuits to let me feel. Your father even managed to develop a potion making me endothermic... Er...so that I feel warm, just like a real living person."
"So you're not a machine... not just a machine." Harry said with only the wisdom an innocent child was capable of. "You're not really an ander-roid. You're truly alive and were created by the love of many people."
"Yes...all of the people that love you, worked on this...a project they only called Eve amoungst themselves. Project Eve. All their love helped create me, so that I could be with you once more, my precious grandson." Mervidith Snape said, looking at everyone in the room in turn. "And their hard work will also allow other wizard children who have lost loved ones to spell damage from the cruciatus curse..." Mervidith looked at Neville Longbottom. "...to have hope once more."
"So you're really like Eve." Harry said, thoughtful again. "You're the first one in your species."
"The first of many..." Neville whispered silently.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" Everyone present said in unison.
"Thank you." Harry said, hugging everyone present in turn, being careful when he hugged Nymphadora Tonks as her wounds were still considerably fresh.
When Harry returned to his grandmother's arms, he discovered that the nine year-old version of his father had joined him there as well. Harry hugged them both contentedly, happier this year than he had ever been in any previous holiday season.
"This is the best holiday season ever!"
"And it's just starting, Harry!" Ginny said smiling. "From what I understand, these wizards are from so many cultures that they celebrate not only Christmas, but Kwanzaa, Hannukah, and they have the biggest celebration on New Years!"
"And you're all very welcome to join us!" YiChung said smiling as he offered everyone almond cookies. "Children make the holidays all the brighter, like flowers upon a deserted plain."
"And family," Harry observed, "...is like sunshine that makes the flowers on that deserted plain grow."
For a longest moment no one moved. All were too moved to do so.
The End!