Title: Missing You Come Christmas
Author: Lady B
Characters: Harry/Severus, Draco/Hermione, Ron/Luna, Neville, the other Weasley kids
Rating: PG
Summary: How do you keep hope alive when the one you love has been missing for nearly a year?
Prompt: #1: A Letter To Santa for awdt's Two Weeks of Quickies fest.
Word Count: 2130 words (I'm sorry girls, I couldn't keep it to 500 words!!)
Author's Note: Based on the song of the same name performed by New Kids On The Block from the album "Merry Merry Christmas". Also, I would like to (getting down on knees) PROFUSELY apologize to my fellow Harry/Draco shippers for pairing Draco with Hermione. My muse (the muscled gay bitch that he is), demanded that they be paired for this one (he even broke out his favorite paddle and threatened me with it). I promise you now, I will not be writing any kissing or sex scenes between the two. The most they'll get is a kiss on the cheek or lips and that is all.
Disclaimer: Anything HP belongs to the rich, blonde, British lady. The song belongs to New Kids On The Block. Everything else, belongs to me.

[Edit Jan.27.2007]: A reader at Fanfiction.net was kind enough to translate my fic into Portuguese. You can find it here or here.

- - -

"Promise me something?"

"If it's within my power, it is yours."

"No matter what happens or how long you're gone, come home for Christmas."

A small smile, a tender kiss.

"Now that's a promise I will keep close to my heart, love."

And then he's gone.

- - -

- Christmas Eve, 6:00 PM -

Harry sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time as he stared out of the frost-covered window of his living room. Shivering from a sudden draft, he rubbed the goosebumps from his arms and rested his forehead against the window pane.

"Harry, come sit down please? You are only going to worry yourself to death." Hermione's voice stated from behind him, a moment before her hands rested on his shoulders. He looked at her.

"I'm not very good company this night, am I?"

"It's okay, Scarhead. You're never good company when you're brooding." Draco snickered from his spot on the couch. Harry gave his friend a small smile.

"If you guys want to leave, I don't mind." Harry told his friends. Ron and Luna looked up at him from their spot on the floor near the brightly lit Christmas tree.

"Wild thestrals couldn't drag us away." Ron stated.

"No worries, Harry. The Clappering Withersnarts will make everything right. You'll see." Luna smiled.

"I thought it was the Snarflaced Buzzing Twarfs?" Neville asked, used to Luna's idiosyncrasies after being her friend for the last fifteen years.

"Oh no! Twarfs don't like mud. Makes them cranky." she whispered. This startled a laugh out of Harry and everyone breathed a sigh of relief to hear it.

Draco gained his feet and moved closer to his pregnant wife and his closest friend. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"What's really bothering you, Harry?"

"It's been almost a year and I've not heard a word. Do you think something could have happened to him?" Harry chewed on his lower lip with worry.

"Are you kidding me? This is the same man who's been Crucio'd so many times and lived to tell the tale – sane might I add! Do you honestly think he would break a promise?"

"It's been a year, Draco." Harry sighed, struggling not to cry.

"He's fine, Harry. I'd stake my life on it."

Dobby popped into the room and announced that dinner was ready and everyone moved to the dining room. Harry took one last look out the window before moving to join his friends.

- - -

Inviting his friends to whichever bedroom they'd like, Harry went to his own room and got into his pajamas. He stared at the big (empty!) four-poster that dominated one part of the room and blinked back sudden tears. He moved over to the antique writing desk that his husband had picked up during one of their earliest travels through Egypt, insisting it would give their bedroom a spot of culture.

He pulled out a sheet of parchment and an ordinary muggle pen. Glancing briefly out the window and the snow-filled night, he bent over the parchment and began to write.

Dear Santa Claus

No, that sounds odd.

Mr Claus

Gawds that sounds worse.

Sir,

I'm probably going out on a limb here, writing to someone that I've never believed in as a kid, but I need some help. If you could see your way clear through my ramblings, you may understand what I'm asking you. My husband, alive and well and home. He promised me he would be home for Christmas, no matter what. He'd probably call me all kinds of names for worrying needlessly, but I can't help but worry about him. He's done so much for me over the years it's hard to remember them all. He is my life. I am lost without him, more so now that Christmas is upon us. I know I said I don't believe in you, but ever since I discovered I was a wizard, I've learned that just about anything is possible, including your existence.

Please, Sir. Santa. Please send my Severus back to me. Please! (teardrop).

Sincerely yours,
Harry James Potter-Snape

Harry stared at the letter through his tears, wondering if he was actually going to send it. Shaking his head violently, he crumpled the letter and tossed it into the fireplace, watching briefly as it burned. He turned away and crawled into bed, dimming the fire and the lights before dropping off into a restless sleep. He never noticed the slight wind that carried the ashes of his letter up the chimney and into the night.

- - -

- Christmas Morning, 6:00 AM -

Hermione looked at her husband standing on one side of her and her longtime best friend standing on her other side before returning her gaze to the imposing figure in front of her.

"Well...not how I pictured spending my Christmas morning." Draco mumbled, staring at the closed door in front of them.

"So knock, Ferret." Ron told him.

"No way! I do not want a repeat of last year, thank you." Draco still hadn't gotten the images of Severus naked arse as he pounded Harry into the mattress out of his head. He shuddered with the thought of it.

"Did it ever occur to the both of you that Harry may be alone in there?" Hermione asked, swatting them both in the back of their heads.

"Possibly." Draco agreed.

"So knock." Ron repeated.

"Chicken-shite!" Draco snorted, rapping smartly on the door.

"G'way!" came a muffled reply a few moments later.

"Potter, it's Christmas! Bring your arse out here so we can open presents!" Draco called back.

"Don't want to and you can't make me!" Harry replied back.

"Harry, we can't start Christmas without you." Ron pleaded.

"Bull!"

"Harry Potter, open this bloody door or I'll-" Draco ranted.

"You'll do nothing, you wuss!" Harry called out, "Now go away!"

Draco threw up his hands in frustration.

"You deal with him." He turned on his heel and stomped back down the stairs. Hermione resisted the urge to giggle as she watched him try to straighten out his bed hair. She looked at Ron, trying to ignore his bright orange Chuddley Cannons pajamas.

"Go on downstairs, Ron. I'll bring him around." she told him. He took one last look at the door before nodding. He kissed her cheek and followed Draco back down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door once again. There was no answer, but the door clicked open and she stepped into the room. She could make out Harry's still form beneath his comforter but he didn't open his eyes.

"Harry?"

"Hey."

"We need you downstairs, you know."

"Yeah."

"There's plenty of Christmas still left you know. He could come at any time."

"You think?" Harry asked, sitting up.

"Christmas is about miracles and hope. Don't lose hope and a miracle is sure to happen." she smiled at him, squeezing his foot beneath the blanket. He smiled at her.

"All right. I'll be down in a moment." he nodded. She patted his shoulder and eased herself up off the bed before leaving the room.

After calling for Dobby and asking him to start breakfast, Harry headed into the bathroom to shower and dress.

- - -

Fred, George, Neville's wife, Ginny, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie arrived while he was dressing so there was a fair amount of loud talking, laughing and good cheer floating about when he finally made his presence known. He looked around the room at his adopted family, watching Ron and Draco try to outdo one another over a game of chess, Hermione perched on the arm of Draco's chair and absentmindedly rubbing her swollen belly. Fred and George were telling Neville about their newest store that had opened in California. Bill and Charlie where mock wrestling one another as Ginny and Fleur traded dinner recipes. He smiled at them, still desperately wishing Severus was beside him, but letting the pain of his absence fade to a dull ache.

He cleared his throat and was bombarded by various shouts of 'Harry' and 'Happy Christmas' as Ginny ran to his side and tried to hug the breath from his lungs.

"Geez, Gin. What are they feeding Quidditch players nowadays?" he grunted with a laugh as she sat him down on his feet.

"Rocks, brother dear. Good source of iron." she grinned and winked at him. He laughed.

"Happy Christmas, everyone." he smiled. He saw Draco inching toward the tree out of the corner of his eye. "Hold it right there, Malfoy!"

"Ah come on!" Draco whined.

"Love, how many more times must we go through this?" Hermione grinned at him. "Breakfast before presents."

"So you keep saying...for the last ten years." Draco grumbled. "Please, Harry?"

"It's this family's tradition and everyone must stick to it." Harry told him with a shake of his head. Draco mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "damned Gryffindors and their traditions" and Harry laughed.

"Breakfast be ready, Master Harry!" Dobby called out. Harry thanked Dobby and everyone moved into the dining room.

- - -

Once the breakfast dishes were cleaned and put away, they moved back into the living room, where Hermione announced that it was Ron's turn to hand out the presents.

Soon they were lost in the most traditional of traditions – the ripping open of presents and throwing wrapping paper willy-nilly about the room.

In the middle of the chaos, the doorbell rang. Everyone froze and looked at Harry.

"You expecting anyone?" Charlie asked.

"No. Dobby?"

"Dobby get." Dobby nodded, vanishing from the room. He was back in a moment. "Strange man here to see Master Harry. He test, not bad. Strange, but not evil." Dobby replied. Harry stood up and followed Dobby into the foyer, the rest of his family right behind him.

"Bloody hell!" Ron gaped when he saw who was standing there. Harry's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Merry Christmas, Harry Potter." the man smiled, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Merry Christmas, Sir." Harry smiled, looking at the man known around the world as Santa Claus.

- - -

"...So imagine my surprise when a last minute letter comes winding its way through my home and landing on my dinner." Santa was explaining.

"Letter?" Bill wondered. Santa nodded.

"What letter? Who would send you a last minute Christmas wish on Christmas eve?" Ginny asked.

Instead of answering, Santa pulled an wrinkled sheet of parchment out of his pocket and held it up for them to see. Harry's breath caught in his throat.

"But I never sent it! I tossed it into the fireplace!" he exclaimed.

"When a wish is as heartfelt as yours, it will reach me." Santa smiled, getting to his feet. He stood in front of Harry. "I believe there is someone waiting for you outside."

Eyes wide, Harry all but ran to the front door, the others fast on his heels.

There was no one on the front porch. Dejected, Harry was about to turn and go back inside when a shadow of something down the lane caught his eye. Squinting against the swirling snow, he tried to make it out. It moved closer and Harry realized it was a person walking toward his home. He or she were still to far away to tell who it was, but a sense of anticipation had awakened in his heart. The person moved closer and Harry determined that it was male, judging by the long strides.

"Severus?" Harry whispered, hardly daring to believe it. His words must have been carried on the wind for the man stopped and looked directly at him.

"Harry." echoed faintly back at him. The man broke into a run and Harry met him somewhere in the middle, lips crashing together almost painfully. Tears were streaming down both their faces as Severus peppered his face with kisses. "Merlin, I missed you!" Severus smiled, staring down at his mate.

"Where were you?" Harry demanded, hugging him tightly.

"Lost somewhere in the Alps, with amnesia. I'd gotten caught in an avalanche and suffered severe head trauma. A wonderful elderly couple took me in, gave me food and shelter until I could get my memories back. And the whole time, something was nagging at the back of my head, like an itch I couldn't scratch, I was missing something or someone very important to me."

"You came home." Harry smiled, tears falling freely from his eyes.

"I promised I would, brat." Severus smirked, kissing Harry's nose.

"Happy Christmas, Severus." Harry stated, love shining in his eyes.

"Happy Christmas, Harry." He tenderly kissed his husband, their friends and family looking on. No one noticed the bright flash that lit up the house inside or the echo of sleigh bells in the sky above.

"Merry Christmas, my sons." Santa smiled as he lead his team into the sky.


~Fin

"I'll Be Missin You Come Christmas (A Letter To Santa)"

Did you ever really start to cry over something you just wrote?
Well I'm writing you, my dear St. Nick, it's the saddest little note.
Is it fair come this Christmas Eve that I should be alone,
when she knows how much I'm missing her, would you kindly bring her home?

This boy's letter to Santa Claus it's gonna tear him up,
when he reads how much I'm missing her it's gonna tear him up.
I'm sure if all his reindeer could arrange room on his sleigh
then I'd receive a big bright package and she'd be mine today.

I'll be missing you come Christmas, wishing hard, my dear,
missing you come Christmas, wishing you were here.