Hogwarts - A Homecoming
Advent's Calendar 2012
by Healer Pomfrey

Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!

December 4

Dinner was a quiet affair, since Hermione and Harry were both exhausted and were contented that Severus happily ate a little bit of everything, which the house-elves had brought for him. Afterwards, they inspected the new nursery and put the boy to bed.

"Shouldn't we give him a bath?" Hermione asked; however, neither of them had the energy to do such a thing.

Instead, Hermione proceeded to read to the child from one of the children's books, which the elves had put on a bookshelf in the nursery. 'The Glibbery Cauldron' was a story about a small boy, who gathered magical herbs and brewed a potion in order to heal his limping cat, so that she could play with him again. Severus, who had yet to speak apart from the word "Dada", seemingly enjoyed himself, and when Hermione closed the book, he slowly shut his eyes, once again a small thumb wandering into his mouth.

"Thank Merlin, he's asleep. Let's go to bed, too," Harry whispered, letting out a huge yawn.

Hermione shook her head in annoyance. "Yes Harry, I'm tired too, but first we need to cast a charm on Sevvy, which will alert us when he wakes up or is in distress."

"How?" Harry queried in surprise, quirking an eyebrow.

Sighing, Hermione waved her wand over the crib and mumbled an incantation. Finally letting her wand sink, she informed Harry, "The charm will alert both of us if Sevvy needs us."

Harry profusely thanked the girl, deeming himself incredibly happy to have the most intelligent witch of his year as his best friend, and went to bed, drifting off to sleep before his head even touched the pillow.

HP

To Harry it seemed as if no time had passed, when Hermione's charm alerted him to the fact that Severus needed him. 'Oh no,' he inwardly groaned. 'I thought he was going to sleep through the night.' He slowly dragged himself to the nursery, where Hermione was just taking Sevvy out of his crib.

"What's wrong, Sevvy?" she cooed, gently cradling the baby close.

The boy immediately stopped crying; however, he still continued to whimper, even when Harry stepped near to him and carefully stroked the baby's hair.

"Maybe he needs a cuddly toy?" he suggested, knowing that Ron was still having a stuffed squirrel in his bed.

"Maybe," Hermione agreed. "Can you make a stuffed cat for him?"

Harry frowned and pointed his wand at a nappy that was lying on the changing table. An instant later, a stuffed cat was sitting on its place. It had black fur and beautiful emerald eyes. Harry pointed his wand at the cat, before he handed it to Severus. "If you rub its belly, the colour of its eyes will change," he explained, noticing contentedly that a small smile played on the boy's lips and the whimpers had stopped.

Busily cuddling his stuffed cat, Sevvy soon fell asleep again, and his two caretakers went back to their own beds in relief. However, too soon the small boy woke up again, crying.

Harry stumbled into the nursery, arriving at the same time as Hermione. He carefully picked the baby from his crib, giving him a sharp look. Again Severus stopped crying but continued to whimper, his face scrunched to a miserable frown.

Harry turned to the girl. "Mione, I've no idea what's wrong," he said, yawning. "Do you think he's hungry?"

"Is your belly empty?" Hermione cooed, carefully tickling the baby's toes.

Severus' lips stretched to a small chuckle, before the boy once again began to whimper.

"Perhaps we have to change his nappy again," Hermione guessed and carried the child to the changing table.

However, when she began to open his jump suit, Severus began to protest vehemently, so that they ruled out this idea quickly. Hermione motioned Harry to wait a moment and left the nursery. A minute later, she returned, carrying a small bottle.

"Here Severus, would you like some warm chocolate?" she queried, holding out the bottle to the boy.

However, Severus shook his head and nestled deeper into Harry's robes, busily cuddling his stuffed cat. 'Oh well, maybe he's tired enough now to sleep again,' Harry thought and carefully placed the child back into his crib. This did not go well with Severus though. The boy immediately began to cry again.

"Do you think he could be ill?" Hermione asked, thoughtfully, leaning over the crib to feel the boy's forehead. "Hmm, he feels a bit warm, but I'm not sure. Do you know the spell to check a temperature?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "If you don't know it, how would I?" he replied, shrugging. Pointing his wand at a new nappy, he transfigured it into a magical thermometer. He handed it to Hermione. "Good luck, Mione, but don't ask me how to take the temperature of a baby. Can we stick it into his mouth?"

Hermione frowned. "Probably not," she slowly replied. "He's too small. Can you put him on the changing table once more please?"

Harry obeyed; however, as soon as Hermione tried to open the jumpsuit, explaining that she only quickly wanted to check if he didn't have a fever, Severus began to kick his feet.

"Severus, behave yourself," Harry said sternly, glaring at the child, who again whimpered miserably but at least allowed Harry to check his temperature.

An instant later, green numbers emerged from the other end of the thermometer. "No fever," Harry announced, sighing in relief. "That's at least something." He quickly put a new nappy around the small bum and took the child into his arms.

The two students exchanged a frustrated look. "Maybe it's too dark for him," Hermione guessed. "Should we switch on the torch at the window?"

"I'm going to take him to bed with me," Harry whispered, finding himself unable to stay awake any longer. "Maybe he'll sleep if he's not alone."

"Okay Harry, do that," Hermione agreed, sounding relieved. "Just call me if you need help." Before they separated in front of the nursery, she added, "Be careful not to squash him, when you turn over."

"Hermione," Harry groaned, exasperated, "I'm not heavy enough to squash him. He's not a new born but one and a half years old."

The young witch grinned and returned to her own room. 'I'll just hope Sevvy is going to sleep now,' Harry thought, feeling absolutely knackered after his long last day of the war. To his immense relief, Severus fell asleep right away, cuddled into Harry's arm. 'What a day,' Harry thought, somehow feeling very happy as he observed the small boy asleep next to him. 'I just hope I'll manage to be a good father to him. He really deserves a much better life than the first time was.' Contentedly cradling Sevvy close, he drifted off to a much needed sleep.

However, it was still dark, when Harry was pulled out of his slumber again, feeling Sevvy thrash around, kicking him with his small legs. He reached for his wand and lit the torches that flooded the room with a warm, yellowish light.

"Sevvy, wake up," he whispered, lightly touching the boy's shoulder.

To his relief, the child immediately stopped moving and lazily opened his eyes. However, his face displayed that he was in distress, and he again began to whimper, miserably.

"What happened, Sevvy?" Harry asked quietly, wondering if such a small child was already able to have nightmares. He studied the small face in search for a reply, which came in a very sudden and unexpected way.

tbc...

Thank you so much for your kind reviews! My muse appreciates them greatly. For those who have missed Ron, he will make his appearance tomorrow.