A Potion Induced Advent's Time
by Healer Pomfrey
Please refer to the content/warnings/disclaimer note above page 1.
December 7
"You bitch!" Severus shouted angrily and tapped the cauldron with his hand to banish the liquid, of which he telepathically reassured Harry that it was not dangerous. 'Do you really think they would add dangerous potions to a toddler's potions kit?' he sneered, before his mind apparently turned back to that of a two-year-old as he began to attack Minerva with his fists, so that she couldn't continue to fly.
"Sevvie bad," Minerva shouted and began to cry. She climbed up on Harry's bed and snuggled into his embrace.
Harry let out a long sigh. 'I think it's time for me to get up and play with them,' he thought and suggested, "Shall we set up the Hogwarts Express, so you can play with the train?"
"Yeah," Severus happily agreed, while Minerva shook her head.
"Twains awe bowing. I want to pway wif amals."
"Animals?" Harry asked, looking questioningly at the girl.
"Yeah, amals," she repeated, casting him a pleading look.
"All right then, let's set up the train, and then I'll conjure a few animals for you, which you can take from London to Hogsmeade and back. How is that?"
The children happily agreed, and to Harry's surprise and relief, the two of them busied themselves the rest of the weekend playing with their train set. By Sunday evening, he felt considerably better and was very happy when Pomfrey told him that he had only caught a very light version of the dangerous mermaid's flu.
"I am surprised, because everyone else is much worse off," she said in confusion. "Still I want you to rest for a few more days."
Harry shook his head. "No Madam, I want to go back to class tomorrow morning. The children really behaved well these two days, but I don't want to keep them inside this room any longer. I promise..."
"Harry," Pomfrey interrupted him in a soft voice. "You don't have classes anyway." She let out a long sigh, while she absentmindedly tickled Severus' feet. "All seventh years apart from the Weasley twins are ill. In fact, Professors Flitwick and Sprout are considering closing Hogwarts until the winter holidays."
"Why?" Harry asked in shock.
"Because we don't have anyone to teach Transfiguration and Potions, we're lacking two Heads of House, and the Headmistress and Deputy Headmaster are absent," Pomfrey said sadly. "Draco Malfoy was supposed to teach Potions and the twins Transfiguration, since they were the only healthy seventh years, but now Mr. Malfoy is sick as well, and the twins refuse to teach Potions if not together, which I can understand. I would be able to teach, but I don't have the time. The hospital wing is so full that I have to use two adjacent rooms, which I haven't had to use for at least ten years, and I can't leave the students in their dormitories, because two Heads of House are missing."
"Oh no, and that's only my fault," Harry groaned. He glanced at Minerva. "Madam Pomfrey, would it help if I taught Transfiguration? I mean... I should be able to teach at least the first and second years? That's the minimum I could do..." He interrupted himself seeing that Minerva was nodding eagerly.
"Hawwy can teach Tafigashun no pwobem," she said firmly.
'Pomfrey must be quite beside herself to allow me to teach Transfiguration, although I really don't feel well yet,' Harry mused, absentmindedly listening when the Healer informed him that she would send Professor Sprout with the current timetable and Malcolm, Minerva's personal house-elf, with her lesson plans.
HP
In the morning, Harry woke up very early having to change Minerva's nappy. 'I have to teach Transfiguration today,' he remembered when he gently dressed the girl, wondering if she would be able to access her older self's mind for a short brain storming. "Excuse me," he began hesitantly, "Malcolm brought me your lesson plans last night. Would it be all right to just continue after the last entry for each class?"
Minerva nodded. "Show me," she demanded, and during the next thirty minutes, they spoke about her lesson plans, and Harry practised each of the spells that he was going to teach the students, just to be sure. "Do you think it'll be all right?" he asked, feeling very much reassured when Minerva nodded and calmingly placed her hand on his arm.
Pomfrey only grudgingly allowed him to leave their rooms, when Harry insisted that he only had to teach the first, second and fourth year classes and then was going to have the afternoon off. Since so many students had taken ill, the classes were not separated according to the Houses, but all students of each year had classes together, and Professors Flitwick and Sprout, who had made the new timetable, had seen to it that Harry only had to teach in the mornings, so that he had the afternoon off to do something together with the toddlers. "Under normal conditions, I wouldn't let you out of bed yet, let alone teach classes," she said, sighing, before she told him to feel free to cancel his classes at anytime if he felt worse.
"No problem," Harry reassured her and promised to return to their rooms as soon as the last morning class was over. Taking both children by the hand, he headed to the classroom, when everyone was still gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast. He conjured a small children's table with two chairs right next to the teacher's table and motioned for the children to sit down. Lowering himself to their height, so that their eyes met, he said sternly, "During the class, you will stay in your seats. You may do some colouring or read..."
"Don' wanna read, wanna bwew," Severus said angrily, jumping up from his chair.
tbc...
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