Author Notes: Hello everyone and Happy Easter if you celebrate this day! How time flies, it's almost a year since I posted the first chapter of this story last Easter. Enjoy :)

Warnings: This is an experiment mixing my preference with my daughter's who is the co-author of this story. Hence, there are two OCs, some OOCness, some fluff and a general disregard for both logic and the more serious incidents in canon.

- Chapter Start -

Today was Easter Sunday.

Harry knew he should stay away from the dungeons lest he was caught by Snape who would doubtlessly accuse him of wanting to present him with Easter eggs or some such juvenile nonsense. Not that he didn't already have in his schoolbag a pretty box of six carefully decorated chocolate eggs - expensive, imported Belgian dark chocolate at that. Not that he wasn't already at the stairs leading down to the dungeons while everyone else was still in the Great Hall, enjoying hot cross buns, bunny shaped cinnamon rolls, chicken rolls, fruit cake and other tasty Easter treats.

Harry knew he shouldn't even be contemplating this. It was the height of idiocy, feeding the already idiotic crush he had on the sarcastic Potions Master of Hogwarts. Heaving a sigh, he leaned over the balustrade and peered down at the lower levels of the spiral staircase, dimly outlined by the flickering light of torches. He had planned to quickly sprint down there, leave the eggs outside Snape's door and then bolt up here again before his friends finished their breakfast and came looking for him.

After all, what was the worst that could happen - Snape catching him in the act?

Harry couldn't say he would mind that too much.

Snape not catching him in the act?

That would be fine too; Harry had already penciled his initials on the underside of the box. Yes, he shouldn't have, but he had.

Caramel and Velvet coming across his gift before their master did?

OK, that was bad especially after what had happened on Valentine's Day. Harry wasn't sure if their memories were stronger than their inquisitiveness, but it wasn't something he wanted to find out.

"Meow?"

"Meow?"

Blinking, Harry spun around to see the very two felines he had been thinking of approaching him from the direction of the Great Hall. He knelt down and grinned when they climbed into his lap and meowed happily, pushing their little heads under his hands in a shameless demand for pats.

"What is it now? Are you two hungry for food or for attention?" he teased, stroking their tiny ears with gentle fingertips.

At the mention of food, Caramel and Velvet looked up at him, all big eyes, perked up ears and hopeful expressions.

"Meow..."

"Meow..."

Chuckling, Harry slid his schoolbag off of his shoulder and opened it, pushing aside the box of Easter eggs.

"I should have something here. Let's see... chocolate frog - nope, hot cross buns, the snack Hermione gave me last week... yes, that should do nicely."

He pulled out the small yellow packet, quite relieved to get rid of the healthy sugar free crackers under the guise of doing a good deed. When the two kittens started pawing at it, he held it out of reach.

"Meow!"

"Meow!"

"Let me open it first," he told them.

Undeterred, Caramel and Velvet crouched low, little rumps wiggling, before springing at the snack at the same time.

"Hey!"

Four enthusiastic paws had batted the packet from Harry's fingers and sent it sailing over the balustrade where it hovered tantalisingly for an instant before falling out of sight. Harry jumped up and peered over the balustrade but couldn't spot the packet on the steps anywhere. He turned to give the kittens an exasperated look.

"You two are going to get Hermione in trouble. Everyone knows those snacks come from her and down there is Slytherin territory," he scolded them.

Caramel and Velvet turned to each other with guilty expressions.

"Meow." (We didn't mean to do that.)

"Meow." (And Hermione's a nice girl too.)

"Meow." (We'd better go get it back.)

"Meow!" (After all, Slytherin territory is our territory too!)

Without further ado, the two kittens ran to the stairs and dashed down the steps.

"Hey, wait!" Slinging his schoolbag onto his shoulder again, Harry rushed after them.

- o -

The packet had fallen down the hollow centre of the spiral staircase and landed right at the bottom, on the lowest level of the dungeons.

Relieved there was no one around, Harry bent down and pulled it from Caramel and Velvet's little teeth. He straightened up and then looked over his shoulder at the corridor where Snape's quarters were, tempted.

After all, he was already here, wasn't he?

Before he could talk himself out of it, he was jogging down that corridor with one excited kitten and another suspicious one at his heels. In front of the now familiar door, he knelt down and opened his schoolbag again, carefully taking out the box of Easter eggs.

"Meow?"

"Meow?"

"No, these are not for you," Harry told them, opening the box for a final check. He sighed when Caramel and Velvet immediately pushed their faces closer only to step back with disappointed pouts.

"Yeah, they're chocolate," Harry said absently, frowning down at the six eggs.

They were larger than chicken eggs and had looked perfect on his bed covers, nestled in their box of red velvet when Hedwig delivered them yesterday morning. Now, sitting on the stone floor, they looked... too few. Harry bit his lower lip, assailed by last minute doubts. He should have gotten the deluxe box with a dozen eggs.

Why hadn't he?

It wasn't as if he couldn't afford them!

Wait - Hermione had taught him and Ron the Gemino charm a couple of weeks ago. If he did it right - Harry pushed aside a niggling hint of doubt - Snape wouldn't be any the wiser. And if Snape decided not to eat the chocolates after all - Harry ignored the pang in his chest - twelve would still look a lot better than six, right?

Nodding to himself, Harry took out his wand and pointed it at the box.

"Meow."

"Meow"

Caramel and Velvet had pushed the slightly chewed up packet up against his leg and were giving him exasperated frowns that said 'Open it already!'

"I will, just give me a moment," Harry told them and turned back to the box of eggs.

"Geminio," he whispered and the eggs started wriggling. "Oops, I forgot to make the box bigger first. Right. Finite incant-"

"Meowr!"

"Meowr!"

Harry broke off as the packet landed in his lap, followed by two impatient kittens.

"Alright, I'll open it! Just let me cancel the - hey!"

Caramel and Velvet had jumped up and knocked his wand from his hand. Harry jerked his head to the side in time to see it land several feet away, the loud clatter it made masking several popping sounds.

With an exasperated sigh, he snatched up the snack. Snape's kittens truly had the patience of a gnat; they were now climbing up his arms, two golden eyes and two green ones affixed on their prize. Holding the packet high over his head, Harry pulled on the top and felt it tear.

"OK, I've opened it. Get down, you two!" he hissed - they were now trying to climb on top of his head, two back paws pushing down on each of his ears and almost dislodging his glasses. Screwing his eyes shut against the danger sharp little claws posed, Harry hoped he wouldn't end up with ears like Yoda - wouldn't Snape love that.

In the next second, the door in front of him was pulled open and all three of them froze.

Great, Harry thought miserably to himself, eyes still squeezed shut. This time, Caramel and Velvet were hanging from the sides of his head instead of his chest while he was holding aloft an offering of healthy snack instead of chocolates. What sort of flavour were they anyway? Carrot? Beetroot? Potato?

"Fish flavoured crackers, Mr. Potter?" came the deep, mocking tones of the Potions Master. "How... unorthodox. Were the shops out of Belgian chocolates this time around?"

Harry flushed red from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, ready to die of embarrassment right there and then. Dropping the packet on the floor - it crinkled as Caramel and Velvet pounced on it - he jerked his head up to see a freshly showered Snape glowering down at him, arms folded across his chest.

"Uhm, that isn't for you, sir. I did get you chocolates - here they are."

Harry snatched up the opened box only to blink down at it in shock. There were more than six eggs squashed there. Oh Merlin, he hadn't cancelled the Gemino charm!

"Gah." Setting the box down again, Harry scrambled over to his wand on his hands and knees. A series of popping sounds made him look back to see Snape pointing his own wand at the now overflowing box while Caramel and Velvet stared at it with round eyes, coveted snack forgotten for the time being.

Twelve had become twenty four.

"Finite incantatem!" Harry shouted in the exact same instant Snape intoned, "Evanesco!"

Their spells collided in a flash of bright yellow light that enveloped the box. Caramel and Velvet yowled and jumped back, their fur standing on end.

Blinking colourful spots from his eyes, Harry stared at the box, mouth dropping open. Not only were the two dozen eggs still there, they had now grown tiny yellow legs and were stepping over each other as they escaped their crowded home. As Snape, Harry and the two kittens stared at them, the eggs scurried past Snape's polished boots and into his quarters, spreading out in all directions.

Snape whipped back to Harry and pinned him with a black glare.

"What is the meaning of this prank, Potter?" he snarled.

"It's not a prank, I was cancelling the spell!" Harry protested, getting up. "You shouldn't have tried to Vanish them at the same time!"

Snape opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, a look of dismay crossing his thin face. He spun around again to stare at his living room, but there was no sign of the twenty four eggs. The only thing that gave away their presence was another series of popping sounds, now muffled.

Harry winced - make that forty eight eggs.

"Get in here and help me look for those blasted eggs right now!" Snape ordered, standing to one side.

Harry hurried in, face still flushed with embarrassment. Grabbing a fish cracker each, Caramel and Velvet scampered after him, their eyes gleaming in renewed excitement. After sniffing around, they jumped up onto the sofa and pulled aside the middle cushion with sharp little teeth, revealing ten eggs hiding there with triumphant mewls.

Snape grunted in approval and conjured up a large sack which he thrust at Harry, jerking his head towards the sofa.

Without a word, Harry went over and held the sack open for the two kittens to herd the eggs into. The other cushions revealed several more eggs, but by the time they were safely bagged, there was another series of popping sounds and the sack had grown heavier.

"Cancel your spell now!" Snape barked at Harry, looking incensed as he juggled several eggs, one of them trying to run up his arm. "Only the caster can-"

"Only the caster can cancel it, I know," Harry said hastily. He waved his wand in a wide circle, ignoring Snape's swiftly masked flinch, and hoped his spell would reach all the eggs wherever they might be hiding. "Finite Incantatem!"

They listened intently for about half a minute and to their relief, no more popping sounds were heard.

"Now get the rest of the eggs. There should be a total of ninety six," Snape said grimly. He dropped the eggs he had into the sack before striding over to his bookshelves to check them.

Harry followed the kittens as they went through the armchairs, side tables and coffee table like well trained sheepdogs, efficiently uncovering several more eggs which they happily chased into the sack Harry held open. The bathroom was their next destination and they found another ten eggs hiding in the sink, seven in the bathtub, three behind the toilet and one on top of the mirror.

Emerging from the bathroom with the sack held in both arms - the eggs were remarkably heavy - Harry found a grim faced Snape waiting for him with an armful of eggs and two sitting on each shoulder. Biting back a grin, he held open the sack and took a deep breath as Snape bent forward to drop the eggs inside, ignoring the suspicious glare from the man as he straightened up.

"How many have you collected? Did you count them?" Snape demanded.

"Seventy eggs, sir, before you dropped the last batch in."

"I had fourteen. That makes eighty four."

"Meow."

"Meow."

They both turned around to see Caramel and Velvet running after a lone egg scurrying towards a door that had been left ajar.

"That must be where the last twelve are hiding, sir," Harry pointed out in relief and quickly followed the kittens.

"Potter, that's my bedroom!"

- o -

It was indeed and looked the same as it did the last time Harry was in here. There was even the same grey nightshirt lying on the bed. The only difference was the dozen eggs walking about on the covers.

Harry neared the bed where Caramel and Velvet had started to herd the eggs into a neat circle. He should be stuffing them in the sack, but his hand had different ideas and picked up the nightshirt instead.

Bringing the soft material it to his nose, he inhaled deeply of its scent - aaaah!- and ignored Caramel's scolding meows and Velvet's delighted noises of encouragement.

"Potter!"

With a squeak, Harry spun around to see Snape standing in the doorway, eyes wide with disbelief.

"You were smelling that!" the Potions Master accused, looking vexed and bewildered and mortified all at the same time.

"I-I wasn't!" Harry quickly swung back to the bed and held the sack open for a disgruntled Caramel and a happy Velvet to push the eggs in, each kitten continuing to keep a sharp eye on the two wizards. "OK, done!"

"Now drop the nightshirt and give me the sack at once!" Snape ordered, marching inside the room.

In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have issued two different commands in the same sentence. Harry, flustered and embarrassed, did the exact opposite, holding out the garment to Snape... and dropping the bulging sack on the floor.

Ninety six beautifully decorated eggs immediately spilled out of the opening and made a beeline for the bedroom door. On the bed, Caramel and Velvet face pawed themselves before starting a cacophony of high pitched, aggrieved sounding mewls.

"I'm sorry!" Harry told them. "He told me to drop it and I - er..."

"I told you to drop my shirt!"

"You shouted at me, I got confused!"

"It was just two commands, Potter! And stop sniffing at it, for Merlin's sake, I've already worn - give it to me right now!"

Snape snatched his nightshirt from Harry, tossed it onto the bed where it promptly covered and silenced two indignant kittens, and then loomed over Harry.

"I did not ask you to drop the sack," he began only to be interrupted by Caramel and Velvet whose small heads popped out of his nightshirt.

"Meow!"

"Meow!"

"This is all Potter's fault," Snape told them, still pinning Harry with his ferocious glare. "If he hadn't picked up my nightshirt and sniffed it, he wouldn't have-"

"Because it smells just like you!"

No sooner were the words out of Harry's mouth than he wished he could swallow them back. He could feel his entire head about explode with heat as he forced himself to hold Snape's shocked gaze, the man opening and closing his mouth with no sound coming out. Until...

"Meowr!"

"Meowr!"

Blinking, Snape and Harry turned to see Caramel and Velvet pointing at the open doorway of the bedroom through which a single egg could be seen running towards the front door, holding what looked like a bundle of knotted grass over its head.

"They... they have arms," Harry stated the obvious in a disbelieving voice. "They only had legs earlier."

Hurrying out, they saw that last egg run out the door, almost tripping up on the packet of crackers the kittens had left in the corridor.

For a long moment, there was only silence and then Snape uttered a strangled sound and rushed to his potions cupboard, flinging both doors wide open. The shelves were empty save for a similar bundle of grass on the bottom shelf.

Snape stared at it before throwing his head back and letting loose a howl of rage which Harry swore was the manliest scream he had ever heard.

To be continued...

A/N: Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the silliness! Please review?