Chapter Eleven

Sirius paced around the room as he bounced a fussy Rain. The students had gone from being newborns to a month old in just under a week. It complicated things as far as how childcare would work, but they were managing. Their biggest hurdle would be happening over the next couple of days. Lupin's transformation would be taking place later that night, which would leave Sirius up to the task of teaching up at the castle. They hadn't found a solid plan yet, but talks of letting Dumbledore tackle some baby time had crossed all their minds.

"Please stop crying," Sirius begged, "I'll give you anything you want if you just stop crying."

The sound of footsteps snuck up behind him and he spun around to see Minerva draping her robe over the back of one of the dining chairs. She reached out to take the baby from him and he quickly obliged. Rain was a little warm, but the professor didn't think it was anything to be overly worried about.

"How long has she been crying like this?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. She started after everyone left."

Rain let out a pained cry that resulted in a weak whimper, followed by silent wailing, and then a loud scream. Minerva held the baby close and began to rock her as she stroked the side of her face with her index finger. In the corner of the room Sadie had started to fuss and Sirius responded to give his partner some space. The remaining four infants seemed to be in better spirits as they laid on their communal blanket in front of the sectional.

"There there, Sadie," Sirius said as he laid the baby against his shoulder. "Look, your mummy's home." He turned so Sadie's face was pointed in Minerva's direction. "See her?"

Minerva walked closer to them and reached out to rub the back of Sadie's hand before making her way back to where she'd been standing nearing the dining room table. The pair tried to soothe the crying babies, but nothing seemed to work. Sadie eventually cried herself to sleep, but Rain wouldn't give in.

"I'll make her a bottle. Maybe she'll feel better with something in her belly," Sirius suggested as he began pulling a bottle out from one of the cupboards.

"Sirius, does she seem warmer to you now?" Minerva asked as she approached him, feeling the baby's forehead.

Rain's entire body was radiating more heat than it should and he told her, "Maybe a little. How about you take her to Madam Pompfrey and I'll get everyone here ready to make a trip up to the castle."

Minerva quickly swaddled Rain, put her robe back on, and headed out. Sirius looked around the room and tried to think of the fastest way to get everyone ready and into the car. He tackled changing and swaddling Sadie first, then put her in the stroller. Next he wrangled the rest of the babies into warmer outfits. Once they were all dressed, he struggled to swaddle each of them before putting them into the same stroller and making his way outside.. The car was already waiting and ready in front when he shut and locked the front door. The passenger door opened for his as he approached and he quickly buckled in the bassinet after removing it from the stroller.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" He asked before closing the door and running around to the driver side to head to the castle.

The drive there seemed to take much less time than it usually did. Perhaps he'd driven to and from the school enough that now that distance didn't seem so long. When they made it out of the forest, he could see Snape standing in the main archway that led from the path to Hagrids into the school. The car stopped and Sirius got out.

"Minerva is still with Rain," Snape told him.

"How is she?"

"She began to cry when Madam Pomfrey took her from Minerva, but I've heard all new mothers do that."

"I was talking about Rain, Severus."

Snape walked around and took the bassinet out of the passenger seat, "I know, but Rain handled everything better than Minerva."

Sirius reached into the back seat from the driver side and got the bottom half of the pram out, "What's wrong with her?"

Snape put the bassinet into the stroller as he responded, "Ear infection. A drop in each ear and she's already doing much better." As they began to walk toward the hospital wing, Severus added, "Pomfrey said she'll probably run a fever for the next couple of days, but she gave us some drops to put in her milk to help keep her temperature down and get rid of the infection."

"So she'll be better in a couple of days?"

"Yes. Poppy wants to keep her for the rest of the day for observation. I can take the children back home once we've all had a chance to visit, if you'd like to stay up here with her."

"Thank you, Severus. I could use a bit of a break."

The house was still lit up inside as Sirius and Minerva walked up to the front door. Rain was sleeping peacefully in McGonagall's arms, her pacifier bobbing. It wasn't much of a surprise that Severus was still up, since he was in charge of getting all five babies to bed. Any other night and he would have had help from Remus, but Lupin was out doing werewolf things due to the full moon. The pair entered the house, however, to find that everyone was still awake and Snape had them laid out around the floor in front of the sectional, making funny noises and faces to make them laugh.

A giggle could be heard coming from Ash and Sirius commented, "Changed your mind about them, have you?

Snape shot up, Ash in tote as he began walking to get a swaddling blanket off the dining table, "I don't know what you mean."

"Sirius, can you take Rain and put her in bed?" Minerva asked as she carefully handed the sleeping infant to her partner. As he made his way to the room, she turned to Snape, "How were they?"

"They weren't too unbearable," He responded, "Sadie cried herself to sleep a couple of times, but I think she's calmed down a bit."

Minerva walked over and picked Emmett up from where he was laying, "With their accelerated ageing, hopefully Sadie grows out of her colic soon." She awkwardly bent over to pick Preston up with her free arm as she added, "I'm not in any rush for them to get back to being eleven, but I wouldn't mind hearing them babble."

Snape didn't get the chance to respond before Sirius quietly announced, "She's out like a light."

"Good. Hopefully she sleeps through the night," Minerva told him.

Sirius picked Sadie up and sat on the couch, "Alright, young lady, we need to get you to sleep, okay? Minimal fussing. I want to see those eyes closed within the hour."

"We all know barking commands at her like that isn't going to work," Minerva told him as she sat rocking Preston to sleep while she wriggled her fingers in front of Emmett's face to keep him occupied.

Sadie let out a whimper and Snape told him in a sarcastic tone, "You've upset her."

"I think she'll forgive me."

The infant squirmed and he laid her up against his shoulder so that her head was against his neck. As he moved back to the corner closest to him and kicked up his feet, Snape sat at the end of the couch with Ash half asleep in his arms. By the time Minerva got up to put Preston in the boy's crib, Snape was able to exchange the baby he'd managed to put to sleep for Emmett. Luck seemed to be on their side as McGonagall came back out to find Liam had fallen asleep on his own while laying on the floor. She picked him up and cuddled with him on the couch, running her index finger along the back of his hand, smelling the top of his head, and rubbing his back as she waited for the two men in the room to signal that Sadie and Emmett were finally ready to be put in bed.

"I think Emmett finally closed his eyes," Snape whispered.

Sirius could feel Sadie still moving and told them, "I think this one is gonna need a few more minutes."

Minerva leaned over from where she was sitting to get a look at Sadie's face, "She's almost there. Just keep rubbing her back."

"Is it just me or do they all seem to be cooperating really well tonight?" Sirius inquired.

Snape growled, "Don't jinx it. I'm not spending three more hours trying to get them calmed down enough to sleep. I have to head up to the castle to meet with a student early in the morning and I'd like to be able to get a few hours of sleep before I go."

"Which student?"

"Storm. She's a first year Slytherin."

McGonagall asked, "Isn't that the girl who almost got put in Gryffindor?"

He nodded, "Yes and she's quite the prodigy and I wanted to have a discussion with her about her talent."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "You're showing a particular interest in this girl?"

"It's not unheard of."

"No, but it is curious." He passed Sadie off to Minerva, hoping she would have more luck getting the baby to sleep.

"Her skills are above average, but I've noticed she excels as transfiguration. If she agrees to it, we may be able to help her improve her skill."

Minerva nodded at him, "She certainly has the most potential I've seen this year." She looked down to see Sadie struggling to stay awake, "I think we can head to bed now. She'll be asleep in no time.

They all quietly tiptoed as they made their way back to the bedroom. Sadie stayed asleep, her arms flopping back as Minerva gently placed her to the left of Ash. Rather than immediately crawl into bed, Sirius stood between the two cribs to make sure everyone was sleeping soundly before he turned in. Like every night, McGonagall went into the bathroom to set out everything she would need when she got up in the morning, but this time adding Rain's ear drops amongst the small number of items she would be using to bathe the students. She made sure to count the towels on the counter to ensure she had all six that she would need in the morning.

Minerva woke up to the sound of Rain's crying. She looked to her left to see Snape had already got out of bed. She rolled over onto her right side to find Sirius was also gone. She sat up and glanced at the cots across the room to find that both of them were empty. Grabbing her bathrobe, the professor walked out into the common area to find Snape bouncing a fussing baby in his arms. The cry sounded similar to Rain, but the infant he was holding had to be at least six months old.

Looking around the dining room table, five more babies that looked to be about the same age were sitting in highchairs, eating small bowls of baby cereal or drinking bottles of milk. Preston was the dead giveaway to her that these were her babies. For a moment Minerva had forgotten about the children's accelerated growth rate. It must have been the exhaustion of teaching full time while trying to raise six kids from infants. The adoption had already gone through, but the household's busy schedule had left Minerva little time to celebrate. Her children were aging a month nearly every week and the milestones seemed to be happening much closer together than she thought they would.

"I think she has another ear infection," Snape told her. As Minerva walked over and felt the baby's head, Snape added, "She's been tugging at the right one a bit more than the left, but I think both of them are bothering her."

Minerva put her hands out and Rain immediately reached for her as she cried, "Baba!"

"She hasn't eaten anything yet?" The woman asked, rubbing the back of Rain's head.

Snape shook his head, "She refused to eat, we've been giving her a bottle with water in it to keep her hydrated."

Minerva put her hand over Rain's right ear with her free hand, "It feels pretty warm. Can one of you go get me her-"

"They're right here," Lupin announced as he walked up behind her, pulling the dropper from it's container and dispensing a drop of the liquid into Rain's left ear. "Hopefully we caught it early enough this time that she doesn't have to worry about her ears hurting for too long." He let more of the serum drip onto Rain's right ear before setting the glass vial onto the counter and asking the baby, "Is that better?"

The baby rubbed her eyes as she turned her head away and rested it against Minerva in response to the man's question. A clatter drew everyone's attention in the direction of the highchairs where Liam had knocked him empty bowl onto the floor, then clapped at his achievement. Sirius lunged as Sadie reached for hers, putting it on the table before lifting her out of her seat.

"I think that's quite enough," He told her as he set her down.

"They're feeding themselves already? I thought that wasn't supposed to happen for another month or two?"

"Liam and Sadie are the only two that can feed themselves. Sadie probably still needs help, but she screams at you any time you try to help."

Snape walked over and took Liam out of his seat, then picked up the bowl, "I assume he's done with eating for now. I'll ward the floor in front of the couch so that he can't roll too far after I clean him up a bit."

Sirius followed Snape over with Sadie to do the same and reminded him, "Just make sure to use the cushioning charm as well."

"I know. I'm not an idiot."

"I only mentioned it because I forgot last time and Emmett almost hit his head when he fell over."

Snape took a damp cloth and quickly wiped down Liam's hands, then face, and the bit of food he got in his hair. Sirius did his best to clean up Sadie, but the baby refused to sit still long enough to get her face completely clean, so he gave up and laid her in the designated play area with Liam. He stood and watched the two of them interact with each other while Minerva tended to Rain and Lupin worked on getting the remaining four students fed with Snape.

Once the morning feeding was done, the adults sat around and watched over the students until they needed to put them down for an afternoon nap. Luckily for them, the six babies were sleep training, so all Minerva had to do was put them in their cots and then leave the room. She would check back on them later, but for the time being she needed to try and get the house cleaned up and go over the schedule for the next couple of weeks.

"School is almost over, what are we going to do with them if they aren't back to being their eleven year old selves before it ends?" Lupin asked the group as they sat around the table drinking tea while a broom swept itself across the floor behind him.

Minerva put her cup down and suggested, "Dumbledore has already made mention of them possibly having to repeat their first year, but I think we can get them caught up and give them their final exams before the next school year starts."

Snape scoffed, "That's only if the effects of the potion have faded off by the end of the school year."

"They're already at least six months old," Sirius pointed out. "The potion may be wearing off quicker than we think."

"Hopefully this teaches them not to mess with aging potions anymore."

Lupin asked, "What were they trying to accomplish anyway?"

"That's something we'll have to ask them at a later date," Minerva replied.

Snape was woken up by the sound of knocking on the bedroom door. He sat up and looked toward the two cots set at the foot of the bed. None of the toddlers seemed to be awake. He carefully got out of bed and made his way to the door. As he cracked it open, a light shined in through the small gap. Lupin was standing with Harry and Hermione. The look on their faces told him they had something important to talk about.

He stepped out, making sure to close the door behind him, and asked, "What is going on?"

"We're sorry to be waking you up at this hour," Hermione started, "But I think I may have a solution to reverse the effects of the aging potion an-."

"I'm impressed Miss Granger," He interrupted as he walked over and sat down at the dining table. He sighed and admitted, "I've known how to reverse it for a while, but decided this would be a good learning experience for them." As they all stared at him he added, "Besides, I think they're more tolerable this way and if we didn't happen to defeat the Death Eaters, they would come back looking for children, not babies. It's a win win scenario."

Hermione looked a little jealous as she tried to one up the professor, "I think I found a way to find out how the children got here."

"How?" McGonagall's voice came from the door of her bedroom. They slowly turned to look at her as she approached them, "And don't think I'm not upset with you over lying to us, Severus."

"Well," Hermione started, "I think we found a way to go back to the day each of them were born and follow them back here to Hogwarts."

Harry added, "It may even give us answers as to why the Death Eaters have shown so much interest in them."

Minerva looked at Hermione with a glimmer of hope and told her, "Let us know what you need."

The student dug a piece of parchment out of her pocket with a list of ingredients, "We need to bond them to us with this spell and then use this one to take us to their location. Wherever they happen to be when they're born, we'll be sent there. It should put us at the safest possible distance and let us know when we're within seven or eight meters." She pointed to the list at the top left of the page, then slid it down and the lower left, "We also need to use this potion to keep us from aging while we're gone. I anticipate this will take a lot longer than just a few hours."

Snape got up and began walking to the kitchen cupboard where he kept his ingredients, "I think I have everything on that list in this cupboard."

Sirius appeared from the bedroom, his eyes barely open, "What's going on?"

Lupin answered, "We're going to find out where the children came from."

"Are we really?"

Minerva nodded as Hermione explained everything again. Sirius then inquired, "Doesn't someone need to stay here to look after them?"

Hermione looked disappointed, "I didn't think about that."

McGonagall asked, "Are you sure this will work, Miss Granger?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably, "No I'm not, but what have we got to lose?"

The older woman sighed, "How long do you think this will take?"

"If one of us remains here, it will only seem like a couple of days, at the most. Truth be told I'm not exactly sure. I can guarantee that it will seem like years to anyone who goes. That's why we need to take the anti aging potion."

Snape told her, "I don't know how long this will last-"

Harry clarified, "It should theoretically last the entire time we are gone, if we drink it before we go back."

"Alright, then who is staying?"

Everyone looked around the room at one another. They all wanted to go to help find answers, but they knew someone needed to stay and look after the babies. There was also the conundrum of one child being left out of the mix when everyone left. After thinking about it, they decided it wouldn't matter how many people stayed, they just needed to know how the children got to the school. If they were all friends before arriving, their paths would cross. If need be, they could repeat the process.

"So it's decided," Harry announced, "Hermione and I will stay here to look after the children. Professor McGonagall will take Snape, Sirius, and Remus with her."

Minerva took her portion of the liquid from the cauldron and drank it. "If anything happens before we get back you go straight-"

Harry nodded, "To Dumbledore. Don't worry about us, Professor. We'll be fine."

Feeling a bit anxious, she hugged the pair that were staying, then said goodbye to each of the sleeping toddlers. When she was ready, she and the three men that were tasked with locating the children went outside into the clearing. Hermione and Harry watched as they used the spell that would take them where they needed to be. The large flash of light seemed to die out almost as soon as it appeared, taking all of the sound with it for a moment or two. The two friends stood at the window, looking out as if they expected them to be right back. Neither of them moved until the whimper of a toddler called them back and they began their duties of looking after the professor's kids.