That night, when they arrived at Hogwart's, Minerva walked alone up the length of corridor that led to her quarters. Her heels clicked quietly on the stone floors as she walked. It was starting to dawn on her that she not even prepared for this. She had nothing in her room necessary for the care of a baby. She hadn't even thought of all of the things she would now need. When Minerva walked into her room, she was unprepared for what she saw. Beside her dresser there was a small wardrobe, and beside that, a changing table. Minerva carefully laid Harry down on her bed before going over to inspect them. The wardrobe door was open a crack, and inside, neatly folded or hung, were various jumpers and outfits for the baby. The compartments in the changing table held everything she would need for that purpose, as well as a baby bath tub, towels, washcloths, and even a rubber duck. Minerva turned this over in her hands for a moment. She would have to ask the muggle studies teacher exactly what the purpose of this object was. Whoever heard of such a thing? She turned and on the other side of her bed was a beautiful, sturdy, hand-made wooden crib. The dark finish matched the finish of her bed, and the soft linens inside looked and felt snug and warm. Minerva was stunned.
"Well, Minerva?" said a familiar voice. Poppy Pomfrey walked softly into the room, carrying a baby bottle in one hand, and her black healer's bag in another.
"Where did all of this come from?" Minerva asked, still in vague disbelief.
"Albus sent an owl ahead of you to let me know that you were on your way backâwith Harry. We wanted to be prepared," Poppy replied.
"We?" Minerva said.
"Of course! You didn't expect your three best friends to leave you high and dry, did you?" Poppy said, tapping the bottle to remove the air bubbles and handing it to Minerva. It had been warmed and everything. Minerva folded back the blankets that Harry had been wrapped in and took him into her arms, beginning to smile a bit as she fed him for the first time. As Minerva did this, Poppy gently leaned across and checked the baby over, just to make sure that everything was okay. The poor thing had been though quite the trauma, after all.
"Did you like the rubber duck? It was my idea!" said Hannah Hooch, coming stealthily into the room. Minerva looked up and smiled.
"I'm not quite sure what purpose it is supposed to fulfill, but, it is, well, cute," Minerva said.
"It's a toy for Harry to play with in the bath tub!" Rolanda said, giving the toy a little squeeze. The three women laughed as it emitted a high pitched squeak.
"Hannah, wherever did you find such a thing?" asked Stella Sprout, shaking her head as she softly shut the door behind her.
"I went to one of those muggle stores with Severus. Wal-Mart, I think it was called. He lost a bet with another professor and had to go and retrieve something horribly embarrassing. I went along and when I saw the rubber duck, I thought of Harry. I suppose you could say that the duck is from me *and* Severus!" said Hannah. Again, the women were laughing.
"So, we threw you an impromptu baby shower before you got here. If you promise not to tell, Albus picked out the crib," said Stella. Minerva smiled at her friends. They had been with her longer than anyone, and she was so grateful. She felt a bit sorry for Severus Snape though. The new Potions master this year, fresh out of professor's school. She remembered when Severus was only a student himself, and now he was teaching. He had grown so much. She just wished that the staff would be a bit gentler with him. She and Dumbledore were really the only ones that knew what was really behind his darkness and mood.
After they had finished inspecting and feeding Harry, all three of Minerva's closest friends helped bathe and dress him and place him in his new bed. Harry looked up at them with wonder. His shiny green eyes were drooping a bit. Minerva covered him a bit with the blanket and softly stroked his head. This made him yawn and emit several soft baby sounds as he began to drift off. In her softest singing voice, Minerva began to sing. Poppy recognized the song and began to sing a third higher, following along in perfect harmony. Hannah joined them three measures later, and then, reluctantly but prompted by her friends, Stella joined them, and on this, Harry's first night at Hogwart's, he fell asleep with the sound of perfect four-part harmony ringing in his perfect ears.