13
Checking the terrarium was the first thing Snape did in the morning. There were still no cracks in the eggshell and the shield spells were firmly in place.
Satisfied, Snape took extra time with his shower. He basked in the scent of strawberry and vanilla he had put into a batch of shampoo the day before for demonstration purposes. If he closed his eyes he could imagine his apprentice was nearby. The girl loved strawberry shampoo and there was always a hint of vanilla in the air when she was present although there was no vanilla in her perfume. Snape knew that for sure because he brewed the stuff personally. It must be because the girl had a sweet tooth and always had some sweet treats at hand.
"Severus," the Dark Lord greeted him when he arrived at the breakfast table, "come and try these wonderful biscuits Bellatrix made with a group of children yesterday."
The potions master sat obediently and reached for a biscuit. "Why are they served at the breakfast table instead of being kept for the calendar?" he asked ask he bit into the small star.
"Bella had the idea to show the children how a gemini spell works," the Dark Lord explained. "That way there were enough biscuits to put a sample on the adults' table. And what a delicious sample it is!" He chose a small heart – the biscuits had been made using cookie cutters in the form of stars, hearts and angels – and put it in his mouth with a contented sigh.
Snape did a double take. Where the Dark Lord had taken a heart biscuit from the plate, there were now two identical biscuits. With horror, the potions master watched the headmaster reach for a star and thus produce two more.
"My Lord!" cried Snape. "The gemini spell is still functioning! We will be covered in biscuits if we aren't careful!"
"Nonsense, Severus," the other wizard took another of the little treats, "these are tiny. How can we be covered in them? Also, I am quite aware that the spell still works. If the biscuits get to many for the plate, I just send a couple to the Slytherins."
Snape looked at his house's table.
It looked like the store of a confectionary. There were piles of biscuits everywhere and the Slytherins tried to get rid of them by eating them, making things worse.
Acting as head of house, Snape stormed to his students at top speed. "What are you doing?" he hissed.
"Eating the biscuits the Dark Lord keeps sending here," panted Draco Malfoy. "It wouldn't do to offend him by leaving them uneaten."
"Normally, I'd agree," Snape admitted, "but these biscuits have a gemini spell on them. Don't touch them!"
"But they are good," protested one of the first years.
Snape glared at the boy. "I said 'Do. Not. Touch. The. Biscuits.' Have I made myself clear? – Mr Malfoy kindly explain to the younger years what a gemini spell is and make sure they obey."
Draco puffed out his chest. "Yes, Sir," he cried proudly.
Snape was just going to return to the head table, when he realised that somebody had decided that the other houses deserved biscuits, too.
The Ravenclaws were easy. All Snape had to do was tell the student who sat closest "Gemini spell!" and the message ran down the table. Every single Ravenclaw pulled their hands back and the problem was solved.
The Hufflepuffs were a little harder. Not all of them knew what a gemini spell was and Snape had to explain and to demonstrate. As soon as the workings of the spell were clear, the children backed away from the cookies, which by then covered most of the table.
Gryffindor was, of course, hardest.
"You just don't want us to have biscuits," cried Ronald Weasley and stuffed another one into his mouth.
"Really Ron, there are enough," the Granger girl said with disgust. "There is enough time to swallow between two."
The redhead glared at the girl and put another biscuit into his mouth, just to spite her.
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mr Weasley, if you don't stop touching these biscuits, the Great Hall will soon be filled up to the rafters."
"But they are so small!" The Gryffindor put two biscuits at the same time into his mouth. Around him, his housemates followed his lead.
"Merlin, give me patience," muttered Snape before he said "Their number grows exponentially if you keep touching them!"
"Expo-what?" Weasley looked at his friend, Potter, questioningly. "Do you know what he is talking about?"
"Muggle mathematics," shrugged Potter. "I was never good at it."
"Exponentially?" piped the Granger girl.
"With a factor two," Snape informed her.
The girl dropped the biscuit she was holding.
"Is two bad?" Ginny Weasley asked the bushy-haired know-it-all.
"Yes!" cried Granger. "It's like I explained the other day, when we were talking about the virus. First you have one, then you have two. But the next thing you have are not three, but four. And then already eight and then sixteen."
The Gryffindors all dropped their biscuits.
Dumbledore took it upon himself to cancel the gemini spell and then ordered the house elves to take the biscuits to the kitchen. They could be used for dessert at a later time.
"Severus, really?" the Dark Lord whispered when Snape sat back down beside him. "Exponentially? They didn't touch all biscuits at the same time!"
Snape shrugged. "These children know barely the basics of mathematics. I don't think discussing statistics with them would have gone over well. Sometimes I really wish you'd order your followers to teach their children some muggle science. It would help Slytherin house to excel."
"I will think about it," promised the Dark Lord. "But now is not the time."
It was time to open the advent calendar. Snape became the owner of a new pair of skates. McGonagall got a scarf which changed colour according to her mood – they found out about that when it turned a bright green after Flitwick paid her a compliment about how well it went with her robes.
The Dark Lord was disappointed because he got a couple of lumps of coal and a carrot in an old hat but only until Dumbledore congratulated him.
"Tom, you lucky dog!" cried the old wizard. "You got a snowman building set! Oh, I wish I had one, too!" He had gotten a new quill which had been charmed red with small gold stars on it.
"A snowman building set? Yes, I can see it, now that you mentioned it." The Dark Lord was excited. "Bella, Lucius, Severus, will you join me in my snowman building effort?"
Snape agreed that, yes, it would be his pleasure to build a snowman with his lord. So did Bellatrix Lestrange.
"My Lord," said Lucius, "may I point out the lack of snow on the grounds?"
"Oh, Lucius, ever the sceptical," laughed the Dark Lord. "As if that could stop me!"
"Tom, remember that you want to build a snowman, not cover the grounds in meters of snow." Dumbledore said sternly.
"Why don't you help me?" asked the Dark Lord. "It could be fun."
That was why after a morning of workshops – Snape supervised another brewing workshop grudgingly because the Dark Lord had enjoyed the experience greatly and wanted to repeat it – the population of the castle gathered on the lawn in the afternoon and watched the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore conjure a snow cloud. Once it was snowing, the two wizards invited the older students to join them. The youngsters followed the invitation eagerly because weather magic was not part of the regular curriculum at Hogwarts.
It soon turned out that only few were powerful enough to master the required spells. Harry Potter copied Dumbledore's spell successfully on his first try. Hermione Granger was so eager to succeed that when she did, she blew the Dark Lord off his feet. Luckily her regular Charms teacher was present and had had an inkling of what was going to happen. Flitwick caught the Dark Lord in mid-air and guided him back to the ground gently.
"Bravo, Miss Granger!" cried the dark wizard. "That was excellent work! Very promising."
Lucius whispered something to the Dark Lord and the wizard eyed the girl, clearly puzzled. "With the power she brings, we can overlook that," he then stated and proceeded to explain to the girl how to change the storm she had started into gentle snowfall.
Draco Malfoy didn't need an explanation because he had learned the required spells at home. Both, his father and his aunt, were apt enough in weather magic.
After less than an hour there was enough snow to start the building of snowmen. The house elves provided coal, carrots – all shorter than the Dark Lord's – and hats.
Snape finished his snowman as quickly as possible. He left when Dumbledore declared they were going to make this a contest. The potions master had different plans than being part of that. He wanted to try out his new skates.
When he returned to the castle after a delightful afternoon of running lazy circles on the dark lake, Snape was given a small cup for being the fastest snowman builder. After dinner, he took it down to his quarters and put it onto the mantle.
He was just going to go to bed when he remembered to look at his terrarium.
The egg was in pieces and there was no lizard in sight.