20

The next morning, Snape left his quarters earlier than he usually would on a Sunday. He hurried up to the library where he knew Madam Pince to be going through catalogues at this time of the day every weekend. The Hogwarts librarian claimed that this was the only time when she was not so buried in everyday business that she had time to look at the new books she might want to put on the headmaster's shopping list.

When the potions master entered the sacred halls of the Hogwarts Library, the witch was – as expected – sitting at one of the larger study tables with a small stack of catalogues in front of her and a cup of tea beside her.

"Professor Snape," she acknowledged the potions master's presence.

Snape raised his hands. "I come bearing no dragons," he declared.

"You better not," huffed the witch. "What are you looking for?"

"I'd like to have a peek at the historic potions section if that doesn't disturb your work."

"Go ahead, Professor, go ahead." Madam Pince turned a leaf in her catalogue.

A quarter hour later, Snape came back to the front of the library with a small stack of five books. There was a short discussion whether he could take half the section out of the library but after pointing out that the most recent note of borrowing in any of the books had been made under Queen Victoria, the librarian agreed that it was quite improbably that anybody was going to need them during the next week or so.

Snape took his prize down to his quarters and indulged in a bit of reading before he went up to breakfast. He had had no idea that Highland Dragon eggshell was such a fascinating ingredient. The first book he had opened went on about how it could increase the potency of a variety of healing potions due to its interaction with valerian and celery seeds.

Pleased that he had found information on the topic he was interested in, Snape went up to the Great Hall for breakfast. On his way he met Draco Malfoy and his entourage. The blond used the opportunity of talking to his head of house in an informal setting.

"I was going to make a potion for the advent calendar," he confessed, "and I had planned to give the drinker elf ears for a day or so. However, I have trouble getting both. If I achieve proper elf ears, they last for less than an hour, if I make the effect lasting enough, the ears look rather like cat ears than elf ears. Could you look over my recipe, Sir?"

"If you tell me who you used as a guinea pig," Snape said slyly. Of course he would have checked Malfoy's work anyway. Firstly, because he was the son of a fellow deatheater, and secondly because only few students mastered potions which required an alteration of the recipe depending on what exactly one wanted to achieve. Draco Malfoy might be a spoiled little nuisance but he was undoubtedly one of the most gifted potions student Snape had had in years, surpassed only by the Weasley twins.

"Notburga Stevens volunteered in exchange for a little help with her Astronomy homework," Draco offered. "That girl is so myopic; she doesn't stand a chance of spotting any star on her own. She confessed she wasn't aware there were stars before her mother told her about Astrology."

"Has she seen an optician?" Snape went into head of house mode immediately.

Draco snorted. "The Stevens are purebloods but they are also very poor. I don't think they can afford that."

Snape made a mental note to take the little first year to the hospital wing as soon as possible. The school nurse offered many medical treatments for free which would cost a small fortune outside of Hogwarts because many alumni made earmarked donations to the hospital wing.

"You can show your attempts to me after breakfast," offered Snape, "unless something comes up." One could never know what the advent calendar brought or which ideas of entertainment the Dark Lord had. Or Dumbledore! Dumbledore could happen.

The young Slytherin thanked his professor before they parted ways, each to their table.

"Is there something wrong with Draco?" Lucius asked, ever the worrying father.

Snape reassured him that Draco was well and only wanted some advice. The older blond was relieved.

After a leisurely breakfast – Snape indulged in crepes filled with a light coconut cream and with applesauce on the side – the advent calendar was opened.

Potions must be in fashion among the older students because there were several people who got little vials.

"Impressive," said the Dark Lord when a Hufflepuff third year sprouted wings. "You are doing an amazing job here, Severus. You must be very proud of your students."

"There is a project leading up to brews like these in the seventh year curriculum," Snape pointed out. "There are a couple of students in the course who have the potential to develop a potion like that. Lucius' son is among them."

"So it may be his doing?" the Dark Lord glanced over at the Slytherin table where Blaise Zabini had just grown a nose worthy of Pinocchio.

"No," said the potions master. "He chose a very ambitious project and asked for my input before he puts it into the calendar. I haven't seen it yet."

"What did he attempt to make?"

"My Lord will understand that I do not want to spoil the boy's surprise when he put so much effort into it."

"You are right," the Dark Lord nodded. "Don't tell me. The secret is not yours to tell." He applauded politely when Ron Weasley grew a lion tail and used it to tickle Hermione Granger behind her ear. The Dark Lord laughed, when the girl slapped at Weasley and the boy raised both his hands to show he was innocent while he tickled her ear more. Granger whirled around and started to tell off Harry Potter who had no idea what she was talking about because he had been busy admiring Ginny Weasley's calendar gift, a glass bauble which twinkled in the Gryffindor house colours.

Snape was sure a fight would have started at the table of the lions, hadn't they – and everybody else in the Great Hall – been distracted by laughter from the Ravenclaw table. There, a student's whole head had been transformed into the head of a white rabbit. Snape could not tell who it was but given the fact that the new bunny was sitting among the fifth years, it was safe to assume that the transformed student was of the same age.

Snape got a fan made of green silk that day. First he thought it was useless for himself but then he discovered that when he used it, it not only caused a soft breeze but also gave off a Christmassy smell of fir trees, oranges and cinnamon.

Dumbledore got a pair of skates and promptly invited the Dark Lord to join him on the Black Lake for a bit of skating. Snape seized the opportunity to ask the two wizards to deliver the flu potion to the merpeople.

The Dark Lord got a small bag of vanilla fudge. He was delighted when he discovered that it not only tasted heavenly but also coloured his tongue silver.

After breakfast Snape signalled Draco Malfoy to follow him to his lab – teaching a junior deatheater something that was not on the regular curriculum was a great excuse for not skating with Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.

The potions master looked the Malfoy heir's brewing notes over. "That was good work, Mr Malfoy. Your mistake was one commonly made by beginners. Look here," he put the notes down on the table between them and proceeded to explain how the number of stirs had to be changed when one added another chameleon scale to the brew. Malfoy listened intently and after a couple of seconds started to take notes. Snape was proud of his snake.

"Would you like to try and correct the recipe now?" the potions master asked. "I want to take Miss Stevens to the hospital wing but when I come back I can supervise the critical stage of brewing."

"Thank you, Professor!" cried Draco. "It's a privilege to experiment under your supervision! I'll go and get my ingredients."

Snape set a password for the lab door so that Draco could enter on his own this once before he went to Slytherin house to get Miss Stevens.

Madam Pomfrey clucked angrily when her tests showed just how bad the girl's eyesight was. "This will take a while," she informed Snape and the potions master sent a house elf down to his lab. Malfoy was to put his potion into a stasis and use the time to make a batch of pepper-up for the hospital wing while he waited for Snape to return.

It was more than two hours later that the head of Slytherin went back down to the dungeons with a young girl bouncing with joy. Since he had been able to lull her fears about the costs for the treatment, Miss Stevens was nearly bursting with gladness. She pointed out the most trivial things to her teacher as they proceeded downstairs for she saw them clearly for first time in her life.

Snape didn't begrudge her the joy. He oohed over the fine chasing on a suit of armour he saw at least thrice a week, he aahed over the Hogwarts motto on a stained glass window and admired the paintings along the way. He kindly helped the girl spot a big tabby cat in a frame that was not its own when it fled from them from painting to painting.

Once they had reached Slytherin territory, the potions master sent the girl off to the common room and approached his classroom. There were people waiting in front of the door.

One of them was Hermione Granger, the other one was the Ravenclaw turned white bunny.

"You will see; Professor Snape will help you in no time. I heard about a girl who was turned into a cat the other day and Professor Snape brewed her a potion that helped without even having to consult a book," Granger told the other student. "Professor!" she smiled with relief when she spotted Snape.

"Alice was turned into a white rabbit this morning," Granger explained. "And she won't turn back. We found out that the potion was made by Michael Corner and Michael swears that he didn't change the timing component of the brew. The effect should have ended almost two hours ago!"

Snape ushered the two girls into the room. Malfoy was just filling a potion in vials. "I was a little bored," he said, "so I made not only pepper-up potion as you asked but also a headache potion and some wound salve. – And I had another go at my ear potion. It looks different this time."

Snape checked the trick potion and declared it perfect. "Take some, Mr Malfoy," he suggested.

"But then I can't use it in the calendar!" cried Malfoy.

"You can if I show you how to counter a potion like that. We happen to have the perfect model case here." Snape pointed at the hapless Alice McAllister who hung her bunny ears. "Miss Granger, you are invited to stay and learn, too."

Snape lectured the three students about the problem first. Alice got bored quickly because the theory involved was well above her level in potions. She was only a fifth year and Potions was not her best subject.

Granger and Malfoy drank in every word Snape said. It was delightful to teach students who were willing and capable of learning. Both took notes.

After having explained the theory, Snape showed the students how to create the base for the potion they needed. While Snape brewed, Malfoy took a sip of his own potion and grew beautiful elf ears. Granger complimented the blond on the good work and the boy blushed to the tips of his new ears.

Once the base was bubbling, Snape ordered lunch for three and a plate of carrots for the bunny. While they ate, the two older students asked questions about the potion they were watching being brewed. Malfoy was interested in the various effects small changes to the recipes would have. Granger was more interested in how to determine what exactly was needed when there was no sample of the potion which had caused the problem in the first place.

The question put Snape in lecture mode again and he showed how to proceed when the first potion was available – he used a spoonful of Draco's trick potion – and what to do when there was no sample. For the latter he pointed out where he had looked by prodding poor Alice with his fingers. The girl-bunny was clearly uncomfortable but it couldn't be helped. Malfoy and Granger wanted to learn and he was going to teach them.

The restoring potion was ready just in time for dinner. Malfoy took a dose and his ears turned back to normal. With Alice the transformation took several minutes. The girl left the potions classroom at a run throwing a quick thank-you over her shoulder as she ran through the door.

"Ungrateful little child," muttered Malfoy. If Granger thought the same, she didn't say so.

The potions master sent the two students off to get a shower before dinner. He did the same after cleaning the classroom with a couple of spells. Normally he preferred cleaning potions equipment by hand but today he was too tired.

Nevertheless, he mused later, it had been a very satisfying day.