A Potion Induced Advent's Time
by Healer Pomfrey

Please refer to the content/warnings/disclaimer note above page 1.

December 4

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts when Pomfrey entered the room. She smiled at the scene, before she cast Harry a sharp look and asked, "Harry, are you feeling all right? You don't look good."

Harry inwardly groaned and lied, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm only barely awake, because I took a nap together with these two." 'I wouldn't want her to check on me and forbid me to go to Hogsmeade. Minnie and Sev would drive me crazy if we had to stay inside the whole day,' he thought, glad when Pomfrey seemed to buy his lie.

"Are you sure that you want to take them to Hogsmeade?" she asked sternly. Seeing Harry nod, she pulled a tissue out of her robe pocket and placed it on the floor next to the table. With a flick of her wand, she transfigured it into a double buggy. "This is a magical buggy," she explained and showed Harry how to switch between tires and skids, how to make the buggy hover upstairs and downstairs, and how to shrink it, so that it would fit into his robe pocket.

"Wow, this is very helpful," Harry said in amazement.

"You definitely need it," Pomfrey said, smirking at the toddlers. "Now let's get them dressed into warm snow suits, and then you may leave. Please inform me immediately when you're back."

"All right," Harry promised, gratefully observing how the Healer transfigured more tissues into warm snowsuits, one red one and one green one.

"Now Severus," Pomfrey said sternly as she dressed the small boy, "if you don't behave for Harry, tomorrow you're going to wear the red one. Do you understand me?"

"Yef," the boy replied, glancing at Harry.

"The same goes for you, Minnie," Pomfrey said to Minerva, whom Harry had just put into her red snowsuit. "If I hear any complaints, you're going to get dressed in Slytherin colours."

"No," Minerva replied firmly, stomping her foot as she glared at the Healer.

"Oh yes, you will. So you better not give Harry a hard time, and do not fight with Severus," Pomfrey said threateningly, causing Harry to inwardly chuckle, especially as both toddlers nodded obediently.

'They seem to really respect her,' he thought, feeling very reassured by the Healer's help.

"The door over there leads straight into the corridor in front of the hospital wing," Pomfrey informed him as she sat Severus into the buggy and gently helped Harry to sit Minerva next to Severus.

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully and carefully pushed the buggy towards the door.

"I expect you to be back by dinnertime," Pomfrey said firmly. "If you encounter any problems, you can call Misty at anytime, even if you're in Hogsmeade."

HP

Fortunately, the two toddlers behaved extremely well. They seemingly enjoyed the ride in their buggy as Harry pushed them through the snow to Hogsmeade. "Now, where do you want to go first?" Harry asked gently, "the toyshop or the bookshop?"

"Bookshop," the two tiny professors replied simultaneously, grinning at each other.

Harry rolled his eyes. 'I just hope Snape doesn't want me to read potions books to him,' he thought, transfiguring the skids back into tires when they entered the bookshop. He carefully took the children out, shrunk the buggy and motioned for Minerva and Severus to sit in the children's corner. He chose a few books from the shelf and placed the small pile in front of the toddlers. "Each of you may choose a book," he said, lowering himself to the floor to sit between the children. He sighed in relief as Minerva and Severus both reached for a book and skimmed through the pages. 'At least I get a few minutes of rest,' he thought contentedly, gently laying his arms around their backs when the children decided to climb on his lap.

However, Severus, who was reading a book about a little wizard and his pet snake in obvious pleasure, suddenly thought to Harry, 'Don't make me read books for toddlers. Take me to the Potions department or better yet take me to my own quarters at Hogwarts, so that I can choose a few proper books to read.' Finishing his tirade, he looked at the next page in the book and began to giggle happily, causing Harry to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Severus, are you having an internal dispute between your and your older self's mind?" he whispered, chuckling at the boy's problem.

Severus turned around to glare at him and voiced a miserably sounding "Yeah."

"Lub de unicown," Minerva suddenly threw in, pointing to a painting of a unicorn, which was pink with white hair.

"Minnie dundead," Severus said, sticking his tongue out at Minerva.

"Am not," Minerva replied angrily. "Sevvie tupid."

"Severus, Minerva is not a dunderhead, and no Minerva, Severus is not stupid," Harry threw in calmly. "Now stop fighting and behave yourselves; otherwise, I will tell Madam Pomfrey exactly what you said to each other."

The toddlers glared at each other. "Sowwy Sevvie," Minerva finally uttered, sticking her head into her book.

"Sowwy," Severus grudgingly mumbled, tossing his book back at Harry. "Poshun book?" he asked pleadingly.

Harry sighed, fiercely rubbing his forehead. "Well, we'll take these two books. Severus, I can ask Misty later on if she can fetch you the books you want from your quarters."

"Kay," Severus replied, making a grimace at Minerva, which did not go unnoticed by Harry.

"Severus," he said, trying to remain calm in spite of being annoyed, "please behave yourself." He chose two more books and paid for everything, before he carefully moved the toddlers back into the buggy. "Now do you still want to go to the toy shop?" he asked in a small voice, causing Minerva and Severus to nod.

Unfortunately, as soon as the children viewed the toys in the toyshop, their minds seemed to turn into that of two-year-olds, and they forgot about their promise to Poppy about behaving for Harry, at least Severus. Minerva obediently walked by Harry's hand, before she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a set containing a toddler's broom and a Snitch that was charmed to hover around the broom, so that a toddler would be able to catch it while flying just above the ground. Severus, on the other hand, freed himself from Harry's hand and dashed through the shop, quickly vanishing behind the next corner.

tbc...

Thank you very much for reading and for your kind comments!