A Potion Induced Advent's Time
by Healer Pomfrey

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

December 23

The whole class looked in shock at an almost well known scene. Just like it had happened to the Headmistress and her Deputy three weeks ago, Harry began to shrink, until just a heap of black robes was left on the floor, covering a naked baby.

"Oh my, he is even smaller than the professors were," Ginny cooed, gently scooping Baby Harry onto her arm.

"How could he be so stupid and make the same mistake as before?" Severus asked in disbelief. He magically cleaned up Harry's workspace, before he held out his hands to take Harry from Ginny.

The baby looked up into his face, and a smile appeared on the small cheeks, before the boy snuggled deep into the teacher's robes. "Dada," he mumbled, contentedly putting a small thumb into his mouth.

"Professor, you better give him a nappy and some clothes first," Ginny said, eyeing Harry in concern. "He seems to be cold."

Carefully holding the baby on his left arm, Severus quickly conjured a nappy and a dark green jumpsuit with snowy white owls on it, before he turned the table into a very soft changing table and slowly dressed the child, secretly feeling grateful that Ginny remained to assist. He thanked the girl profusely and asked Harry, "Are you able to stand and walk?"

"Yes," Harry replied, and Severus carefully placed him onto his feet, before he called Cicero, his personal house-elf.

"Cicero, please tell Professor McGonagall to come to our quarters as soon as possible," he instructed the elf, who after a glance at Harry popped away quickly.

"Now what are we going to do with you?" Severus whispered to the child, sighing as he shouldered the boy's book bag. "I suppose I need to take you to Poppy, so she can decide when we'll be able to age you back to your older self." He looked at the boy in surprise, when Harry slid his small hand into Severus slender hand and looked at him questioningly. "Very well then, let's go home and call Poppy, while we wait for Minerva."

They arrived at their quarters almost at the same time as Minerva, who looked at the child in disbelief and queried, "Harry, what happened?"

"Apparently, he made the same mistake like the last time," Severus replied, seeing that Harry merely eyed Minerva in delight.

"On Christmas day, he will be one year old," Poppy informed her young colleagues. "However, I don't see a reason why we can't age him up tonight. I suggest that I will give the two of you the aging potion, which will age you up to thirty, now, so that you have enough time to recover until the Leaving feast tonight. In the evening, we can age Harry up to six years. I suppose that you'll be able to look after a six-year-old for a day or two?"

"Of course," Minerva said gently, casting Severus a questioning look.

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A few hours later, when Harry was still taking a nap in a cot in the nursery, Minerva and Severus sat in the living room playing Wizard's Chess.

"How are you feeling?" Minerva asked, noticing that Severus massaged his temples for the umpteenth time.

"Old," Severus replied, smirking. "And you?"

"Fine," Minerva said and smiled. "I still feel very young, and I'm very happy with the decision to remain at this age. It would be nice..." She slowly trailed off, causing Severus to look at her questioningly.

"What would be nice?" he queried. 'She looks beautiful,' he realised.

"If Harry remained a child at least during the holidays, so that we could stay here in these quarters for a few more weeks," Minerva said in a small voice.

"We can remain here as long as you wish," Severus replied in his soft, baritone voice, "provided that the elves make a connecting door to my quarters, so that I can easily access my books and my lab." 'I'll pull through with it now,' he thought, deciding to do what he had longed to do ever since he and Minerva had been aged up to eighteen a few days ago. Glancing at the mistletoes with that he had secretly decorated the room the previous night he leaned over and pulled Minerva into a kiss. 'She'll be so angry,' he mused but noticed with a mixture of surprise and relief that Minerva slowly replied to the kiss.

"I love you Severus," she whispered when he finally released her lips, just when Poppy burst into the room.

"I'm sorry if I'm late, but it was a very busy day," she said, oblivious to the scene, which she had just missed. "If the two of you are feeling fine, I suggest that we give Harry the aging potion."

Minerva and Severus agreed, and while Severus headed towards the dungeons to fetch an adequate aging potion, Minerva followed Poppy into Harry's bedroom, where the baby was still fast asleep. Poppy waved her wand over the boy again and again, and Minerva sat on the chair at the desk, bored, when her eyes fell on Harry's book bag. 'Harry surely won't mind if I take a look at the notes, which he took in my class this morning,' she thought as she skimmed the parchments in his bag.

"Severus, Harry is completely fine," Poppy informed the Potions Master, when he strode into the room. "You may give him the potion, although I want..."

"Severus wait," Minerva interrupted her urgently, seemingly excited. "You can't give him the aging potion!"

tbc...