11

The eleventh of December promised to be a sunny day. The sun rose over the horizon and turned the Hogwarts grounds into a glittering winter wonder land.

Severus Snape, the puppet, sat in the middle of an untouched slope of snow between the castle and the Quidditch pitch. Seeing that Snape was all black, it was to be expected that he be found soon but on the other hand, everybody knew that he had been hidden outside the day before and expected him to be indoors today.

The potions master was – for a change – enjoying his hiding place. He had been placed facing east and so was treated to a spectacular sunrise, something he had rarely time for. His only complaint was that he had to watch it alone. It would have been nice to share the experience with his apprentice.

Once the sun was up properly, Snape began to wonder whether he would get sun burn in puppet form. Normally he used a special potion for his pale skin if he wanted to stay in the sun for an extended span of time.

It took more than a half hour for Snape to even hear somebody. Two boys were discussing whether it was wise to go outside before lessons.

"If we don't find Snape, we can at least play in the snow," one boy said. "Look at all that snow! We could build a snowman."

"It looks very tempting," admitted his friend.

"Come one, we are already here. What could go wrong?"

As the boys came nearer, Snape recognised the voices of Peter McLaggen of Gryffindor and Siegfried Norwich of Ravenclaw, both third years. He could not see them but going by the boys' laughter, they had started to build a snowman. After a long while, one of them squealed.

"Snape in a Cape! Argh!"

The potions master was crashed into the moment he had turned human. "Sorry, Sir!" yelped Norwich. "I lost my balance."

"Apology accepted," groaned Snape. "Now help me up!" The boys took their teacher's hand and pulled. They had, indeed, built a snowman. Snape gasped. The foolish boys had built a burlesque of the Dark Lord, noseless, snakelike face and all.

"Change that snowman immediately," Snape ordered. That was all they needed that craziest megalomaniac in the history of mankind found out that the boys had mocked him.

The boys grumbled but they obeyed. Snape conjured a carrot for a nose and Siegfried put it in the snowman's face. Not a moment too early because just when the carrot was fixed, the Dark Lord and his entourage wandered over to them from the castle.

"The idea was a good one, Bellatrix," cried the Dark Lord, "but, alas, it came too late!"

"I want a present!" pouted the witch. "You have one, Lucius has one, I'm the only one without one!"

"Tomorrow you'll have another chance, Bellatrix," Snape pointed out.

"You are my most faithful, Bella. Once you have set yourself a task, you don't give up. I know it!" the Dark Lord pointed at the witch with his stick repeatedly.

"I will prove myself, my Lord!" Bellatrix cried.

"Until then we could build our own snowman," Lucius suggested.

After a quick round of snowman building – nobody had had breakfast yet – the group went inside and once they reached the Great Hall, Snape gave a small yellow box to young Siegfried. The boy took his prize to the Ravenclaw table and proceeded to open it.

In the box was a small glass ball, similar to a remembral. There was also a small note. "The smoke will turn blue if I should go and check something in the library." Siegfried read out.

"What kind of present is that?" asked Terry Boot. "You should always go and check things in the library."

Siegfried thought about it and then put the ball on a piece of homework a girl was working on. The ball became blue instantly. "It can check your homework for me," he cried excitedly.

The next quarter hour the ball was handed from Ravenclaw to Ravenclaw and put on pieces of homework. Most gave cries of satisfaction as the ball stayed clear but a couple got up and took off to the library immediately.

"I could have sent the right people off without that ball," muttered Snape as he sipped his coffee.

"But that way, you don't have to read their work before they have covered everything," the apprentice pointed out. "That ball will save you a lot of work."

Snape had to admit that that was correct. He hid a smile and helped himself to a little more bacon.