Title:
A few days more

Sequel to:
Twenty-one days

Author:
evil minded

Date:
November, 8th 2010

Timeframe:
Fourth year at Hogwarts

Summary:
"A few days more" is the sequel to "Twenty-one days" – read and review this first or you wouldn't understand all that happens in this story.
The fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindor have survived their imprisonment in the potions classroom situated in the dungeons. How will they go on in all-day life after their survival? How will they manage to reintegrate into the castle's routine and their classes? How will they be able to go back to life at all? Watch how those who survived fight for their lives and for their peace.

Disclaimer:
Did you see Severus alive at the end of 'The deathly hallows'? no
Do you think I would have had him died if I had written those books? no?
Then you know that 'Harry Potter' does not belong to me … nor does Severus … regrettably …But Hereweald Hrothgar does …

Rating:
M – Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16

Author's Notes:
Uhm … alright … I have to admit … English is not my language by birth … so … please do not kill me while reading … neither for the – perhaps – sad language, nor for the subject of my writing …
Also, this is a story written for NaNo, a story written within thirty days only and even though I go over the chapters before uploading them – I do apologize if it might not have the same quality at one point or another than those stories of mine you are used to by now … thank you …

Warning:
Story contains bad language and swearing.
Don't ever use such, it's neither good manners nor proper use of language and never mind how 'cool' it might sound, it surely isn't a sign of intelligence. It won't get you anywhere and people will think less of you if you are unable articulating properly.
Story contains references to child neglect.
Child neglect is a really, really serious thing, and there are a lot of children in our world that are neglected, children that lack food, clothing, often love, and perhaps even a roof over their head – and closing our eyes, and pretending it does not exist – is no solution …
Story contains references to child abuse.
Child abuse is one of the most evil things, and there are a lot of children in our world that really would need help but have to live without hope – and again, closing our eyes and pretending it does not exist – is no solution … instead show sympathy, and understanding … and handle people, children as well as adults, which are showing any signs – whichever – of once having been abused … with understanding and with help …
What does not mean I am not as evil as I pretend to be … ^.~ … believe me – I am …

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

Previously in A few days more
Looking the small form over his eyes fell on two small feet, clothed with different socks that stuck out from the blanket, and shaking his head he just pulled the comforter over the two feet, covering them while wondering why it was that the boy always – absolutely always – wore two different socks. Even the socks in Harry's trunk, they were all mixed up.
And he had looked, there were some that were single socks, mixed up with other single socks, yes, but there also had been one or another pairs of socks that were just as mixed up like the single ones – as atrocious as they were to begin with. He'd even had Harry putting them in pairs and he had transfigured those socks that had been single ones so that they were pairs now, too – but again, the child wore mixed socks, and he was sure that if he now looked into the trunk, he would find all the pairs mixed up again.
It wasn't the worst thing that could happen, really, because he knew that some of the kids liked wearing mixed socks as a new fashion, some even wore different colored shoe laces or even different shoes, but somehow he doubted that the boy mixed them up because of any fashion as he had never paid attention to what people were wearing, or to what he was wearing.
'Of course not, he has no proper clothing that could make him care about such a thing as fashion.' A small voice in the back of his mind whispered and he knew that it was really time for them to go and visit Diagon Alley so that they could re-place the boy's improper wardrobe.

A few days more
Chapter eight
The big, blue stone eater again

"Harry?" He asked after watching the child for more than half an hour now, wondering why the boy would be awake so soon.

It was Monday, and so they would be back to their classes – as many classes as they would manage at least – but they were back to classes, and so, of course, the children would be awake earlier than during holidays or weekends.

But it was half past five in the morning, and Harry was awake since five, sitting on his mat and staring ahead, the bony and pale face troubled, worried, he even dared to say that his son looked scared.

He knew that Harry surely dreaded classes somehow, they all did, not knowing if they would manage, how they would manage, how their teachers would react – but as it was Monday morning, they would have potions first, what he was glad for, because he would have them during their first lesson at all, and he could see how they managed and then decide on any further visits of classes during the day or about another re-scheduling of their lessons.

And it wasn't that he had not re-scheduled their lessons at least once so far. He had actually turned their entire lesson plan upside down so far and he had re-scheduled their classes so that they would have an easy start into the week with classes slowly building until the weekend, had cancelled unnecessary classes to put PE into their schedule as well as study time and free time. Not to forget a gathering four times a week where they could meet and talk about their day, and classes, and what bothered or worried them – or what had them happy, of course.

Minerva had not been too pleased when he had asked the ministry for temporary medical custody over the children, the Gryffindors as well as the Slytherins, so that he could prescribe potions, rest, or anything else they needed more easily and without having to go the long way over asking parents, heads of houses, or headmasters.

Of course, as a teacher at a boarding school he already had custody over the children entrusted to him – to his Slytherins, and to some extent. It was his duty to keep them healthy and well educated, as well as to work with them on their behaviour and believes, he had the right to punish them as well as to reward them, but anyway it was only custody in part, because still the parents had the last say in absolutely everything, still the parents had to be informed about everything, and still the parents could go against anything he wished to do with the children.

A potion against a cold? The parents could go against it because they were against medical things generally. A trip he wished to do with them, so they had a day to relax and have fun? The parents could forbid that trip because it was not school related. A surgery a child needed? The parents could go against it if they had the right argument, even if that would kill the child.

Of course, most parents didn't really care and so he had, generally, free reign with the children in his house, but there were always some parents who fought against him, just because they had either one or another strange belief, or because they just needed someone they could fight against.

However, he didn't know the reason and could only guess that Albus might have had his hands in this, but the ministry had given him full temporary custody over all seventeen children even, without the slightest bit of fuss – and for the entire school year, except the holidays, where he had to release them to their parents if they so wished.

Nor had they made any fuss about him having adopted Harry and the boy was already registered as Harry Snape, instead of Harry Potter, a date for an official ministry adoption – you won't believe it – already being scheduled by the ministry for next week.

"Harry?" He softly asked a second time when there was no answer, going over to the boy's mat and kneeling in front of the skeleton. "What is it that goes through your mind, child?"

However, it wasn't that Minerva had been really angry about the custody he had got over her lions now – no, she had rather looked sad about such a step being necessary in the first place than really – angry or jealous for the lack of any better word, something he had not expected. He had rather thought that he would have to fight the woman – as well as they normally got along – with teeth and nails. And a few well-placed hexes.

But none of it had been necessary.

No, that had gone smoothly ... the only other thing that didn't, was that Albus Bloody Dumbledore couldn't understand that History of Magic was not important enough for the moment to being discarded! 'If the children do not know their past, and the past mistakes of the wizarding world, then they have no present, no future, and then they are unable to prevent the same mistakes happening in the future either.' the headmaster had said - and thus, the chidren would have to partake in Creighton's class, something he had tried to prevent.

"Huh?" The boy made, looking at him with startled large eyes, and he huffed.

"Very eloquent, Harry." He chuckled before he got serious again. "I asked what was going through that mind of yours."

There was no answer except of a heavy sigh from Harry, and the boy averting his eyes.

"Harry!" He softly said, trying to get the boy's attention and making it clear that he demanded an answer.

"I just ... I just wondered ... well, if we were going back to the way it had been the last few years, potions lessons, I mean." Harry then whispered, still not looking at him openly but watching him beneath the hiding spot of his lowered eyelashes, his body visibly tensing up, and he sighed, immediately knowing what the child was speaking of.

Of course, the child would worry about that.

Harry had been able to enjoy a few – 'wonderful' – weeks with his new father, had gained Draco as his friend and – kind of brother, and Theodore and Adrian, too, he had been happy despite of being locked away for three weeks, despite their weakness and hunger, despite cramps and fear, the child had been happy because he'd had someone who had cared for him for once in his life, and again, not for the first time since he had become this child's father, he wondered what kind of life the child had been forced to live with his relatives, if he could be happy under such conditions.

Of course, the boy wondered if they would now revert back to – hate, or at least dislike and him, Severus, making his potions lessons a living hell.

"No, Harry, we won't." He then said, waving the boy closer while he himself got to his feet. "Come here, child." He said when the boy, too, stood, placing his hand on the bony shoulder, and leading him to the midst of the classroom where the tabletop was still laying on the floor, being one of the many remaining proving things that there had been a small group of students and a teacher, fighting for their lives.

He waved his hand and the tabletop slowly lifted itself from the floor a bit, allowing him to magically add legs. He closed his eyes, listening to his gut feeling, but a moment later he conjured a few armchairs and a sofa, the armchairs looking very much similar to the chairs they'd had down here in this classroom, only more comfortable, the sofa looking the same but larger. The children had come down here. They had not met in the library or in the infirmary, they had not met in one or another common room, they had not met in the great hall, nor in a hallway or in one of the many unused classrooms – but here, and so he assumed that most likely they just needed the memory of this classroom for a while longer, to remember, to understand, and to work over what had happened here.

And so he thought it was only reasonable if he made the furniture similar looking to the furniture that had been in their classroom.

"I do know that my classroom holds a lot of bad memories for you, Harry, and I do not speak of the past weeks – as horrible as they had been – but about the last three years you have been in my classroom twice a week for potions lessons, and somehow I fear that during those three years your presence in my classroom has been much crueler than your presence during the past weeks." He said, knowing that this talk was necessary, knowing that perhaps he should have had this talk with the child weeks ago, or at least days ago, knowing that his son might have been worried about that for some days now, not only this morning. "We have been locked here for twenty-one days after all, and you cannot keep things secret for such a long time if you are locked together with others. Even if I am sure that your friend had not meant for me to hear his conversations – and surely not this particular one – I nevertheless did overhear him telling some other of you lions the real reason as to why he could not understand your happiness over being adopted by my person, Harry. I did overhear him saying that during the past years you have been ill before every potions class – or detention – that you have not been able partaking in meals on days you had potions, and that you have not been able sleeping on nights if you had potions the next day."

Flashback

Merlin what a mess this was.

He had brought Harry back to the rest room beyond his office so that the child could have some peace, so that he could think over what he had said and so that he could have a bit of peace from his fellow Gryffindors, so that he could – simply rest a bit, sleep if possible.

He wasn't angry at Draco for letting slip that little information, that he was the boy's godfather, Harry would have had to know that anyway, and soon, but he knew that it would have been better if he had talked with Harry before such a comment from Draco. But well, what was done was done, anyway.

He should have blindfolded the blasted boy, really!

Because trying to see him, to look at him one way or another, when Draco had given away that comment, it had done no good to the already irritated eyes of the child – not to mention that he hadn't seen him anyway as he, so far, did see nothing at all, as frustrating as it was.

"I don't care!" He heard Weasley's angry voice when he came back to the classroom, and he prepared himself for another fight with the redhead teen. "Harry's been ill before each and every potions class, hugging the loo bowl in the second floor girl's bathroom which is unused by students, so that no one would see him, and puking out his breakfast that hadn't been there even, as he's been unable getting any food down on days we've had potions to begin with, because he knew that Snape would make his potions lessons a living hell – not to mention that he's never been able to sleep on nights before we've had potions, just to get into trouble with Snape if he got caught by him 'roaming the castle' while in truth he had just tried to walk a few steps so that, maybe, he could sleep after that! And now he's alright with Snape even adopting him!" Weasley said, and abruptly he stopped mid-step, nearly gasping at the words.

Of course, he had known that he had never handled Harry fairly, that he'd been horrible to the boy even, that he had really made it hard for the child, letting him know that he was disliked. But never had he thought that this would have had such an impact on the student, so that his health was at risk, and for a moment he felt himself unable to breathe.

He didn't know if a few days earlier this knowledge might have had him smirking satisfied, knowing that his behaviour had an impact on 'Potter', but right now he did not feel satisfied, right now he himself, actually felt ill. Why had he not seen all of that? The entirety of the situation?

It wasn't that he liked every Slytherin just because they were in Slytherin to begin with, there too, were one or another student each year which he did dislike, and nevertheless he did not handle them the way he had handled Harry. How had it happened, him allowing the situation getting out of hands the way it had, so that a student actually suffered under his treatment? Really suffered? So that a student's health suffered under his treatment?

And if the child hadn't eaten twice a week, considering that he had not eaten nearly enough to keep a bird alive at home during his holidays, he could now see what not only it must have felt for the child, but how slow his physical recovery from his holidays had happened, too. Not to mention that the lack of sleep twice a week had only added to his health being so very miserable and slow recovering, if it didn't even have a massive impact on the child's health in the long run.

Silently he retreated, going back to the room behind his office and sitting beside the sofa where Harry was already sleeping, and carefully he extended his hand to run it over a pale face.

End flashback

Of course that kind of 'living', first being starved and beaten at a daily basis and over ten years by his relatives, and then later during his holidays, too, just to being harassed by him, Snape, when he came back to school, weak, tired, exhausted, hungry and badly injured, so that his recovery from his holidays with his relatives were – let's face the truth, none existent, of course that kind of 'living' had made a massive impact on Harry's health in the long run, and now he knew why the boy had always looked like a skeleton, even after long into the school year, knew that it would never change. The boy's body cells had gotten used to barely any food, to irregular meals, the boy's stomach had shrunken to a small thing that couldn't even keep up with the stomach of an infant, for Merlin's sake. And he knew it, because he had run a special diagnostic charm on exactly that, the boy's stomach and general internal system.

"I know that I will never be able undoing the harm I have caused, Harry." He said, placing his fingertips beneath his son's chin when the boy lowered a pale face, startled, perhaps even humiliated, pulled the boy's head up so that he had to look at him. "And the only thing I can do is to say that I am sorry, truly sorry, about the way I have mistreated you, and mistreatment it was, have no doubt about that. The only thing I can do is to make things better, even if I won't be able to make everything alright, but I do promise you that potions classes will be very different from now on. Do you understand?"

Not only did he promise that to the boy, but to himself, too, while he pulled his son close.

Harry would have to dread potions never again, being on edge, and expecting to be humiliated and ridiculed any moment and for things that were not only irrelevant – and only an excuse to begin with – but things that any other student would do just as well but without them being mentioned even. Running his hand through the dark mop of hair while he could feel the boy's face resting against his chest he swore to himself that there would be no more unfair detentions, no more unfair extra work, lines or essays to write and no more unfair grades or sneering down at the boy.

Merlin, he didn't even know how he had been able to abuse the child the way he had done, and his chest clenched painfully at alone the thought. He still didn't know how it had come to that, him abusing that child the way he had done and now, loving that brat as deep as he did now, but he had, and he did, and he would do anything to make it alright.

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

Sitting at their own house table for breakfast he watched the children under his care, closely.

They had all been released from Poppy's claws just two days ago, after they had – enjoyed – her hospitality so very much, and now, this very Monday morning they were all to go back to classes – Severus teaching potions, and Harry together with the other fourth years that had been locked down in the potions classroom for twenty-one days going back to their own classes.

Well, at least it was potions they would have first thing in the morning, and as their morning ablutions took them more time than ever, one by one of them going to the bathroom in their dungeons residence instead of any other bathroom in the castle, taking their time and enjoying the dry and fresh towels the house elves had brought during the night, he, for a moment, wondered – what would it be like? Would they be able to even concentrate in his class or would they rather be scared that such an accident like four weeks ago could happen once again? He himself didn't feel too well, he had to admit that. They had been through hell because of spells and a potion mixing – and, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able keeping them alive for another twenty-one days, he also knew that what happened once could happen a second time.

They were working with spells and potions after all, they were wizards after all.

While at the same time he knew that he couldn't allow his fear to take the upper hand and start ruling over his life. He would have to resign his job if he did that. But those children were just that – children, unable controlling their fears as well as he did, and he knew that they were – anxious, a bit, at the least.

Harry scooping up a bit of eggs on a slice of toast, hectically, caused him to frown at the boy.

"What exactly are you doing, Mr. Snape?" He asked, scowling at his son. It wasn't as if he hadn't told all of them how important not only regular meals were, but calm meals they held in peace, too, and now the child already started spreading chaos and hectic on their very first morning of regular classes. He could understand that the child was anxious, that he was nervous, and that he was even scared – and most likely not only because of the potions class but because of him, Snape, being back to his normal spiteful behaviour as well, but they had already talked about that, and he had promised that he would not mistreat the child again.

But well, he should have known that it would take more than just one talk to undo all that had caused mistrust. He, Snape, would have to make an effort on gaining the child's trust and confidence. Real trust and confidence, not only the knowledge that he would keep him safe, but the knowledge that he would not harm him either, neither with actions nor with words.

"Uhm ... well, we don't have much time and I'm always so slow with eating and that way I can eat on my way to the dungeons." His son explained, already getting up with his kind of – breakfast.

"Sit down, Harry." Snape ordered, still scowling at the child. "First – seeing that it is potions that will be your first class this morning, we won't start before not all of you have finished their breakfast. Second – even if it were any other class, you will keep sitting here until you have finished your meals – calmly and without hectic, all of you, together. I will repeat it – it is imperative that you hold your meals slowly and without any stress, that you hold your meals at the table, and that you hold your meals together and in peace. And that is final, Harry, and now sit down and start your breakfast – including your nutrient potion and the cup of hot chocolate. And despite classes, I do expect you to take as much time as you need, child, your health is far more important than are classes right now."

Slowly the boy did sit down, but not after casting a worried glance over the great hall and the head table, the troubled look making it clear that the boy evidently feared being unable to keep up with the others, with the castle's routine, and with what the teachers expected of him – while at the same time, the bliss on the child's face made it clear that the chlid had never before been told that his health was more important than other things.

"And that goes not only for Mondays where your first class in the morning is mine but for any other day, meal or class." He calmly said while taking a sip of his coffee. "You are to finish breakfast, lunch and dinner, never mind what would normally follow that particular meal. Your teachers are informed about that, and they will wait: And that goes for all of you, including you, Miles and Adrian." He then added towards those students he knew were slow eaters as well.

"Somehow I doubt that all of them will accept one or another of us being late." Harry said, remembering the comment from the new history teacher, Creighton. The man had made it unmistakably clear that he would not accept any nonsense like sleeping in class, eating, drinking, being late or any other such a thing – while he had sounded so startling similar to Snape, it had been really creepy.

On the other hand – he had Severus now, who loved him, he had a real home now, he had a parent now who would stand up to him – at least he hoped that he had. After all those years of dreaming and longing, he had someone now who would be there for him, finally, who would love him, care for him, stand up for him, protect him, who ...

But would Severus really stand up for him against a teacher? He knew that the man would surely do so against any other person, but against a teacher? Surely one hawk wouldn't pick out another hawk's eye.

Sighing he took another bite from the toast with the scrambled eggs, noticing that it wasn't so bad actually, buttered toast with the scrambled eggs on it, but well, having never before have had such to begin with, scrambled eggs, he was sure that they would taste heavenly in any form. Even later into the schoolyear, when he was able to partake in breakfast, they only had oatmeal and toast for breakfast here at Hogwarts, on Sundays cereals, toast and boiled eggs, but never scrambled eggs, and he guessed that the boiled eggs were just easier to prepare for the house elves for such an amount of students. And the Dursleys, well, they surely had never allowed him to taste any of the scrambled eggs he'd had to cook for them every morning.

Maybe, he should have put a cup of salt into their scrambled eggs one day, just to see their faces, he wouldn't get some of them to eat anyway – but on the other hand, he knew the beating he would get for that, not to mention that most likely uncle Vernon would have forced an entire package of salt down his throat if he had ever used too much salt, even if just a bit too much of it.

"Harry?" Severus asked while watching Harry's face going from amused to grim, wondering what the boy might have on his mind, and not for the first time today.

"Sir?" The boy asked and he nearly sighed. Of course, they were back to a 'sir', seeing that it was a day they would have school, and Harry's mind was back to a student/teacher relationship replacing the son/father relationship. Surely they would have to work on such things for a few weeks, or perhaps even months, more.

"I just imagined putting a cup of salt into the Dursleys' scrambled eggs for their breakfast." The boy said with a sigh, and immediately he noticed the boy saying "the Dursleys" instead of "my relatives" or "my family".

"What surely would have just resulted in a beating, Harry." He growled. "That would not have been worth it, seeing their faces when eating your cooking. I don't even dare say that you could not enjoy those scrambled eggs either then, as surely you have not been allowed eating them anyway."

"No." The boy said, in a way that made it clear that there was something else while he averted his eyes.

"Harry?" He asked, his eyes sharp on the child.

"Nothing ... it's just that ..."

"Just what, child?" He asked, his voice soft.

"Well ... it's just the first time ... well ..." The boy stammered, again averting his eyes, placing the toast with the scrambled eggs at his plate, causing him, the Potions Master, to take a deep breath at the child's indication.

"It is the first time that you have scrambled eggs at all." He simply stated while inwardly he felt like blasting something apart, preferably the Dursleys' house. "And you chose that particular occasion to make – fast food out of it. Eat, child, I see that there are a lot of things we have to catch up on."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

The new potions classroom was just as dreary as had been the old one, just as cold and just as stony.

Of course, he knew that a potions laboratory had to be cold so that the stored ingredients would not go spoiled, not to mention that a laboratory could get rather warm if there were twenty cauldrons brewing, but he had never understood why the classroom, too, had to be so cold. It was in the dungeons, yes, and a dungeon was cold, but they were wizards, and surely a wizard could cast a warming charm on a room. The Slytherins did so with their common room and dormitories, Draco had told him.

"You have seen what magic can do to a potion, Harry." The Potions Master said, as if he had read his thoughts. "You have to be very careful if you handle potions, and using magic together with them is not always the best idea. That is the reason as to why you have to be a Potions Master if you wish to become a healer or vice versa. However, we won't brew a potion today, and so we can, of course, warm the room up a bit." The man then said to them all, waving his wand, and a moment later the classroom became warm and nearly cozy – if you could call a potions classroom in the dungeons cozy in the first place.

"What will we do then, sir?" Neville asked and Severus noticed that boy calling him 'sir', too, and not by his given name. So – did that mean that he had not lost their respect during those twenty-one days when they had been allowed calling him by his given name at one point or another?

It seemed so, none of them had been disrespectful during the past few days, on the contrary, they had become even more respectful than they had been in previous years.

"Zilly!" He called, without answering the child's question, and a moment later his house elf appeared in the potions classroom.

"What can Zilly do for Master Snape?" The small creature asked, and he smiled at him.

"Please sit down, and partake in this conversation as your input and your help might be of need." He then said, before addressing the class. "What did we miss while being locked up in the old potions classroom?"

"Clean towels." Draco said, and he nodded his head.

"Please make a list, Zilly, starting with clean towels, and then add anything that is mentioned during this lesson." He then said. "What else?"

"Warm blankets." Harry said – of course, Harry would say so, because that child was always freezing.

"Food." Gregory, Vincent, and Ronald were saying nearly at the same time – and he was glad that Ronald was partaking in that conversation. The boy was ways too quiet, lately.

"Very good." He nodded his head. "Zilly, please write down dried food packages."

"I would have liked a pillow" Lavender said, and he nodded.

"Softer mats." Theodore murmured.

"A hair brush, and a toothbrush." Hermione added.

"Light!" Blaise said.

"Definitely Light!" Several of the children confirmed.

And one after another, child for child, told them what they had missed most. Sometimes things were repeated, but generally Zilly had made a list that was rather long, and he told his house elf to get all those things until the next day.

"Very well." He said, half an hour later. "I will have an extra room added to this set of classroom, laboratory, office, storeroom, kitchen and bathroom, where we will store everything which we would need in another emergency. What we will also discuss, today, is what magic can do to a potion in the first place, perhaps that way we will find out what exactly happened, and perhaps then we can make sure that all of you will be able coming to this classroom without feeling unwell." He said, sitting onto the edge of the desk he would now share with Hereweald for the time being. "Now, does a potion contain magic? Parvati."

"Sometimes." The girl answered and he gave his nod.

"Exactly." He said. "An example of a potion that does contain magic. Neville."

"A healing potion does." The boy answered and again he gave his nod.

"Very good. Now an example of a potion that does not contain magic. Pansy."

"Any general cleaning solution."

"Exactly. What does magic in a potion do, Draco."

"Normally it increases the potency of the potion."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

Well, an hour later he had to admit that, it had been a strange potions lesson, one he had surely never before held in a way like that, but he couldn't deny that the children had been interested like never before.

They had been partaking in the discussion, they had asked questions and they had told him their thoughts and theories.

He had watched them and just like the past few days he had easily been able to sort the children into three different groups. One group of them, consisting in Cameron, Millicent, Pansy, Vincent, Gregory, Ronald, Dean, and Seamus, being well after an hour still, the second group consisting in Daphne, Tracey, Hermione, Emma, Lavender, Parvati and Neville, already being tired but able to continue their class, and finally the third group being Draco, Theodore, Blaise, and Harry – as well as Adrian, Miles, Malcolm and Graham, those children being downright exhausted after the hour.

It had been a hassle at first, taking the other children into the class, and he had been able to see the unsureness of the different grades – Adrian and Miles being second years that were thrown in a fourth year class, Graham, Malcolm and Emma being third years, with Cameron being a sixth year having to partake in a lower class than he originally was in. Emma had not had any troubles, the girl clearly clinging to Hermione and not caring about the grade she had stepped up, and he knew that the girl had surely no problems with adapting to the fourth year syllabus.

Cameron had been startled at first, but he had soon started to relax into his new position as the oldest in the class, and he was able to use any information he got out of the – for him repeated – lesson differently than the younger students, while at the same time he started seeing his sixth year potions book with different eyes. He could only hope that it would be the same in any other class as well.

Most troubles had Adrian and Miles had in the beginning, the second year students clearly not understanding everything, but he had soon seen that the fourth years were ready to share knowledge, Harry waving Adrian over to sit beside him and explaining to him the difference between a healing potion and a curative solution, one being used for injuries and one being used for illnesses caused by infects, and for a moment he had thought that – yes, of course that child would know the difference – while Neville had been waving Miles over to explain what magic could do in a healing potion to begin with – it was perfect teamwork.

"Pack away your books and parchment, please." He said. "Your homework will be an essay on what we have just discussed. Two feet will do. For the remainder of the lesson, please sit together and just eat and rest, your next class is transfiguration and I suggest you rest before that."

"Wouldn't we have history now?" Harry asked, perplexed, while he took the yoghurt they had packed earlier from his book bag.

Of course, he could have called the house elves for a snack instead of having the children carry food with them, but he knew that surely not every teacher was ready to call a house elf to send up apples, bananas or yoghurt, and so he had ordered them to pack any fruits, yoghurt or small sandwiches – or anything else that could be eaten easily during class with them, never mind which class it was they visited so that they could easily eat something in between classes. Not to mention that he wanted them getting used to packing a snack for in between lessons.

He had them also taking small bottles with them, small bottles looking as if they contained barely half a liter of water, while in truth it was indeed a bottle of never ending water in which he had added a nutrient potion or a strengthening draught in the morning, depending on the child and what they needed, so that they had enough to drink during classes.

"You would, but I felt more comfortable with having you in Minerva's class than in Creighton's so soon after, and seeing that I have made an entirely new schedule for you anyway, I have changed a few things." He then explained. He didn't tell them that he did not trust Creighton, but he could see that the children seemed to know his reasoning anyway. "You will have a very difficult day on Friday however, where you will have double defense followed by double history, and after lunch double potions. I have scheduled your second double potions on that day so that you have at least one easier class after two strenuous classes, and I had to schedule you one afternoon lesson anyway as we have too many main classes which I am unable to drop completely. Eat Harry." He then added when the boy sat there with his yoghurt in front of him, but didn't eat.

"What are the subjects you have dropped, sir?" Theodore asked, nibbling on a banana.

"Divination, astronomy, care of magical creatures and muggle studies." He calmly answered.

"Who has taken muggle studies?" Draco asked, frowning.

"I" Hermione answered, her voice, for once, sounding unsure at gaining added knowledge, and he knew why.

"Why would you do such a thing, Hermione?" Draco asked and the girl breathed a sigh of relief, most likely having feared that Draco would call her a mudblood because of her choice of subjects. "You are living with muggles, you are knowing everything about them."

"Yes." The girl answered. "But it is interesting to see it from a wizard's point of view, not to mention that – as a muggle born or muggle raised witch or wizard – you can learn things about magical families and lifestyles which you would not learn anywhere else as people expect us students to know them the moment we enter Hogwarts."

"Makes sense." Draco answered, still frowning, and he could see the wheels in the boy's head turning. He wouldn't wonder if the boy would visit such a class one day, even if just out of curiosity.

"What are the subjects you have added instead, dad?" Harry asked and he smirked at the boy, happy about the fact that his son called him dad while they did not hold classes.

"Well, added to your regular schedule, I have doubled your potions classes of course as well as transfiguration, charms and defense, then I have added two double lessons of linguistic, a writing class twice a week as well as literature, wizarding etiquette and of course wizarding technology twice a week. Not to forget science of course, seeing that as a Potions Master I am a scientist and ..."

"Dad!" Harry gasped after having had a horrified look on his face first, and he couldn't help chuckling for a moment.

"You do not seem to believe me, Mr. Snape, are you calling me a liar?"

"What? No! But ... but ..."

"Calm down, silly child." He said when he realized that perhaps he had startled the boy with his last comment. "Of course, I know that you would never call me a liar. It has been a joke only. I have added double PE each evening, a gathering four times a week and nothing else."

"PE? In other words, walking through the gardens?" Gregory asked hopefully.

"Not exactly, Gregory." He smirked at the boy. "You will see tonight. You will see this afternoon after lunch already. Just remember that I expect all of you to meet at our table in the great hall for lunch, no exceptions."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

Merlin, what was she to do with them!

She had absolutely no clue how far she could push them so that their health would not go downhill, while at the same time she didn't know how much she should push them so that they didn't think that she thought them being weak! How in Merlin's name did Severus manage such things? And they did look so very weak!

Added to that was Mr. Potter – Snape actually now – not allowed to use magic yet, and neither was Mr. Nott. The others were allowed, but they had to be careful, according to Poppy, nothing strenuous – what left her only one logical decision right now, namely, to not have a practical lesson, but to have a theoretical lesson – which she had not had held for many years. In her humble opinion, the children didn't learn anything out of theory, but out of praxis only – but well, a theory lesson it was, for the time being.

And then there was Mr. Pucey and Mr. Granary from second year in that group, Mr. Warrington from sixth year and Miss Black from third year, not to mention the Misters Baddoc and Prichard, and honestly – they did not belong into this group. While Mr. Warrington was far ahead of the others, and would therefore be only bored in this class, the other 5 children would struggle on keeping up with the others, especially Mr. Pucey and Mr. Granary.

Alright, surely not Miss Black.

Miss Black was surely intelligent enough to be in class with Mr. Warrington even, but Mr. Pucey and Mr. Granary would not manage, and somehow she didn't understand what Severus had been thinking in getting these children together with the fourth years. Of course, she understood that they were as ill as were the others, one just had to look at them to see that they were as thin and as tired looking as were the fourth years, but that man couldn't just put children with a different grade level together into one class when it came to studying. He could have easily had them in their respective classes and they would be able meeting at their table anyway – or in that classroom of theirs.

She had been a bit startled when Severus had informed her about them not being in their dormitories but back in that classroom last night. She hadn't even noticed that her fourth year lions had left their dormitories one by one, but apparently they had, and while she had not thought that they would go down to that place in the dungeons where they had nearly died – apparently they had done that, too. She didn't really understand the world she was living in, anymore.

"I don't understand that!" She heard Mr. Pucey complaining softly, and with a sigh she went over to the boy, still not understanding why Severus had placed them in a fourth-year class. She had known that the second year wouldn't understand the fourth-year textbook.

"Come here, Adrian." Mr. Potter, Mr. Snape, said, waving the Slytherin over, and she frowned. It wasn't the students' place to teach the younger children!

"If you have troubles with the subject then please come to my desk, Mr. Pucey, and bring Mr. Granary with you as he, surely, does not understand either." She said, sighing. Really, what had Severus been thinking!

"I'll do that, Professor." Mr. Potter said and she – oh, well, Mr. Snape! It would really take her some time until she was finally used to this!

"It is not your place, Mr. Snape, to teach the younger students, and Mr. Granary surely doesn't understand the subject either." She did have the second-year students in transfiguration, too, after all, seeing that she was the only transfiguration professor here at Hogwarts, and therefore she knew exactly where those two stood at the present time, concerning their education.

"I will overtake Miles." Mr. Longbottom said, already getting up and going over to the younger boy, and she gaped at this particular lion of hers.

First Mr. Potter and now Mr. Longbottom? Did these two think that she was incapable handling younger Slytherins? Ridiculous!

"Nonsense!" She said. "I expect you to work on your own notes instead of caring for other children's education. You are not well yet yourself and this isn't even your place."

She wasn't sure, but she meant to hear a softly whispered "don' wanna, Harry" coming from Pucey and a moment later her student stood, tiredly and clearly exhausted from first double potions and then double transfiguration, to face her.

"Please, let Neville and me handle the two, Professor McGonagall." The boy said, watching her with his green eyes tiredly, and with a sigh she melted. "We have done so for the past few days, and while going over the stuff a second time we might learn a different point of view in explaining it to them. We are used to looking after each other, Professor, please do not take that away from us."

"Of course, Mr. Potter." She sighed. "I am just worried about you, that is all. We have been worried for so long, and we all thought you were dead. I just don't want you to take too much on your shoulders."

"I understand, but this is necessary." The boy answered and she was stunned by the teen's mature behaviour. "We are one group, Professor, and we look out for each other. You cannot separate us, you would do more harm than good because we need each other."

Of course, they would need each other, she suddenly realized, they'd had no other chance than learning to depend on each other, to look out for each other and to help each other or maybe they really wouldn't have survived. How stupid she was!

Maybe she was just too old for this, or she didn't understand because she had not been in their situation.

Severus had explained it to her after all, and surely she should just listen to that man's words, Severus had been there with them after all, and so, of course, he would know best. And if he said that they could handle helping two younger students he had taken into their group, then he surely had a reason to believe so.

Flashback

"I wish to have an eye on Ginevra Weasley the moment that girl is back to school." Severus said, and she frowned at the Potions Master.

"Miss Weasley? Why Severus?" She asked, not understanding.

"Because her name starts with a W and has an s in the middle part." Severus growled at her and she nearly chuckled, happy about having the man growling at her again.

Severus had been strangely calm and – tolerable – during the past few days, as if he had lost his temper. "Honestly, Minerva, what do you think is the reason as to why I would like to have a look at her. She has been ill with worry, enough so that Poppy has sent her home to her parents, and knowing Poppy – that means the girl has been really ill. In other words, if she is as – 'weak' – as are some of my students, then I won't hesitate but take her into that group just as well."

"Another student that is too young or too old." She said, pouting. "Pucey and Granary won't understand half of what we teach the fourth years while Warrington will be bored to death."

"Warrington is recently not only learning to see lessons from a different point of view in going through them a second time while being older, but he has also added material to that what we are teaching the fourth year students, so that he will be able to do his NEWTs one way or another – if he so wishes, and concerning my second years, they will understand if they are given time and patience. They get added lessons from Hereweald and me in the evening to go over any subject they had not understood concerning the subjects we are working on presently, so that they will catch up with the others soon."

End flashback

She still didn't really understand, but she tried to, and she tried to make the best out of the situation without upsetting the children or weaken them more than their lesson would.

Maybe she should have them eating something? Severus had told them, the teachers, that the children should eat snacks in between, that means, during lessons or between classes. But it was half an hour until lunch and surely if they ate now, they wouldn't be able to eat enough during lunch?

Merlin, what a mess indeed!

"Anyone knowing the reason as to why more and more workers in the mines are disappearing lately?" Mr. Potter's voice got her out of her thoughts, and she looked over at the boy who had his hand on Mr. Pucey's shoulder, who was leaning with his lower arms on the table, his head placed on his arms. The younger boy only shook his head tiredly, and she could see the exhaustion radiating off the child – as from any other of the children, and suddenly she did know why Severus had put him into this particular class. The second year just wouldn't have managed partaking in one of his own regular classes while he would have been alone. Here, he was not – as none of them managed either, they too, at least some of them, were halfway laying over their tables, tiredly, clearly exhausted and unable to finish the class.

"Dunno." Mr. Longbottom murmured, followed by a "why?" from Mr. Nott and a "knowing Harry it's something stupid" coming from Mr. Malfoy, causing her to frown.
Why would Mr. Potter – Mr. Snape – ask something stupid?

"Well, the big, blue stone eater has changed his eating habits." Mr. Potter finally answered, and she realized that it had indeed not been a serious question but some silly thought, even though she didn't understand the meaning behind it.

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

To be continued

Next time in A few days more
A place for my students …

Added author's note
thank you for reading - and yes, I would be glad if you took the time to review this chapter, thank you
also, of course I have re-installed the house cup – with each review, please state your house, so that your house can get a point. There won't be loss of points, only gains … may the best house with the most reviews win …

House Cup:
At the present time it looks like this:

Slytherin 94
Gryffindor 53
Ravenclaw 27
Hufflepuff 14
Hogwarts 21
Durmstrang 04
Tennessee Institute of Magic & Technomancy 01