-17-

The seventeenth had barely begun when Snape was woken. The headmaster was standing by his bed, shaking the potions master. Snape glared at the old man blearily.

"What!"

"Severus, how can you sleep at such a time!"

"I think it's customary to sleep two minutes after midnight!" Sverre, who had been sleeping beside Snape's pillow baah-ed, clearly not amused either.

"You have to come quickly. Tom is sick!" Dumbledore ignored the potions master's anger.

"Sick? No wonder. Have you seen how much pizza the man ate? And not only at noon. All that 'quality control' during the workshop! Serves him right that he has a stomach ache. Just get him a potion from the infirmary and leave me alone."

"And wake Poppy at this time of the night? Certainly not!"

"Aaargh!"

Snape threw back his duvet and stomped to his office. "There, give him that. And now get out of here!" He thrust a vial into the headmaster's hand and made to climb back into bed.

"Is this the way you answer your superior's requests?" Dumbledore asked strictly.

"He has eaten too much. He's not dying, and if so, hurray! Anybody with a little brain would have drunk a finger of whiskey and be done with it. And now leave me alone! I'm tired!"

"I am much older than you. If I can be up at this hour, so can you. And now come to Tom's room and help him."

Snape roared when the old wizard vanished his duvet.

"Stop being dramatic," the headmaster turned Snape's nightshirt into robes and lead the way out of the bedroom.

Snape followed, seething with anger. It was better, he decided, to get done with this and then try to catch more sleep.

The Dark Lord was lying on the sofa in his quarters, clutching his stomach. "I'm never eating pizza again!" he whined.

"It's not the pizza's fault," snapped Snape. "You simply overindulged. Here, take this."

"This is not fresh," whined the dark wizard as he touched the vial.

"Of course not," said Snape. "Every first year knows that stomach ache potions have to mature at least a week. I brought you the good stuff. It has been sitting for two months which is considered the ideal amount of time within the potioneering community."

"Thank you, Severus!" the Dark Lord said weakly. He opened the vial and downed it in one quick sip. It took a couple of seconds but then the wizard made a purring noise. "That's better!"

"In this case I shall return to bed, and I recommend you get some sleep, too."

"I don't think I can sleep now!" whined the Dark Lord.

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "A small amount of alcohol would make you sleepy and will enhance the effect of the potion."

"Lucius," called his dark patient. "You heard Severus!"

The blond hurried to comply with his master's wishes. In no time at all, the Dark Lord, the headmaster, Snape, Lucius and Rodolphus had tumblers of firewhiskey and were toasting each other. Bellatrix and her sister were not present since the Dark Lord didn't want to look bad in front of the ladies and had ordered to let them sleep.

After the first round, the Dark Lord stated that this was working wonders on his stomach and held his glass out for more.

After the second round, he complained that he was not sleepy enough.

After the third round, he repeated his previous complaint, and after that he just held out his glass for more wordlessly.

Snape took his leave as soon as he was sure the Dark Lord was too drunk to register his absence.

Returning to his quarters was bliss especially since a certain blonde had managed to retrieve his duvet. Careful not to wake Sverre, Snape climbed into bed and was soon fast asleep.

When it was time for breakfast, the potions master placed vials of hang-over cure on the men's plates. The apprentice glared at him from her spot beside him. She disapproved strongly of Snape coming to her cupboard reeking of alcohol.

"This has to stop," she nagged at Dumbledore when the old man finally made an appearance. "Your students are not stupid and look at the example you are setting."

"What kind of example do I set?" the headmaster asked after downing his potion.

"You invite friends to stay over for a whole month and get drunk with them on a regular basis and in the mornings you don't function without a potion."

Narcissa agreed from further down the table and by the looks of Lucius she had told her husband off before coming to the Great Hall. Rodolphus didn't look any better than Lucius. The only one to look smug was the Dark Lord because nobody dared tell him off, or so he thought until the apprentice, Narcissa and Bellatrix ganged up on him until he promised that this would not happen again.

The day's present went to the house elves because they had not only handled a lot of extra work the day before but also had to fight down their instincts and let their charges do some work, too.

The head elf who had been magically summoned be the advent calendar to receive the present on behalf of the elves bowed to the headmaster and Snape as he took the parcel. In it were various fabrics and sewing materials. First the elf was shocked since it looked like Santa wanted them to have clothes but then he discovered a manual which gave instructions how to make little dolls with the materials provided.

"Toys for elf children and for human children, too!" cried the elf. "Wonderful! So much work to do!"

"Would you mind if the students helped you?" asked Dumbledore and the elf agreed since there was too much material for the elves.

That's why the students and house elves were making toys together that evening. The elves did most of the sewing since it was not a common skill among the humans. The young witches and wizards helped drawing the cut on the fabric and decorating the dolls.

The adults supervised and helped here and there. The Dark Lord made several students cry by giving their dolls red eyes before Snape ushered the man to the Slytherin table and most Slytherins felt honoured to receive help from the evil wizard. "My grandchildren will cherish this as will theirs," cried Draco Malfoy as he conjured a silk-lined box for his doll. Lucius looked very proud as his son made the Dark Lord splutter with delight.

The apprentice was seen giving dolls pink dresses and her service was sought by many young girls.

Snape surprised everybody by turning out to be a prodigy when it came to magicking elaborate haircuts on dolls' heads.

"I had no idea you were a coiffeur!" cried Dumbledore.

Snape harrumphed. "There is no reason to offend me in such a crude manner!" he complained.

The headmaster hurried to reassure him that he had meant it as a compliment.

Once all the materials provided had been used up, the students retired quickly and since the men had been reprimanded for drinking in the morning, the adults turned in for the night soon after them.

Snape and his blonde did some drinking in the secrecy of their cupboard but they consumed only a cocktail or two each so that there was no danger of being hung-over the next day.