-II-

Nap time was horrible as always. Harry did not sleep. He tossed and turned from one side to the other. When he tried to sit up because it was useless, the door opened. Quickly Harry closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"There is a spell on the room, Harry. I know that you are not sleeping. One hour sleep was the order from Poppy, so it depends only on you when we will be able to brew or if we will be able to brew at all," Severus said while pulling a chair in front of the bed. "I will start the counter as soon as you are asleep. You know the procedure."

Harry groaned, remembering his forced nap in Severus office. "I'm trying!"

"Then try harder," Severus said dryly. "Use your breathing training. It will calm you down and make you sleepy."

Harry tried to concentrate on his breathing, like James had taught him. After ten minutes, he was asleep.

-II-

"You could have woken me up!" Harry said grumpily on their way to the potions lab. At Snape's mansion, the potion laboratory was in separate part of the house.

"Oh, I couldn't wake the sleeping beauty. You should have seen yourself. It was very relaxing to just watch you," Severus said, chuckling.

"You sat there the whole time?" Harry said, shocked.

"All ninety minutes," Severus stated while pushing the door to the laboratory open. "Step onto this platform!" Severus instructed.

Harry did what Severus told him, and suddenly he was surrounded by a white mist.

"You can come down now. Here, put this lab coat on." Severus gave Harry the garment and stepped on the platform as well.

"What was that?" Harry asked looking back at the platform while Severus was already guiding him to one of the doors.

"A disinfecting platform. My father has very, and when I say very then I mean very, rare and valuable ingredients. Any little bacteria or even just a seed you carry into the lab could make some potions unstable or soil ingredients. Your flu potion prevents the virus inside you from spreading around, but the disinfection platform adds a special kind of protection on your breathing system as well. So we don't have to worry about your virus," Severus explained.

"Oh," Harry said not very intelligently and got a strange look from his father.

"Ah, finally. I thought I have to do all the work alone," Thadeus said, relieved. "I could use some help here, Severus."

Severus went over to Thadeus and looked into the cauldron. "Last stage already? I will cut the Mallabi knots then."

Harry was surprised that this time Severus and Thadeus were more friendly from the beginning and Severus hadn't been a nervous wreck before the visit. Okay, but there wasn't much time to think about it with all the stress lately, and when they arrived at the mansion all the attention was on the twins, Harry thought.

"Yes, exactly," Thadeus stated. "Harry, why don't you look through your potion journal and decide which potion you would like some help with?"

"Sure," Harry said and went over to his potion safe that stood on one of the work tables. He cursed himself for putting it inside; what if they have already rifled through it. Then Severus would be mad because he would have found the hover potion he had copied from Fred and George's book. It was an adult potion, so he would be in trouble for even having it in his journal.

"So have you decided on which potion we should work?" Severus asked while Thadeus cleaned the work table.

"Yes, I would like to try something new with this one," Harry showed Severus a simple potion for bumps. I thought about adding peppermint and crushed ice. It shouldn't react with anything else in the potion. Then I want to try to store it cooled. I think it would be great if the potion would cool the bump and not only heal it slowly."

"Very good idea. We will try it. Just give us instruction, and we will help you," Thadeus said.

Harry beamed. He loved it when he was in charge. Thadeus had suggested it two times before while brewing at Hogwarts. First Harry was too nervous and shy, but the second time he really enjoyed it.

While they brewed the potion, Thadeus and Severus suggested a few changes, so they had three different kinds of salves in the end. "I will test it at work and maybe they have to open another Snape file at the patent office."

Harry beamed at his grandfather; his first patent that would be great. Before Harry could say something a bell rang and Elli's voice echoed through the lab. "Time for tea, boys!"

"Ah, what timing," Thadeus said and ushered them out.

_______

"Harry, our family tradition is, to share our presents with the whole family, and as the twins are ill, we would liketo wait until tomorrow when they, hopefully will be better. Is it okay for you to wait as well?" Elli asked.

"Sure. Ehm... you didn't need to buy anything for me," Harry said, ashamed. Thadeus had already bought him a subscription for three potions magazines.

"We are your Grandparents, Harry. Grandparents always give presents," Elli said, outraged.

"Yes, what are they good for except for getting presents from them," Thadeus said teasingly.

Harry blushed.

"Oh, really, Thadeus, don't tease him," Ellis scolded her husband.

"What? It's the truth," Thadeus answered playfully.

"Oh, don't listen to him, Harry. We love to give you and the twin presents. Grandparents enjoy this part really much. It's so lovely to see your faces when you like a present," Elli explained.

Harry was reminded of the little speech Alastor and Poppy had given him at the adoption day. "It's okay to wait for the twins. I think I should go and check on them," Harry said to escape the embarrassing situation. On his way out, he could hear Elli scold Thadeus again.

"Now you scared him away," Elli said, reproachful.

__________

"Will you read us a story Harry?" Lysander asked quietly.

"Sure. Which one?" Harry asked.

"Don't care," Lysander said tiredly.

Harry looked through the books on the shelves. "Okay, I will read something from the little rabbit Crinky. You two liked those stories a lot."

Harry had read about ten minutes when Ivy came in. "Time to take their temperature," Ivy whispered to Harry. "Just go on reading."

With Ivy in the room Harry got more nervous and read more words wrong. And the action Ivy performed didn't help at all.

"Turn over, Eathan!" Ivy instructing her son gently while helping him. Then she pulled his pajama bottom down, positioned the thermometer and laid the blanket back over Eathan. This was still the most accurate way to take the temperature of small kids according to Poppy. After a minute the thermometer beeped, and Ivy pulled it out from the blanket. "39.5°C,"(103.1°F) Ivy said, sighing.

Severus stepped into the room while Ivy ran a cleaning charm on the thermometer and readjusted Eathan's pajamas. "Another vial?" Severus asked.

"Yes," Ivy answered sadly and took the vial from Severus. "Could you check Ly in the mean time?" Ivy asked, but it was a rhetorical question, because she'd already handed Severus the thermometer.

Harry had the feeling his head would burst from the blood that was rushing into his head. Now both his parents were listening to his stuttering reading.

Ly didn't seem to care and looked transfixed at Harry. He didn't even react to his father lifting his blanket and pulling his pajamas bottom down to take his temperature. Only when the cold thing was placed in him, he protested weekly. "It's cold, Daddy!"

"I know, Ly," Severus said softly and placed the blanket over his hand that still held the thermometer. He knew his son well, and Ly hated to get his temperature taken like this. He would push it out if Severus didn't keep it in place all the time. "It will be over soon." With his free hand he gently stroked Lysander's hair.

"And?" Ivy asked, worried when Severus read the medical instrument.

"39.8°C," (103.64°F) Severus stated with a sigh.

When they had given Ly the fever reducer as well, Severus whispered in Harry's ear. "Come over to the lab when you are finished reading. You can help us with the fertilizing potion."

Harry nodded. The moment his parents were out of the room, he could read more fluently. After ten minutes, Eathan and Lysander were fast asleep.

_________

"Harry, please, just drink it," Ivy said, annoyed when they had finished supper.

"Eww, I know what it tastes like," Harry said, disgusted.

"You also know that if you don't take it, the chance of a joyful New Years Eve is like zero," Severus stated while sitting down at the table again.

Harry sighed and gulped the potion down. Quickly he grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice and drowned it. "Eww, that's awful. One day I will invent potions that don't taste like cr-"

Severus lifted his finger. "Watch your mouth, young man."

"Ehm... potions that don't taste like... this one did," Harry said sullenly.

"Good choice of words," Thadeus said, amused.

"For someone who has read so many potion books and magazines, he sometimes really says stupid things. He should know by now that some ingredients will never taste good and what ever ingredients you add to change the taste would make it ineffectual," Severus said and stood finally up from the table. He had just come back to make sure that Harry would drink his potion and wouldn't give Ivy any trouble.

"I will find a way," Harry mumbled and grabbed for his refilled glass of pumpkin juice.

"Yes, he is a real Snape, Severus," Thadeus said, chuckling.

______

"What's this?" Severus asked as Harry's potion journal had fallen down from the work table while they just had finished another potion out of it during their morning brewing on the second day.

Harry swore his heart had stopped after that exclamation from Severus. From his position he couldn't see which page of his journal Severus was staring at. Only when Severus lifted the journal from the floor on the table, he sighed with relief. It was his wolfsbane studies. Harry had drawn a wolf on one of the pages and had written down all kinds of information about werewolves. On the following pages he had written all kinds of ideas how to make an improved wolfsbane formula, but most of his ideas he already declared useless after some research. He was concentrating on a potion that could be taken by a werewolf before his transformation to lessen the pain. That was what he was working the most on and what he searched about through each book or magazine he got of potions.

"Just some ideas," Harry mumbled.

"You put a lot of research in this project, Harry. The problem is that you are not experienced enough for potions like this," Thadeus said while still inspecting the opened pages. "It's good to be eager, but in a few years your research could be more successful."

Harry hadn't realized how far Severus had skipped through the pages until the familiar page of the hover potion was opened. He drew in a sharp breath and held it.

One quick look over the page and Severus froze, and Thadeus whistled. "Ehm... I think I will just check if Elli needs help with preparing lunch," Thadeus said and patted Severus shoulder on his way out of the lab.

Harry gulped when Severus slowly straightened up and glared at him.

"I can explain," Harry blurted out.

"Oh, really? I'm very curious how you think you are able to explain why you not only have an adult potion but also an illegal potion in your Potions journal."

"Yeah, ehm..."

"Yeah, ehm... isn't what I call a reasonable explanation, Harry James Snape Potter!"

Uh oh... he never used my full name before. I'm in serious trouble now, Harry thought, panicking.