It was Sunset. The sun had turned red and had transformed the sky’s colour from light blue to a mixture of orange, blood-red and black-blue. Inside the room the liquid in the small glass vases changed to the colour of the amber. The ingredients inside the liquid glistened and twirled causing a mysterious effect to everyone that laid his eyes on them. Silence was spread inside the room. The only sounds that could be heard, every once and a while, was the faint scribble in the parchment and the cracking from a piece of wood being eaten by the blazes.

A squeal of annoyance was heard, breaking the silence of the room. The man’s raven-haired head shot up and looked at the baby that rested inside the small cradle. Baby Harry granted him with a toothless smile.

“Oh and they tell me you belong to Gryffindor Potter! You annoy me during my work and then you look at me with a look that could melt butter. This is a Slytherin’s quality for Merlin’s Sake!” Snape thought, shaking his head and returning back to marking. A few moments later another squeal of annoyance was heard and Snape looked at the miniature baby with a venomous glare that could make any student run amok to save his life. Baby Harry let out a giggle. “It seems that I am losing my touch!” the hook-nosed professor thought being concerned and then returned back to the piece of parchment he was reading. The little baby boy stared at him for a few moments before he would throw a toy that would hit him on the head.

“HEY CUT THAT OUT!” Snape stated being extremely annoyed with Harry.

“What is wrong with the little monster today?” he thought looking at Harry, who seemed to stare at him with his huge emerald-green eyes. Potter did not want to play with the toys inside his cradle, and he did not want him to do any work either. Madam Pomfrey had warned him about this. Apparently the infant wanted to monopolise his life. What could he do? He could not spend the entire time engaging with Potter. He had a lot of work to do. He had assignments to mark. After all he was behind schedule. He looked away and tried to concentrate. Harry, who was not going to let his new guardian escape so easily, used the ultimate weapon. He started whimpering.

“Darn the boy knows me too well!” Snape thought while he turned to face the baby boy.

“Can I work just for a few moments please?” the raven-haired man asked being desperate. The baby giggled once again. Snape went into deep thinking. “There must be a way to do my job and interact with Potter at the same time.” Snape raised his eyes and kept thinking, when an idea struck him.

“Oh but this is so stupid!” he thought debating with himself.

“Well do you have a better idea?” he answered back, “After all; this might help Potter understand some things better. When you are a child, you do understand some things more easily.”

He took a parchment from the pile.

-)-)-)

“Potions that contain mandagora roots can cause a drowsy side effect” Snape read from the essay, ticked it and turned to baby Harry “Yes Potter” he started making his voice squeaky “the mandagora root can cause the user to go all sleepy and groggy.” “Baby talking about Potions is ok, I guess” he thought. “Yes! And then Mr Sandman comes and pours sand to your eyes so you can sleep and that is why we must put only an itcy bitcy amount of . . .”

“Professor Snape sir!” a shout was heard, startling him and causing him to jump two meters high. He turned around and saw an apprehensive-looking Draco Malfoy staring at him. Draco’s hair was messed up and he was wet from head to toe.

“Umm . . . What is it Mr Malfoy?” the hook-nosed professor enquired feeling uneasy. “Oh this is great. A Slytherin Prefect had heard me baby talking Potter about Potions. Can things get worse?”

“Peeves, sir! He took advantage of Bloody Baron’s absence to the “Slaughtered Ghosts’ Symposium” and he attacked the dungeons. He is heading for the Potions’ Ingredients supply storeroom. We cannot control him!”

“WHAT? . . . The bloody Poltergeist . . . Wait ‘till I get him . . .” mumbled Snape being infuriated and arise from his seat. Turning to look at Malfoy with a glare that clearly stated that someone was going to get hurt, and that; that someone was certainly not him, he uttered:

“Draco, please be a good sport and take care of Potter for me, will you?” and with those words he closed the door behind him.

Draco Malfoy kept staring at the closed door, moments after it was closed being horror-struck. His Head of the House could not be serious. How was he supposed to look after a baby? And especially when that baby was Potter? A toy flew up high and hit him on the head. Malfoy turned around, glaring and faced Harry. Baby Harry scowled and started crying. The blond boy rubbed his head feeling uneasy and hoped that the Potions Master would return soon.

“WILL YOU STOP CRYING?” the blond boy asked being frustrated

“WAAAHHH!” cried the miniature baby at the top of his lungs.

“Please?” Malfoy asked Harry, who stopped and then began once again.

“POTTER YOU ARE DRIVING ME INSANE!” Malfoy shouted

Harry whimpered but continued crying. The blond Prefect sighed in desperation and took baby Harry into his arms. He stared at the small baby with his cold blue eyes, feeling uneasy. Holding his nemesis into his arms was not something he dreamed doing and to make things simple, Draco still wondered why the Potions Master had agreed to look after Potter in the first place. Baby Harry kicked inside Malfoy’s arms and let out a squeal of annoyance.

“I guess you still don’t like me, do you Potter?” Draco asked sighing “Well I still feel the same about you. However you are a baby now, and since I cannot hex you to the next dimension, can you stop irritating me please?”

Harry started crying and screaming. The blond Prefect closed his eyes and wondered whether it was allowed to commit suicide in front of a baby. The small baby’s head turned towards the cradle. He kept staring it longingly and Draco found him self incapable of not leaning forward and taking a stuffed unicorn toy that was inside the cradle. Harry giggled as he saw the toy in front of him and then turned to look Draco.

Malfoy gazed at him and whispered “That isn’t so bad, is it?”

-)-)-)

In the meantime Professor Severus Snape found himself in havoc. Some of the Slytherin Prefects were still trying to control the Poltergeist, who attacked them with water balloons and Stink Pellets, and kept moving towards the Potions’ Ingredients Storeroom. The Potions Master stepped forward and stood in one of his infamous poses.

“Peeves” he started glaring the Poltergist venomously “Fly another inch towards my private storeroom and I won’t be responsible for the consequences”

The Poltergeist threw a water balloon at Snape, who ducked in time. Another one flew high and landed on the raven-haired man’s back. The Potions Master felt his back getting soaked as another water balloon landed, and broke, on his head. His hair soaked and turned even blacker. The man felt his face burning from fury. Peeves started laughing hysterically and grimacing he started chanting:

“Oh Snapie, you Foolish Git

“You think I live in a pit

“Take your grease away

“And take a notice to what I say

“To your storeroom I’ll find a way”

Severus Snape blinked and rubbed his head. Well if that wasn’t out of tune! he thought feeling a shiver down his spine.

“Well now I do understand why the king ordered for you to be executed. Your chanting stinks”

Peeves threw a water balloon and stuck his tongue out. Then letting a hysterical laughter he flew towards the Storeroom.

“PEEVES THIS IS THE LAST WARNING!” Snape threatened him

“Well what can you do to me Snapie? I am already dead. You can damage me not!” he squeaked and twirled, making the small bells around his belt jingle. The Potions Master stared at the Poltergeist and his eyes half-closed dangerously. Granting Peeves with a dangerous smirk he took his wand out of his robe’s pocket.

-)-)-)

“Oh Potter, look at me!” Draco squeaked, trying to catch baby Harry’s attention by making funny faces. The door opened at that point revealing a very wet, puzzled, and yet satisfied Severus Snape.

“It seems that you have been entertaining Potter by making faces.” Snape said smirking, forgetting the primary rule of never, ever dare a Slytherin by commenting about his or her actions.

Malfoy, who always followed the Slytherins’ Primary Rule of never leave anything unanswered smirked back and answered being cheeky “Well excuse me if I am mistaken sir, but when I entered your office you were baby talking Potter about Potions.”

The raven-haired man and the blond boy looked one another intensively for a couple of moments. Snape’s eyes closed into slits and he spoke slowly.

“Mr Malfoy, this conversation never took place!”

“I totally agree Professor!” Malfoy whispered and moved towards the wooden door. He opened the door slightly before he would turn back and ask

“Umm . . . What happened to Peeves sir?”

Snape smirked evilly and took a miniature jar from the inside of his rob. Turning it back to his original size, he showed Malfoy, a very irritated and squashed Peeves. The Poltergeist cursed loudly and the hook-nosed man shook the jar violently. Then he turned to face the Slytherin Prefect.

“As you can see Draco, Peeves will consider to ever coming near the dungeons ever again.”