"I want that essay on my desk, first thing Monday morning. Class Dismissed!” the man’s voice echoed inside the dim lit room.A couple of students grumbled as they left the dungeons. A three-foot essay about the discovery and development of use of the Draught Potion meant a whole weekend of hard studying in the library and, certainly, not a relaxed Hogsmeade Trip. Well Snape may have agreed to look after baby Harry, and to their amazement he had not killed the baby yet, but that did not mean that he was getting softer. On the contrary he seemed to have grown vicious in terms of homework. Yet none of the students could help him self from not laughing, as they passed in front of a jar that contained a very irritated and magically mute Poltergeist. When the Potions’ classroom was empty, Severus Snape smirked evilly and waved his wand in front of the jar.

“LET ME OUT YOU GREASY SON ON A #£!” Peeves screamed angrily.

“My, my, language Peeves. What will the Bloody Baron say of this behaviour?” the hook-nosed professor said while he kept smirking with a smirk that meant danger.

Peeves replied with something really inappropriate that made Snape glare and grit his teeth. Taking a deep breath he let the air slowly while he replied with an icy-cold voice:

“I was in the inch of deciding to let you go but guess what Peeves, you are staying here until Bloody Baron returns on Sunday.”

He turned to his heels while Peeves kept swearing in the most hideous manner. While the Potions Master touched the doorknob he turned to see the trapped Poltergeist and commented cheekily.

“Well I wish you a nice weekend too Peeves."

-)-)-)

Madam Pomfrey checked the small baby inside the cradle. Baby Harry “engaged” himself by playing with his hands, and feet, leaving a squeal of satisfaction every once and a while. Smiling, she returned back to checking the hospital supplies. She kept muttering under her breath while she ticked for the potions she had to request to be made; when someone opened the door abruptly. The woman let her quilt jump high being startled and she turned to face the creature that had entered in her quiet and dignified hospital wing. Her eyes close in slits before she would let out an irritated, yet cool “Severus Snape”

“My goobness Bobby. Why boes the Hospital Wing has to sbell like dat?” the raven-haired professor stated while he clutched his nose; wishing he could ripe it off and never smell the Hospital Wing’s air.

Madam Pomfrey felt the urge to giggle hysterically. Snape’s decision to always clutch his nose the first couple of moments he entered the Hospital Wing had developed at the beginning of the week. No one could blame her if the Potions Master’s reactions seemed laughable to her.

“Well Severus. I have to sterile the Hospital Wing every day. Wizards or not, we will never be able to eliminate bacteria you know” she replied not being able to hide a smile.

“Yes but we could all live better with an air freshener Poppy,” Snape thought as he looked into the cradle.

“I am taking Potter now. I am going to bring him back this evening for his dose” he uttered. However Madam Pomfrey stopped him and pointed him to sit at the nearest chair. “Oh Great! What am I going to hear today?” the hook-nosed professor though while he sat down.

“First of all I want to talk to you about Harry’s potion dose. I have noticed some five-month and six-month activities the last three days and I was about to ask you whether to turn Harry back to his seven-month old self this week.”

“Seven-month means Potter leaves from my back more easily. Yes you can do it Poppy” said Snape immediately. Yet, something inside his chest sting slightly as soon as he replied. Snape dismissed that feeling. “Babies have to grow up. And you do want Potter away from you RIGHT?” he questioned himself hardly. He then nodded twice and looked at Harry, who kept staring at him.

“However Severus” Madam Pomfrey continued “This period of time is very important for the infant. It is that time of his life who wants to play and be talked to. Think you can manage him Severus?”

“Well I am doing well so far aren’t I Poppy? I have survived Potter’s Colic period and after that I think I can take everything” the man replied.

Madam Pomfrey looked at the man with the look that seemed to state “you-don’t-know-where-you-are-getting-to” but Snape decided to overlook it. Looking at the Healer for another time he tried to stand up. However she let her hand out once again.

-)-)-)

Severus Snape looked up from the plate to the crowd of students that seemed to be interested in his actions.

“How does the woman managed to convince me? . . . . Severus you are repeating yourself lately!” he thought as looked back to the plate and stirred the food with the spoon that he held.

He looked up again and glimpsed towards his fellow professors’ direction. Hell, they were staring at him too! Well except Dumbledore that seemed to have got interested in his soup. But, nevertheless he had that insufferable twinkle in his eyes. An annoyed squeal was heard and the raven-haired professor raised the spoon and put it into the baby’s mouth. Then he turned round and glared at the students, who all turned instantly back to their plates.

“Will you stop staring please? It is not like you have never seen a Potions Master feeding an infant with a spoon,” he thought baring his teeth while he looked baby Harry opening his mouth for the next spoonful. Blinking for a moment he thought “This baby care will turn me insane. It must be the third time I have seen a flash since I have start taking care of Potter.”

In the mean time, Denis Creevey, sighed in relief. Recklessness was not of his best qualities especially when it came to Professor Snape. He looked at his magical photographic camera and hoped that if he was ever found out; his camera would be spared from damage. The first time he took the photograph he did it as a joke. Yet minutes after the dinner, the Headmaster had asked him to get some photos of Harry and Snape as frequently as he could. He had photographed Snape five times so far and he wondered where this was going to lead to.

-)-)-)

Near sunset, the hook-nosed professor entered the Hospital Wing and waited for Madam Pomfrey to mix the Aging Potion with Harry’s baby formula. He looked at baby Harry who smiled at him. Snape saw the tip of the Harry’s first tooth and petted the boy’s head. Madam Pomfrey entered the room and gave him the bottle that contained the potion and the formula. When he had stopped feeding Harry a golden aura surrounded the baby’s fragile body and the Potions Master felt it getting bigger and heavier. A couple of moments later, Snape found himself holding a baby with huge olive-green eyes that smiled at him revealing five pearly white teeth. Madam Pomfrey took Harry into her arms and weighed him, marking the results. Then she unlocked one of her cupboards, took a small bag from inside and gave it to Snape, who eyed her being puzzled.

“These are story books Severus. Something tells me you are going to need them from now on” she commented with her matter-of-fact tone as she shooed the hook-nosed man out of the Hospital Wing.

Professor Severus Snape discovered that the seventh-month old baby Harry had difficulty in going to sleep. Rocking Potter to sleep, as usual, had no positive result and the raven-haired man was running out of patience. When he stopped rocking Harry for a moment, the infant got extremely annoyed and started squeaking and kicking inside his arms.

“Excuse for stopping rocking you; master and commander!” Snape thought irritably while looking at baby Harry. He continued rocking the little baby for a couple of minutes before he would mockingly ask:

“Potter, do you mind going to sleep? I do need my beauty sleep too you know!”

Finishing his sentence he turned to look at the luminous clock at the wall. “Half-past ten and something tells me he is not going to drift off to sleep unless I act fast.”

Sighing deeply he reached for the bag that he had tossed on the floor some hours ago. Opening it he took out a small book and sitting on his bed, he put baby Harry in his laps and held the magical story book in front of Harry. The infant cooed in delight as it saw the pictures moving on the book’s cover. Stifling a yawn, Snape stared at the book.

“Silvy the Little Unicorn Goes For a Walk” he read the story’s titles and then let out a snort. “Merlin help me! I can’t believe that someone was insane enough to publish a series of this,” he thought while Harry giggled seeing the small golden unicorn pacing up and down the page. The turning to the next page he started the story.

“Silvy the Little Unicorn lived with her mother, father and friends in the Enchanted Prairie . . . Yeah whatever!” he started while baby Harry snuggled comfortably and touched the picture.

“You see Potter? That small thing must be Silvy and this is her dada and that is her mama.”

“Merlin I am losing it!”

“Anyway let’s continue. One day Silvy was bored. She did not want to play with her friends or her mother. . . KIDS! They are never, ever satisfied with what they have!” he commented and turned the page.

“Silvy decided to go for a walk. . . . Well this is typical. I mean; this is what the story is about. So she went to ask her mother to let her do so. See boy? Always ask an adult before you act” the raven-haired man commented and turned the page.

“Silvy’s mother allowed her to go for a walk up to the river. Look Potter there is the river. She also said Silvy, to never leave the footpath because she could end up in the forest. See the dark trees Potter? That’s the forest. Seems like the Forest of Doom to me. I can bet five galleons that this is where Silvy will end.”

Turning the page and stifling another yawn, Professor Severus Snape continued “Silvy walked being careful never to leave the path. Suddenly a pink butterfly landed on her nose. Silvy stared at the butterfly greeted her ‘Good morning miss Butterfly. How are you today’ . . . Ok kid I know you have manners; but do you seriously expect the butterfly to answer back? . . . Ok Potter I will continue the story. My, is it a yawn I just received from you?”

“Severus shall I worry that you talk to Potter and comment on a children’s storybook plot?” he asked himself sarcastically while he turned the page.

“The pink butterfly rose up high and flew around. Silvy chased her feeling happy. But Silvy did not notice that she had left the track and had entered the forest. Ha I knew it! Didn’t I tell you that she was going to end up in the forest?” Snape said and turned the pages.

“Silvy suddenly realised that she was not in the path. Silvy was lost. . . Well as some say ‘It’s Show-Time!’ . . . Silvy was scared. . . Of course she was. She asked for her mother. However Silvy was a clever little unicorn. She did not move from her place so that it would not get more lost. After a while her father and mother found her . . . Of course they did! The heroine never dies, or gets lost, for more that a page. Silvy was happy. She promised never to leave the path again. . . . You know what is the moral of that story Potter? Never chase butterflies . . . Potter?” Snape asked and then looked at the boy that was snoozing peacefully inside his arms. Gifting the boy with a hint of a smile, Severus Snape placed the infant into the cradle and looked at the luminous clock. Quarter to Eleven. It was amazing what ten minutes of story telling could do to a child.