A Potion Induced Advent's Time
by Healer Pomfrey
Please refer to the content/warnings/disclaimer note above page 1.
December 25
Severus quirked an eyebrow at the twins, before he turned to Harry, who was sitting on Minerva's lap and busied himself changing the colour of his teddy back and forth.
"Harry, look at me," he cooed, and, as soon as the baby complied and cast him a toothy smile, he very carefully entered the boy's mind. He saw a few memories of Lily hugging Harry and James flying on a broom with a cheering Harry sitting in front of him; however, in each of the memories Lily's and James' figures slowly changed into those of Minerva and Severus. The Potions Master quickly pulled out. "Don't worry; I was very careful," he reassured the others, who were watching the scene in apparent concern.
"Did Daddy hurt you?" he asked Harry in a soft voice, causing everyone to look at him in shock.
Harry shook his head, still smiling. He scrambled down from Minerva's lap and toddled over to Severus, demanding, "Up!"
"Harry is just a normal one-year-old with no further memories," Severus informed the others, gently playing with the baby's messy hair.
メリークリスマス
When Minerva, Severus and Harry entered the Great Hall on Christmas morning, Harry looked around with amazement. Not only was the giant Christmas tree lit with small candles, but the Hall was decorated with a seemingly infinite number of colourful balloons. He happily toddled away from his parents and tried to grab the green balloon that was hovering nearby. 'Come here balloon,' he thought, quickly grabbing the desired object, before he turned back to his parents and proudly held out his trophy.
"Very well done Harry," Severus commended him gently, producing a huge smile on the boy's face.
"Happy birthday, sweetie," Minerva said, placing the boy into his child seat. "Now you're one year old and no baby anymore."
"Yesss," Harry shouted happily, tossing the balloon over to the twins, who were sitting just opposite the table.
Unbeknownst to Harry, Minerva and Severus had closely observed the scene, and Severus telepathically warned Minerva, 'We're going to have much fun with Harry. Even if he lost his memory, he still seems to have his full magic. He will become extremely powerful when he grows up. We'll have to watch him closely and have to help him get his overflowing magic in grip.'
Harry received a lot of presents for his first birthday and for Christmas. However, the gift that topped everything else came from his mother – a toddler's broom along with a Snitch. After breakfast, the twins promised to take him out onto the grounds, where the three boys spent several hours flying in the snow.
"You're a brilliant flyer Harry..."
"... When we come back to the school, we'll take you flying every evening," his godfathers finally promised, before they stepped into the fireplace in Minerva's office to take the Floo home on time for lunch.
'Where are they? I want to fly again,' Harry thought in disappointment. However, he became distracted when a young woman stepped in front of him.
"Hello Harry, I am Hermione, your godmother," she said kindly, gently pulling him into a hug. "I wish you a very happy birthday and merry Christmas."
Harry liked his godmother immediately. "Fanku," he replied, smiling happily as he accepted a small assortment of children's books.
After lunch, his parents seemed to have other ideas than to go flying again and took him back to their quarters for a nap. However, Harry escaped from Minerva's grip and ran over to the Christmas tree in the living room as fast as his small legs allowed him to run. He happily looked at a face that appeared in the golden bauble right in front of his eyes.
"That's you, Harry," Minerva told him, smiling, glancing at Severus as they both remembered how Harry had decorated the baubles with tabby cats and lynxes. "Somehow, I miss him badly," she whispered to Severus, trying in vain to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
"He will always be with us," Severus said in a soft, soothing voice, gently pulling Minerva and Harry into a hug. "Why don't we make him take his nap here in front of the tree," he finally suggested and conjured a thick, soft blanket.
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It was several hours later that Harry woke up, finding himself lying in front of the wonderful Christmas tree. Somehow, he felt very warm and cozy, and when he glanced around, he noticed a tabby cat to his left and a lynx lying on his right side. 'Mum and Dad,' he instinctively knew. 'I wanna be a cat too,' he thought, unconsciously releasing a huge amount of wish magic.
When Poppy entered the young family's room a short while later, wondering why none of them made an appearance for dinner, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the three cats that were cuddling in front of the Christmas tree. Between the tabby cat and the lynx, which she knew only too well, a smaller marmalade cat was curled up, peacefully asleep, while the lynx meticulously cleaned his fur.
"Congratulations Harry McGonagall-Snape," she whispered, more to herself than to the child. "I wish you a wonderful childhood and a very happy Christmas."
The End
Thank you so very much for your kind comments on this story! I really appreciate it - You are wonderful readers! Merry Christmas!