"Settle down," Snape said irritably. "If I must conduct this farce of a class, I will do so the way I wish to. Silence!"

The meagerly filled classroom went quiet. Snape glared at the six students.

"I will award credit only to those who complete the work properly, without displaying any of the ineptitude most of you invariably do in my normal classes. The ingredients and method to the Inhalant of Youth are on the blackboard. Begin."

"I still can't believe Snape agreed to give the extra-credit class," Ron whispered to Harry as they started cutting up the octopus tentacles. Harry grinned at him. "I just don't want to fail Potions."

Hermione shushed them quickly, but not quickly enough.

"Professor," Malfoy drawled from the other side of the classroom. "Potter and Weasley are disturbing me."

"Git," Ron hissed at him as Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. Snape overheard him. With a wave of his wand, he emptied Ron's cauldron.

"Begin again, Weasley. Silently."

Ron began again, fuming. Hermione raised her hand.

"Professor, I-"

Snape whirled around so fast that his robe edged the flames beneath Harry's cauldron. He whipped his wand out and extinguished them, but not before clipping the cauldron with his elbow and sending the contents into the fire.

An explosion of colored smoke blasted through the classroom. Hermione clamped both hands over her face. The smoke slowly dissipated, but not before a high, thin giggle sounded throughout the room.

Hermione uncovered her face and looked around. A black-haired, green-eyed toddler with oversized glasses that were slipping down his nose looked bemusedly back at her, sitting in the seat that Harry had occupied a moment ago.

Behind her, Snape gave a below of annoyance as another toddler, this one with flaming red hair and freckles, grabbed a handful of his sleeve and stuffed it, slobbering all the while, into his mouth.

From across the room, a toddler that looked a lot like Goyle began sucking in his fist, while a small blond one began curiously inspecting the long thin piece of wood lying beside the big black pot. He touched it, and several sparks flew out of one end. On his other side, another one began happily playing with the octopus tentacle chunks.

Behind her, Hermione heard Snape inhale in dismay.