The New Marauders and the Trickster God

Chapter 18: It's Good to be Back Home Again

The three landed in some unused classroom somewhere in Hogwarts.

"Harry, you can go ahead to the common room, Sam and I need to take care of some formalities first," Loki said.

Loki quickly deaged himself again before creating an illusion of his older self, much to Sam and Harry's surprise.

"What is that about?" Sam asked curiously.

Loki smirked. "This has two reasons. For ones I'm going to say I'm your and 'Loki Laufeyson's' guardian Gabriel Winchester and second...well, you'll have to see."

Sam now eyed him critically. "Gabriel Winchester?"

"I need to have a name, don't I?" Gabriel snickered. "And besides that, it makes it easier that way for me to convince Dumbledore to let you attend Hogwarts."

Sam had to admit that Loki had a point there.

"Why did just an image pop into my mind where you initiate a prank war with yourself. However, have fun with Dumbles I need to go to the kitchens," Harry piped in after taking a look at his watch. It was only five in the evening, so lots of time to do what he wanted to.

So all four set into motion. Harry went to the kitchens while Gabriel, Loki and Sam went to Dumbledore's office. Sam muttering something under his breath about not giving the trickster ideas.

Harry stayed in the kitchens for about an hour before he made his way to the dungeons. A few minutes later, he knocked at what he knew was Professor Snape's quarter door having two boxes in his hand again, a large and a smaller one. It took a moment until said professor opened the door his face instantly brightening up recognising the boxes the boy was carrying.

"Ah Mr Potter, back from your holidays, I assume. Come in" he said, stepping aside to let Harry in. Usually, only his Slytherins got to see his quarters' living room and just in emergencies, but Harry was an exception.

Harry walked over to the sitting area in front of the fireplace, putting the boxes down on the table.

"I know Christmas is long over but since Loki kind of abducted me that day I wasn't able to give you this then." He shoved the smaller box with the cake over to his professor who smiled fondly at him.

"Thank you very much."

Snape lifted the box's lid to find not one cake but many smaller ones this time looking like ingredients glasses and bowls with different fillings. He still wasn't used to thanking anyone for anything. Always, it seems that Harry inherited his mother's ability to drag his usually well-hidden personality to the front, and for once, he wasn't overly concerned about it.

Harry chuckled. "This is not all. During my holidays I found something you might find quite useful" with that, he took a large wooden box out of his pouch and shoved it also over to Snape.

The man looked at it curiously, picked it up and opened it. Once he saw what it contained his eyes nearly bulged out. The box had five rows á four compartments all filled with small glass bottles in which some of the rarest potions ingredients in the world were stored. Every container was labelled with small copper plates telling exactly what was stored in them.

"I...I..." Snape didn't know what to say.

In this box were ingredients worth more gold he could spend in three lifetimes and even some were priceless, so rare that he wondered where Harry got them. However, he would never sell them. He was a potions master first and foremost and when he thought about what he could do with them...this was indeed the best present anyone could have made him.

Harry snickered. "The box has a few more features. You see the carvings in the lid?" Snape nodded. "When you tip your wand at them you can change the number of compartments you have to maximum ten rows á ten compartments." He demonstrated it by first enlarging the thing and then shrinking it back to its former size. "Then the thing shrinks any bottle to the size of the compartment so that it fits. Don't worry the magic doesn't interfere with the ingredients," Harry added after seeing his professor's glance. Usually, any magic would ruin the ingredients making them worthless, but this box had precautions against it. "At last the plates automatically label themselves stating what is stored in the respective compartment. You can also store potions in it."