McGonagall hadn't thought it was possible for anyone to be more troublesome than the Marauders. Yet here in front of her stood a group that was proving to be so.
James Sirius Potter. She sighed inwardly. She understood Harry wanted to honor his father and godfather, but both of them in the same kid? A kid who, with messy black hair, hazel eyes, and glasses, looked like a carbon copy of the first James Potter? Were they trying to send her to an early grave?
The boy was definitely like his grandfather. Wonderful at Transfiguration, a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, mischievous, brilliant but lazy. He was a natural leader, like his father and grandfather before him, and was clearly the leader of the group.
To James' right stood the Weasley twins, Fred and Roxanne. With dark curly hair and caramel skin, the two didn't particularly resemble their father and uncle. But while they didn't resemble the first set of Weasley twins in looks, they definitely did in personality. Loud, outgoing, popular, smart but totally uninterested in school, mischievous… She had heard the two say many times that their ambition was to work at and run their father's joke shop. George seemed to support the idea, letting them help in the shop over holidays and encouraging them to invent products of their own to add to the store. Alone, the two were troublesome, but combined with the others, mayhem and mischief was a constant at Hogwarts.
On James' other side was Dominique Weasley. She was tall, with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a teasing grin that made McGonagall feel as though she was looking at Marlene McKinnon. A brilliant girl who excelled at DADA, Dominique could easily be the top student in her class if she tried. Instead, the girl, like her cousins, focused her attention on pranks and other various misdemeanors instead. Out of the six in the group, Dominique was the only one who didn't play Quidditch, though she did follow the sport as avidly as the others. The girl was reckless and impulsive, doing whatever came to mind without considering the consequences. Much like Marlene McKinnon.
McGonagall sighed. Why did they have to be so like them?
Even years later, thinking about them hurt. James, gone. Fred, gone. Marlene, gone. Lily, Sirius, Remus… all gone.
She shook her head and shifted her gaze to the boy next to Dominique. Connor Greengrass was handsome, with dark hair that fell into his bright blue eyes. From his teasing grin to the fact he was the only Gryffindor in a family of Slytherins to the way he held Dominique's hand, everything about him reminded her of Sirius Black. He and James were like brothers and just last week she had overheard James telling Connor that he'd be best man at his wedding.
Connor had laughed, a laugh that made her once again think it was Sirius Black she was hearing, and said, "You say that like she'll agree to marry you. You can't even get her to go out with you!"
"She'll go out with me, Connor, just wait and see," James flashed a smile at a pretty redhead across the table. The redhead scowled back.
The redhead was Leanna Wood, the last and most complicated member of the group.
It wouldn't seem so at first glance. Tall and athletic, with curly red hair and sparkling blue eyes, Leanna was the type of girl who would chose Quidditch over school and school over shopping. She played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and, according to Professor Longbottom, was being considered for next years' captain, due to her unparalleled love of the sport and dedication to the team. She was fairly open with her feelings, with a short temper and an innocence and transparency hard to find these days. No, what made her complicated was her relationship with James Potter.
First, the two had been best mates. Not as close as James and Connor or Leanna and Dominique, but best mates nonetheless. Leanna was the most cautious of the group, careful not to do or let the others do anything that could get them expelled. McGonagall had made her prefect this year in hopes of her taming her friends, but, much like when Remus Lupin was made prefect, it didn't work.
The other side of their relationship was more complicated. Up until third year, the relationship between James and Leanna was completely platonic. But in third year, James grew to fancy her, and, like his grandfather, seemed to think the way to win her affections was to follow the poor girl around asking her out. Leanna wasn't very pleased, and, after politely declining the first few times, screamed at him that she was not, nor would she ever be, interested in dating him.
Two years later, James was still asking and Leanna was still screaming no. Their friendship steadily deteriorated as time went by, and though she was still a part of their group, Leanna made a point of ignoring James whenever it was possible until he was going to leave her alone.
The two reminded McGonagall so much of James and Lily that her heart ached. Just two weeks ago, she had found the two engaged in yet another heated argument.
"C'mon, give me a chance!" James had asked. He ran a hand through his already messy hair, causing Leanna's scowl to deepen.
"No way, Potter!"
"Do you even like me a little?"
"Hard as it may be to believe, Potter, no, I don't,"
"I think you're in denial,"
"I think you're about to get hexed,"
"Mr Potter, Miss Evans, what is the meaning of this?" She had interrupted. Both turned to look at her, mouths agape, and in that moment she realized what had happened. She had really and truly thought she was looking at James Potter and Lily Evans, not James Sirius Potter and Leanna Wood.
She wasn't sure why she had called Leanna Wood Lily Evans. Yes, she had the same hair, and yes, she had a bit of a rocky relationship with James Potter, but she didn't look that much like Lily and her relationship with James wasn't that bad. The two still worked well together as Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had the same friends, and worked together on pranks.
McGonagall sighed. She knew why everything was reminding her of her dead students. James' name and the twins' dreams of running a joke shop, Dominique's grin and Connor's family, Leanna's hair and her relationship with James. She missed them. Missed Fred Weasley and his joke shop, missed Marlene McKinnon and her unpredictableness, missed Lily Evans and her fiery temper, missed the Marauders and their pranks. They had wormed their way into her heart and stayed there long after they were gone.
Maybe she should retire. She would miss the students, for sure, but maybe it was for the best. At least she wouldn't have to deal with reminders of some of the most amazing people she had known and the lives that had been cut tragically short.
Fred, Lily, Marlene, and the Marauders.
For the Snakes and Ladders Challenge (Character: Minerva McGonagall), The HP Potions Competition (Gregory's Unctuous Unction: Write about best friends), and the If You Dare Challenge (Prompt #232. Years), all on HPFC.