They were in detention again. Not that either of them particularly minded; it had definitely been worth it to see the look on old Snivellus' and those other gormless Slytherins' faces. Besides, detention with McGonagall wasn't usually too bad – she had a tendency to go soft on them towards the end if what they had done had been really clever. Currently she had them cleaning up her classroom after it had been turned into a veritable war zone by a class of overenthusiastic third years, but they knew it wouldn't last.
-x-
Those boys were in detention again. Hell, they had been in detention with her so many times over the years that that other teachers, including that old coot Dumbledore, had begun referring to them as her boys. How ridiculous. After all, this couldn't be a good thing, not in this context; they just had absolutely no respect for the rules, that was all. Honestly, Minerva was nearly at her wits end with them. Her crossness couldn't last forever though, especially once her curiosity began to seep in. Try as she might, she just couldn't figure it out – how did they do it!? An hour passes and her frustration mounts, she has to know, and finally she clucks her teeth in admission of her defeat and breaks out the tea and biscuits. It would be startling to practically any other student, or even teacher, in the school how many detentions that the boys have together with her end this way.
It's not too long before Professor McGonagall is sitting on the edge of a desk in a circle with James Potter and Sirius Black actively participating in an in-depth discussion that really should be beyond the boys' knowledge and experience. They deliberate the merits of Transfiguration, different applications and spells that aren't taught in depth, and some not even at all, at Hogwarts level and she can't help but feel such pleasure at their pure innovative genius but at the same time damn it, boys, some of these spells are bloody dangerous. As Minerva watches James and Sirius argue animatedly, there's a warm burst of pride in her chest and she desperately tries to capture this scene in her mind with these cheeky, brilliant little shits, her boys. They're going to be great men one day. She knows it.