Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me! Zip, zilch, nada, squat! Hey! That just gave me a plot bunny! Grr…

A/N: This is a gift for Cieltia on HMS Frivolity and Felines. Not very shippy, but I'm very pleased with it. Thanks to Mini for the beta!

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Late Duel, Anyone?

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"Professor McGonagall! Professor! Are you up, Professor?"

Minerva stirred in bed. Who in the name of Merlin could be banging on my door at this time of night? She glanced over at the clock on her bedside table. Three in the morning… She sighed.

"Hold on just one minute," she yelled, "I'm coming!"

Carefully, she slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake her husband, Albus Dumbledore. She shook her head. He wasn't even supposed to be in her bed. They didn't want their marriage known to the world for obvious reasons. Who knew what problems could arise, or rumors Rita Skeeter could start that would interfere with their lives, the school, or the Order?

Obviously, the banging at her door meant that something had arisen within the castle, and only she could fix it.

Minerva grabbed her wand from the bedside table and her tartan dressing gown off the back of the chair next to the door and slipped on her shoes. The winter nights were always cold, being winter, of course, but nights in a drafty castle were always worse. The house elves did a good job of lighting the fires, but even those went out during the night.

"Professor, Are you there? It's an emergency!"

"Yes, yes!" She pulled open the door to see a tossed and rosy Hermione before her. "What is the problem, Ms. Granger?"

"HarryRonDracoCrabbeandGoylesnuckouttohaveaduelbecauseDracosaidHarrycouldn'tplayQuiddichworthaflyingNifflerandIwentincasesomethinghappenedandnowthere'sbeenafewaccidentsand-"

McGonagall held up both of her hands to stop the flow and to calm Hermione down. By now the poor girl was flustered and out of breath even more so than when the door was first opened.

"Ms. Granger, I want you to calm down and take me to the scene of this so-called 'duel.'"

Hermione nodded and began to lead Professor McGonagall to the boys.

I can't believe them! Why in the world would they be up at such an hour for a silly little duel? I'll never understand teenage boys...

Finally, they came to a side door leading out of the castle. Together, they quietly trudged through the deep snow. When they came to a spot where all the snow had been melted and some of the grass scorched, Minerva was presented with a rather comical sight and it took all of her willpower to not burst out laughing.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were both knocked out and laying head to head in the snow. Each burped up slugs in their unconscious state. Looks like Ron finally got that spell right. Draco Malfoy was… well… Minerva couldn't really figure out what spell had been used on the boy. His facial features kept changing and he kept gaining and loosing weight in certain places on his body. Harry was sitting on the edge of the melted snow, shaking his head. He seems alright. Ron on the other hand… He was standing rather close to the flagpole and jerking wildly.

"Mr. Potter! What is the meaning of this?" She decided he would be the best one to ask, seeing as he was the only one who seemed to be able to give her a logical answer, or any answer at all.

Harry looked up at her rather meekly and then over at Hermione who was standing just behind McGonagall and shifting her weight from one foot to the next in a nervous manner. His gaze flickered back to McGonagall.

"Well, um… you see, Professor…"

She shook her head. "Mr. Potter, I expect better out of you and Mr. Weasley. You both know that Mr. Malfoy only wants to get you in trouble. It is beyond me why you take the bait every time."

A mumble came from the direction of the flagpole. Minerva walked over to see why her red-haired Gryffindor was not addressing her directly.

"What was that, Mr. Weasley?" She stood behind him with her hands on her hips.

"Ma pung ith tuck tu da powl."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She moved closer to him to see what was wrong. "Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid you'll have to-oh." Only then did she realize what was wrong.

Hermione stepped forward to offer an explanation. "Ron was facing the pole, standing a little to the right. Malfoy said something to him and Ron decided to… well, he decided the best thing to do would be to act childish and stick his tongue out at him. Crabbe and Goyle suddenly stepped from behind Malfoy and pushed Ron up against the pole. I guess he didn't have enough time to put his tongue back in his mouth because it became stuck to the ice cold flagpole."

Minerva stood stock still, gazing at Ron's stuck tongue, trying once again not to laugh. In a way, he almost deserved it for sneaking out at night.

"Very well. I will unstuck your tongue, Mr. Weasley, and then we shall hear the rest of this." She pulled her wand out of the pocket of her dressing gown and cast a simple warming charm on the pole. Ron's tongue came right off. He moved it around in his mouth to get the circulation going again.

"Tanks, Professor."

She nodded. "Now then, who will tell me the rest of what happened?" She made her way over to Crabbe and Goyle to check on them. Neither one was choking on the slugs since they were on their sides, so she conjured a blanket with a warming charm to cover them and turned back to The Trio. "Who shall it be?"

Hermione looked at McGonagall, then at Ron and Harry, who were looking at her, and then back at McGonagall. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Harry, Ron, and I met up with Draco in the hall today. They exchanged words, and Draco decided the only way to settle it would be to duel tonight. They all agreed on three in the morning.

"We sneaked out to come to the agreed meeting place-here. They exchanged more words, Ron got his tongue stuck to the pole," Ron glared at her here. He began to open his mouth to respond, but McGonagall held up her hand to stop him.

"Seeing as it is rather cold out here, can any of you tell me who did… that to Mr. Malfoy?" She gestured over to Draco, who was still changing oddly, but had been listening in.

Harry looked up at her guiltily. "It was me, Professor. He made a comment about Ron being a woman, so I tried to cast a spell on Malfoy that would make him one. It didn't work very well. He keeps changing back and forth."

Ron snickered and muttered something that sounded like, "Not that he needed a spell to become one."

Minerva shot him a look that quieted him and walked over to Draco. He continued to change physically, but he knew what was going on around him. Upon a closer inspection, she could see that his features were becoming more feminine. The only reason that Harry had not successfully cast the spell was that he had never had the chance to practice it before. Thank goodness for small miracles. Draco looked up at McGonagall in such a way that she almost felt sorry for the boy.

Almost.

"Mr. Malfoy, I think it would be better if we fixed you up in the Infirmary. A miscast spell isn't always the best thing to tamper with, and I'm not entirely sure which spell was used." She turned to The Trio. "I want you two boys to levitate Crabbe and Goyle to the Infirmary, and Hermione, I would like you to run ahead and wake Madam Pomfrey." The girl nodded and ran off. "Mr. Malfoy, if you'll follow me?"

They began the trek back to the castle. Minerva and Draco led the way, the younger walking slightly behind, and Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle brought up the rear. The two larger ones bobbed slightly in the air.

When they finally reached the Infirmary, Poppy Pomfrey had already gotten beds ready for all five of the boys. Her hair was beginning to sneak out of the net it had hastily been placed in.

"All seven of you out in weather such as this! And in only your night clothes none the less! I am ashamed at you all! You should have had more sense than to go out. You could have caught your death of cold." She busily placed Crabbe and Goyle in beds. "You two," she looked at Ron and Harry in turn, "I want you both to lay down." She pointed to beds on the other side of the room.

"But we're fine, Madam Pomfrey!" Ron began to complain.

She shook her head. "It matters not how you feel. Having your tongue stuck to a pole in this weather is no small matter. Now lay down, both of you." They grudgingly did as told. Draco snickered as he watched them. "And you," he suddenly stopped. She sighed as she watched his features change. "You lay down right here and I will look at you in a moment."

Hermione spoke up. "Madam Pomfrey, why did you say that all seven of us should not have been outside? There were only six."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Indeed." She turned to Minerva, who raised and eyebrow at her. "All seven of you is what I meant."

"Poppy, I am more than capable-"

"I know you are 'more than capable of taking care of yourself,' Minerva," the boys, all the conscious ones at least, snickered at the scolding their Transfiguration professor was receiving, "but you should not have been out in such weather either. I will give you a potion to keep you in health." McGonagall made a slight face at the thought of the nasty taste to come. Even Poppy smiled. "First, I ask you to see to Mr. Malfoy. His ailment seems to be more along your line of work than mine." She turned away and began to see to Goyle.

Minerva withdrew her wand and walked over to Draco's bed. "Very well then, Mr. Malfoy. I-" she stopped as a suddenly strong change came over him. Amazed, she watched as Draco Malfoy became… Ms. Malfoy. His hair became longer, almost reaching his waist, his nose pointed more, his face thinned, his lips became fuller, and he gained… certain assets. He, or now she, looked up at her pleadingly.

She could hear Harry and Ron laughing on the other side of the room, Hermione's gasp as she noticed the change, and the sigh from Madam Pomfrey. She herself almost lost control of her laughter. Crabbe and Goyle were still two bumps on a log.

"Ah… yes, well… Just… hold still, Mr.… Malfoy." She cast a spell and waved her wand gently in slight circles. Slowly, his features changed back to their original state. "There, that should do it."

He felt his face, making sure that everything was back to the way it was supposed to be.

Poppy came over to the bed. "Here you are dear." She held out a mirror to him, which he grabbed quickly. Harry and Ron continued to laugh as Hermione glared at them. "And here you are, Professor McGonagall." She held up a smoking glass with a green liquid sloshing inside it. "Drink up, dear," she said with a smirk.

Minerva grudgingly took the glass and mumbled, "Whatever would I do without you, Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Just drink it, Tabby."

McGonagall pursed her lips, and sending a glare in the direction of Poppy, knocked back the potion.

Ron whistled from the other side of the room. "Go McGonagall!"

She grimaced, and shoved the glass back at Pomfrey. "Thank you."

"Quite welcome."

"Now then, I believe there are some points that need to be removed from all of you."

A group of groans chorused throughout the room, except from Crabbe and Goyle, who were still dead to the world.

She made eye contact with each of them as she spoke. "Firstly, you all will be serving detention this coming Friday," a sigh from Hermione and a glare from Draco. "Secondly, thirty points from each of you for sneaking out so late at night for a silly little duel."

"But Professor, Hermione was only trying to-"

Minerva raised her hand to stop Harry. "Nevertheless, she still left the tower when she should have come straight to me, but I will award her fifteen points for coming to fetch me afterwards." Hermione smiled.

"I am highly disappointed in all of you. Mr. Malfoy, I will be informing Professor Snape of your, Crabbe's, and Goyle's actions." Draco frowned slightly. "Now then, I believe you all should just stay here for the night since it is so late, as long as it is fine with you, Madam Pomfrey?"

Poppy nodded. "Yes, they may stay."

Minerva nodded in return. "Very well then. I expect you all to get some rest. Good night." With that she walked out of the Infirmary and to her chambers.

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Well that was rather interesting. If only they hadn't chosen such a late time. I'll never sleep now. She shook her head and sat on a sofa before the fire.

She stared into it for a long time, eventually pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them. A thick tartan blanket suddenly wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up to see Albus standing before her. Two steaming mugs appeared in his hands.

"Rough night, my dear?" He handed her a mug and sat down next to her, covering his legs with part of the blanket and placing an arm around her shoulders.

She snuggled into his chest. "You won't believe what the some of the students were up to."

He took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I think I've got the time. Was it that bad?"

She chuckled. "You would not be able to even begin to guess, Albus." She blew on her mug to cool the liquid before drinking.

"What? Did someone decide to dress a snowman up in a brassiere again this year?"

She laughed. "Not quite, Albus, not quite."

He kissed her gently; she tasted slightly of hot chocolate. "Why don't you just tell me then, instead of making this old man guess all night?"

She kissed his forehead. The fire crackled as the wood shifted. "Well, The Gryffindor Trio and Draco, Crabbe and Goyle…"

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End

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