(A/N: Many thanks to Miriflowers for giving me the darling little bunny. I fed it well, I think. *fat bunny burps happily*
Minerva sat in the staffroom. Supper had just finished, and she still had lots of correcting to do before she turned in for the night. As she corrected papers, Severus swept into the room. He reached into his chair and pulled a book out of his billowing robes, then settled into his chair and started reading. Neither acknowledged the other and simply sat in companionable silence, save for the scratching of a quill and the occasional turning of a page. Then, someone opened the gates of Hell and prepared it to break loose: Albus Dumbledore walked in. Minerva and Severus sighed and put away what they were doing, as both had been around Albus long enough to know that attempting to work in his presence was futile, and often resulted in pointless arguments about the merits of Swiss cheese versus American (Minerva still denied the existence of that conversation to all but Albus. To him, she still maintained that Swiss was better.). Albus noticed this every time they did it, but he never mentioned it. He sat down in all his splendor and began twirling the end of his beard between his fingers. (A/N: Yeah, I didn't know there was an end to it either. You learn something new every day!) He proposed in all seriousness,
"I have a proposition for you: A betting pool!"
Minerva rolled her eyes and said,
"What for this time? For crying out loud, we already have one that Nearly Headless Nick and the Grey Lady will be a couple by the end of the year. What haven't we covered?"
Albus leaned forward with a conspirator's air of scheming he must have gotten from the Marauders and said,
"Student relationships."
Minerva rolled her eyes and said,
"Honestly?"
Severus spoke up finally and asked,
"Which students would this be?"
Albus smiled and said,
"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley."
Severus rolled his eyes and inquired which Weasley he was speaking of. Minerva let out a sigh of exasperation and said,
"Clearly the one she is perfect for."
Severus's lip curled as he asked (yet again),
"And which one is that?"
Minerva got up and said,
"I have more important things to do besides bet. Besides, everyone knows they'll end up together. Did you see them when Miss Granger became Unpetrified?" Severus stood up and moved to stand in front of Minerva. He said in his silky smooth *cough, cough-Oh god, yes I love his voice-cough, cough* voice,
"Minerva, we both know that Granger will fall for Potter. Have you even witnessed their interactions?"
Minerva rolled her eyes and asked,
"Must we really resort to such a childish thing as betting on our students' relationships?" Severus nodded. They turned to Albus, who had been watching them like an interesting tennis match. He grinned happily and said,
"2 galleons that Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will be dating by the end of 6th year." He conjured up a lemon-lime green top hat and threw in two galleons. Minerva threw in six and said,
"Six galleons they'll be dating by the end of fifth." Severus threw in 7 sickles and said,
"Seven sickles Weasley is single and Granger marries Potter." Minerva said,
"Ooh… that's dangerous. So what year did you say?" Severus thought for a second and said,
"Seventh." Minerva smiled happily and said,
"Not happening Sev. Even I know better."
*~6 years later~*
Severus sat in the staffroom, correcting the most horrendous essays he had ever read. Honestly, how many people are there those don't know the location of bezoars? It was quite clearly in a goat's stomach, not at the bottom of the Dead Sea. He drew another D at the top of an essay, and set it aside. Albus strode into the classroom and sat down. He looked smug and self-satisfied. Severus set his quill down and said,
"What did you do?" Albus conjured up the old and battered hat. Severus groaned when he saw what was attached. It was written in fancy calligraphy on white stationary and read:
The Weasleys and the Grangers are proud to invite you to the wedding of:
Mr. Ronald Weasley
And
Miss Hermione Granger.
Severus quit reading and sighed. Over the years, he had bet 129 galleons, 67 sickles, and 4 knuts, and now he had lost out on almost an entire semester's salary. Almost like it was rehearsed, Minerva walked in, caught sight of the invitation, and-honest to God-squealed. She leapt over and asked Albus excitedly,
"How much is in there?"
Albus glanced down at the parchment he had recorded everything on and said,"879 galleons, 597 sickles, and 13 knuts."
Minerva stumbled back for a second and whispered,"And how many people won?" Albus grinned and said,"Three. Xiomara, Filius, and you."
Minerva divided the money quickly and raced off, cackling evilly. Albus and Severus exchanged questioning looks, then concluded,"Catnip."
Severus sighed, and returned to his Batcave. Albus grinned, and went off to find Filius and Xiomara to inform them of their windfall.