Seasons of Love

A/N: As stated in the summary, this is an unfinished fic, published as-is because I don't have time to edit it now. Bold text is generally notes to myself; feel free to skip over it. I will not be updating this fic. Enjoy.

Only one more semester until freedom, Sirius thought as he sat watching the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was late, and most of the Gryffindors, including the other Marauders, were asleep. But Sirius was busy brooding, and mindlessly contemplating the leaping of the flames.

Another semester of pining away for the one woman he could never have. Another semester of aimlessly snogging random girls in broom closets, only to disappoint them when he couldn't bring himself to go all the way. He had just one semester left to watch her hips unintentionally swaying, her middle-aged face pull downward into a stern expression, and listen expectantly as the hard heels of her sensible shoes clicked down the hallway toward the classroom. Yes, Sirius Black was in love with Minerva McGonagall, and had been for the past two years.

At least, he thought ruefully, I'm now of legal age to go all the way with her. He chuckled softly, knowing that, even if she somehow ever came to reciprocate his feelings, their student-teacher relationship would never allow them to do more than exchange the occasional smile of pat on the shoulder. Sirius had no clue just how far off the mark he was in his predictions of the year to come.

Asdfasdfasdfasdf (more scenes btwn?)

It was the next day, and Transfigurations had just begun, according to the clock. All four of the Marauders, plus Lily, had NEWT Transfigurations, as it was required for nearly every profession in the wizarding world. Today, the usually punctual Professor McGonagall was nowhere in sight. However, there was an orange (?) tabby sitting on a stool at the back of the classroom.

Those who were watching saw it gracefully walk toward the front of the classroom and smoothly turn into Professor McGonagall as it walked. Though she had already done the transformation for her students in their third year, she was showing them again. This was meant to be both a privilege for her seventh year NEWT classes, and a means of further discussing the details of being an Animagus, after having spent the first half of the year revisiting transfiguring objects.

The Marauders, however, were completely disinterested, being Animagi themselves. They were paying no attention. Sirius had his back to her entirely, with the result that he both missed the transformation and had his beanie snatched from his head as Minerva walked by. The rest of the class was busy applauding the professor's transformation, but Sirius was glaring intently at the back of his teacher's retreating head. Just when he thought the austere woman was planning to keep his hat for her collection of things confiscated from him, she turned and, with the smallest smirk, tossed his hat back to him. It landed in his lap.

"No hats in class, Mr. Black. Keep it off for now."

"But my head'll get cold! You get to wear a hat!" he protested, feigning disbelief.

"Mr. Black, please do desist from irking me." While this exchange was happening, Lily Evans had a hand raised and was waving it desperately. Like the rest of the class, she cared little about whether or not Sirius got to wear a hat, and significantly more about Minerva's transformation. Unlike the rest of the class, she was so intent upon having her question answered that she nearly pulled a muscle trying to extend her raised hand as was as it would go.

"Yes, Miss Evans?" Minerva asked without even turning in Lily's direction. Sirius rolled his eyes at Lily's Hermione-clone-ish behavior. He almost fell out of his chair from surprise when Minerva actually winked back at him as she turned to listen to the tail end of Lily's long-winded question.

"Did you see that?" Sirius said to James in a tone of voice that only barely fit the description of a whisper.

"Quiet down, Mr. Black," said Minerva. "Some students are trying to learn." The class tittered. "Miss Evans, please continue with your question."

As Lily was doing as instructed, James leaned toward Sirius and asked blankly, "See what?"

From the table behind them, Peter whispered, "I saw it!"

"Alright, Petey-boy!" said Sirius.

"What?" asked James again.

"She winked at him," explained Remus. "Undoubtedly he'll take it as a sign of her undying love for him." Remus, Peter, James, and Lily had discussed Sirius' growing affection for their Transfigurations teacher over winter break, while the Marauders were all staying at Lily's house. They had gotten rid of Sirius during the discussion by showing him how a Muggle television worked.

Sirius was about to nod in response to Remus' question, but caught himself. "Er, why would I want to think Miner—I mean McGonagall, is in love with me?"

Remus was saved from having to give the patently obvious answer to that question by Minerva's penetrating voice. "Black, Pettigrew, Potter, and Lupin! One more word from you four and I'll be handing out detentions. Whereas you four seem thoroughly unimpressed by my transformation, it would appear that the rest of the class would like to learn something about human transfiguration.

Minerva proceeded to give a brief lecture on more advanced human transfiguration than they had done in sixth year, including a limited amount of information on being an Animagus. Then, she set the class to doing the practical portion of their lesson, after first showing them how to transfigure a hand to look like a paw. The type of paw was dependent on the student's personality, just as Animagus form would be. As the students began to try the spell, they began to get a tiny taste of just how hard it would be to become an Animagus. That was precisely what Minerva had intended.

"This isn't exactly a paw," James observed as he examined the hoof of his Animagus form.

"I can't get it!" whined Peter. Just then, he tried again, and it worked. "Oh. Never mind," Peter said, examining an oversized rat's paw. Sirius had already transfigured his hand into a (predictable) dog paw. At the same table, Remus was trying the spell repeatedly. And failing repeatedly. Minerva saw the distressed boy's efforts from across the room, and went over to help.

"Professor, the spell isn't working for me," Remus said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. Spells always worked for Remus Lupin.

"Oh, er..." Minerva said, looking around to make sure no one was listening. The other Marauders made a show of being engrossed in their new hands. "That may be due to your...special condition." Remus nodded. He knew Dumbledore had informed the Head of Gryffindor (+all teachers???) that a werewolf would be staying at Hogwarts back when he entered the school. "You would most likely never be able to become an Animagus either, though I suppose the idea would hold little charm for you anyway."

Just then, Minerva noticed that the other Marauders were now openly listening in. "It is impolite to eavesdrop!" she informed them tersely. Had she known that the boys already knew of Remus' "special condition," she might not have been so flustered. But the Marauders had been doing an excellent job of keeping their (and Remus') secret. James even had yet to tell his new girlfriend, Lily. "What did you hear, boys?"

"Nothing, Professor," Sirius answered for them with a saccharine smile. Minerva was suspicious, but decided to let it go. "I'm going to go talk to those Hufflepuffs," Sirius said quickly, anxious to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Peter and James had since found that the number of ceiling tiles in the room was a very fascinating topic for conversation. Minerva watched Sirius stand and walk behind her.

In passing behind her, he put his hands on her upper arms briefly. "Your hands are warm," she had time to comment in a neutral tone. Had he been able to see her face, he would have known that what she was feeling was far from neutral. He chuckled to himself as he removed his hands, choosing not to respond. Minerva was grateful to see that everyone else in the room seemed to be absorbed in their work.

But not everyone was as oblivious to the peculiar look that had passed across her face. Lily Evans and the friend she always sat with (much to James' annoyance) exchanged a look. This was some prime gossip. It wouldn't take long before the whole school knew that, not only did Sirius Black have a crush on Professor McGonagall, but she also reciprocated his feelings. Of course, the intent was that neither Sirius nor Minerva ever learn of these rumors. Time would tell how well that worked.