Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all Harry Potter characters are copyrights of J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for some fun.

I had a request to write something around the punch scene of movie 3 so there are two such scenes in this chapter, which can be read connected or not.

Jan. 2009 Update: the request scenes are still in this chapter, 2 have been moved here, and 1 is completely new.

-16- Wizard Poker and Prompt Jokes

"So what will it be then?" Slughorn prompted the rest of the table placing his bet of chocolate frog cards, 2 Cyprian Youdle and 1 Bridget Wenlock, down.

"Well I see your 2 Cyprian Youdle and add 2 Claudius Ptolemy" Flitwick squeaked flicking his wand at his pile of cards to place his selected bet. Slughorn and Flitwick turned their gaze from the pot in the center of the table to Professor McGonagall whose lips were as firmly pressed together as ever, eyebrows angling down below her glasses, eyes fixed on the playing cards in her hand.

"Come, come now Minerva. Let's have it," Slughorn urged.

"My aren't we anxious. Must be either an extremely good or extremely horrible hand." Flitwick observed nibbling on some pumpkin crisps.

"3 Ignatia Wildsmith and 1 Cliodna"

"Very well then, you've forced my hand my dear woman." Slughorn said with a sigh.

"Hit a nerve did I," Minevra pressed smugly, "Well pardon, but I do believe it's your turn, so, as you say, have at it." Both Flitwick and McGonagall chuckled as Slughorn sifted through his cards to find a proper bet. The teacher's lounge door swung open and Professor Snape walked in, stopping abruptly at the sight of the other three teachers sitting around the round table in the center of the room playing Wizard's Poker, a game that had come into popularity in Hogwarts back when he was student, though Snape had no clue how it had caught on or who had come up with the idea of using spare chocolate frogs to place bets with. He wasn't all that fond of the game, but ever since he became a professor at the school the other professors' had insisted he play it with them. He did his best to avoid it when he could.

"Sorry for the intrusion," he said trying to think of excuse to leave again before he was invited to join in.

"Oh for the love of Lockheart Severus, don't just stand there like some kind of depressed robot, sit down and join us." McGonagall snapped at him pointing her index finger straight down above the seat of the empty chair beside her.

Snape couldn't leave now, he rolled his eyes behind his closed eyelids as he walked over and reluctantly sat down.

"I don't have any cards to bet with," he informed them as he straightened in the chair.

"That's alright, Flitwick has a plethora of them to share," McGonagall replied curtly popping her knuckles as she rested her playing hand face down and folded her hands together in front of them.

"Oh yes, here Severus," Flitwick summoned a large brown rectangular trunk from the floor behind his chair up into the air and over to Snape. "Take whatever you want, I have got more in my office."

"I wasn't aware you had a deep love for chocolate frogs." Snape commented as he began riffling through the trunk for cards to play with.

"I don't, not really, these are all from careless students who leave them just lying around the castle. I have a deal with Filch, who helps me collect them."

"So that's how you have managed such a large collection." Slughorn remarked, clearly impressed. "4 Gifford Ollerton and 2 Queen Maeve" he laid his new bet down.

"I've got 10 complete sets, but I keep my eyes open for the new releases." Flitwick informed him as he set his own bet down of 6 Humphrey Boggart and 3 Merlin.

"Upping the stakes are we, well I have got something to say about that." McGonagall pushed set her bet out. "4 Falco Aesalon, 3 Circe and 1 Gilderoy Lockheart."

Snape raised an eyebrow and observed her out of the corner of his eye as she laid the last card down. Her eyes darted to him and he quickly looked down at the pile of betting cards he was busy stacking up. He hated how she could still make him feel like he was a student of hers instead of a fellow colleague. Slughorn ended up folding and Flitwick ended up winning the hand.

McGonagall collected the playing cards.

"I am dealing you in Severus so you best be ready to play."

"As much as possible given the circumstances," he sighed as she began dealing.

"Oh really Severus, Wizard's Poker is a Hogwarts tradition after all. It's one of the things I have missed in my years away. It was such an enjoyable pastime when we got a break back then, you remember Minerva."

"Severus start the bet." Flitwick spoke up from across the table.

"Oh yes, It made the holidays more interesting, that's certain." McGonagall agreed watching Severus place his bet of 1 Salazar Slytherin and 2 Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, good ol'Dumbledore," Slughorn mused. "You know just the other day we were playing a few hands of Wizard's Poker and he tried to tell me a joke he'd overheard about a giant, a banshee, or was it a hag, and a unicorn-"

"Leprechaun. A troll, a hag and a leprechaun." McGonagall snapped. "Now place your bet. You should not bother trying to get that joke out of him you know." she said glancing at him over her spectacles.

"Oh, why's that?" Slughorn asked curiously placing his bet of 2 Albus Dumbledore and 2 Heathcote Barbary on top of Severus's cards.

"The man can never finish that joke," Flitwick retorted. McGonagall raised her eyebrows and nodded pointing to Flitwick in agreement.

"Never?"

"Not in all the years we've worked here together. That one, or any other." McGonagall replied in a matter of fact voice. Flitwick decided to fold.

"But I have heard Dumbledore tell jokes on numerous occasions." Slughorn protested.

"No, he gives punch lines and ironic statements. Never a prompt joke." Severus corrected.

"That man should never be allowed the chance to give a prompt joke. He never remembers how it ends so you're just left wondering exactly why, for instance, a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun are in a bar together, let alone what they were discussing."

"Then why don't you try and teach him one you all know?"

"That would not work either." Flitwick replied with a sigh, "Twas the masters Black and Potter who tried to teach him that joke and he was never able to pick it up."

"And if you could not learn from them, when they were trying to explain something, well there just is not any hope for you." McGonagall added.

"Ah yes, I remember those two. I will never know what they spent more time on, spending their time in detention or coming up with ways to get it."

"Believe they did their best to keep it as even as possible." Snape commented, glaring ever so slightly from the current topic. He turned to McGonagall. "Will you be placing your bet this century?"

McGonagall jumped in her seat. "Oh my, yes. Here, 3 Paracelsus and 2 Gryffindor."

"Actually it's a funny thing you should bring that up," Minerva said ignoring Snape's clear distaste for the current conversation topic. "It was during one of their detentions that they taught both myself and Flitwick how to play."

"Is that how you learned?, I don't believe you ever mentioned that back when you two began teaching the rest of us professors how to play."

"That's because they made us promise not to tell, they didn't want anyone to know who had invented the game." Flitwick explained. Severus dropped the cards he was about to lay down.

"It was them?" he asked. Flitwick nodded the affirmative with a bright smile, picking up some more pumpkin crisps. Snape stood up and stormed out of the room.

"Where did he run off to?" Slughorn asked. McGonagall and Flitwick exchanged glances with smirks on each of their faces.

"To sulk, as usual." McGonagall replied watching as Slughorn turned Snape's hand over for them to see and compare their hands.

"Pity," Slughorn said looking up at the other two, "He would have won too."

-17- That All You Got

Hermione pulled Harry down beside her just in time. They shrank themselves down and hid in the shadows of the trees behind the large rocks and watched the scene before them.

"That's us." Harry whispered. The whole 'time-traveling' thing still hadn't completely sunk in yet. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him.

Sure enough, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were standing together in front of Draco Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle beside and behind him. Harry remembered they had come up behind them on their way to Hagrid's Hut and overheard Malfoy talking about wanting to watch the execution of Buckbeak and how he had asked his father to see if he could keep the head as a souvenir.

Hermione was facing off with Draco. From where he and Hermione were behind the rock, he couldn't hear what was being said, he knew though because it had just happened a few hours ago even if it was happening right in front of him.

Hermione punched Malfoy. Draco's head turned to the side and he glared at her.

"Nice shot." Harry whispered behind the rock nudging Hermione in the arm beside him. "Thanks." she whispered back proudly.

"You hit like a girl." Malfoy said defiantly looking like he was about to throw her a punch, but he hesitated. His mistake. Hermione threw another punch, this time landing straight on his nose, Draco's head bouncing back against the stone rock behind him. He grabbed his nose with a holler of pain and staggered around in small circles.

"That all you got?" he said between his hands. Hermione pulled back her arm and snapped another punch slightly higher. Draco twirled around in place and repeated himself as he fell to the ground.

"Draco!" Crabbe shouted as he knelt down to try and pick his friend up. Goyle and Crabbe looked up at Hermione with a mix of loathing and fear. She just walked past them with her head held high and called for Harry and Ron to follow. Crabbe and Goyle helped Draco up and ran back up and into the castle.

Hermione slowly slid her hand down beside her and Harry gave her a low-five before they snuck out from where they had been hiding and began following themselves down to Hagrid's Hut.

-18- Trying to Follow in Their Footsteps

Ron lifted his hand slowly in a delayed reaction to the long yawn escaping his mouth. He hated studying for tests. He hated taking tests. In fact, the whole test taking procedure upset him to no end. He wondered if students could protest the taking of tests like those muggles seem to do an awful lot when they don't feel like working. It had always been something he was interested in and wanted to know what it was like. Muggles. His thoughts drifted over towards his classmate and friend sitting right next to him, Hermione Granger. What he felt against tests, she felt for them. Just one reason why he describes her as mental.

"Ron, is something the matter?" Hermione asked looking up at him from her studies. There was a sense from her curious gaze that she was trying to work something out about Ron. "Something on your mind?"

Ron's mind went blank. He couldn't just tell her how he had been thinking she was mental. He opened his mouth but didn't attempt to speak.

"Do you have a question, or need something explained to you?" Hermione asked again folding her arms on top of the book and parchment that lay in front of her.

Ron shook his head from side to side and gave a short reply that was muffled by his reaching up and scratching his nose, "No."

He doubted if his question on the purpose of tests or the ability for students to strike them counted as questions, and even if they might have he knew Hermione would never consider them seriously so he just kept silent on the matter.

"Hey you two," Harry greeted as he came into the common room, looking slightly tired. He had just returned from Qudditch practice. "So I've been thinking-"

"Well I should hope so, we've got exams in three days." Hermione retorted as Harry took a seat on the sofa next to Ron. Harry gaped at her and then shared an exasperated look with Ron before Ron turned his head to look out the window while he stifled the urge to laugh with a cough into his cloak covered hand. Hermione just rolled her eyes at the boys reaction.

"Fine. Sorry, what have you been thinking about Harry?"

"Well, you know how my dad and his friends called themselves the Marauders," Harry began looking more and more excited as he spoke each word. "I think we should come up with a name for the three of us to use. Don't you?"

Ron smirked and turned to his best friend. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it. It was an obvious choice as to what they should call themselves.

"How 'bout the Mischief Makers?" he prompted to the other two and prepared for their excited agreement.

Hermione had been giving Harry one of her amused inquisitive looks before Ron spoke up. He noted the smile that faded down into the flat line of her lips, which she then pursed in a way that made him wish he hadn't said anything at all. He took a chance and snuck a glance at Harry. At least he seemed to be considering it in his head. That was better than pursed lips any day.

"I'm not sure that fits us entirely," Hermione finally spoke up. "Besides don't you think your brothers have already laid claim to that one?" Ron shot her an offended look but he didn't object aloud. Hermione and him each turned to Harry for support. Harry jumped in his seat, he obviously hadn't been expecting to be put on the spot.

"Well Hermione, what do you suggest?" He asked quickly, happy to get the focus off him for now. Ron turned back to her in time to see her pull back ever so slightly in her chair and lower her head with a look that came rather close to blushing on her face. He wondered what was so bloody embarrassing about this conversation that it would make her blush. Then again, it was Hermione, being mental and all, he wasn't sure why this reaction surprised him so much.

"We could call each other the Three Musketeers," Hermione suggested hesitantly. A short laugh burst out of Harry, but he silenced it quickly.

"Ugh, what kind of a name is Three Musketeers? And what the newt are Musketeers anyway?" Ron shot at her not even bothering to disguise his disgust at the sound of her name suggestion.

"Oh and you think Mischief Makers sounds so much better do you?" Hermione snapped back taking the defensive.

"Yeah." Ron replied elongating the word for all it was worth.

"How about Phoenix Three?" Harry suggested quickly, clearly wanting to stifle the fight between the other two. Now it was time for Ron to exchange an exasperated look with Hermione. Ron was hoping Harry wasn't too serious about this suggestion.

"Well..." Hermione began but cut herself off. Harry seemed to notice that she wasn't looking him in the eye.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"Come on Harry, what isn't?" Ron replied leaning back in his seat and covering his head with his hand. He was getting a headache. That was the one thing he had been enjoying about studying earlier, the lack of a headache. It seemed that he just couldn't escape it. Suddenly it seemed Hermione and Harry were having a 'who can raise their voice and argue in the loudest most forceful whisper possible' contest. Ron couldn't tell who was winning, or what they were saying.

The sound of footsteps and an energetic conversation reached Ron's ears. He turned his head and looked behind him to see his older brothers coming in from the portrait hole. Fred and George stopped speaking as soon as Hermione's and Harry's rushing argument reached their ears. The twins exchanged curiously confused glances with one another and then posed them on the trio.

"Hey there," Fred said, effectively interrupting and pausing Harry and Hermione.

"That's better." George commented.

"So what's the tenacious trio up to now, not studying too hard we hope." they spoke together. "Not having a heated discussion over the effectiveness of goblin-witch relations or some other such nonsense are we?" George asked. "You shouldn't be so serious about your studies, it puts the rest of us on edge." Fred added. "Not to mention making it seem like we aren't trying as hard." George finished exchanging a nod of agreement with his twin.

There was a moment of silence between the five Gryffindor students. The twins began to appear confused, they had clearly expected some form of witty comment from either Ron or Hermione about how they didn't try as hard at their studies, but instead they were trying to piece together what this silence meant.

Ron was sure the others were staring at the twins in silence for the same reason he was. It was perfect. It fit them and their relationship with each other so perfectly and even sounded cool. He slowly turned his head towards his two best friends. For just a second they all shared a look in their circle before smiles crept up on their faces and they broke out into laughter. Ron missed the severely confused and disturbed looks on his older brothers' faces.

And so Harry, Hermione, and Ron agreed to start going about their days and adventures referring to one another, only to each other, as the Tenacious Trio. Or, at least while they studied for the test.

-19- Bedtime Reading

"Come on Hermione, you don't want to miss this!" Ron exclaimed as he dashed up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower dragging Hermione behind him by her wrist. "You won't believe it!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she gave in to being hauled up the stairs, even though she had been working in the library.

"Caddywumpuss," Ron said the password to the Fat Lady before they were even finished climbing the stairs.

The Fat Lady swung her portrait open just in time as Ron led Hermione through the portrait hole in a hurry.

The common room of Gryffindor was empty, not surprising given it was the winter holiday break. Ron continued on towards the stairs that led up to the boys dorms. Hermione just wished he would tell her what it was that he wanted her to see.

Ron pushed the dorm room door open and slowed his pace. He turned back toward her once he had moved in just enough to let her come in. He didn't say a word, just looked at her and then turned his head as he pointed towards a bed. Hermione wasn't surprised it was Harry's bed Ron was pointing at, but she was struck speechless at the sight before her.

"Let me in, let me in, I'm gonna grind your bones to make my bread!" Harry read from the story book he was holding, the threatening words lost their meaning by his use of an energetic high-pitch voice. He giggled, wiggling side to side in excitement from his head down to his toes. Hermione tilted her head in confusion.

"I will not! cried Jack," Harry continued to read looking down from his book as he flipped the page. Hermione gave a questioning glance at Ron. He simply made a come forward gesture with both his arms. Reluctantly she complied as Harry continued to read the story aloud.

"I don't wish to be ground into bread, but if you promise to leave me alone I'll give you my goose whose plucked feathers turn to gold!"

Hermione wasn't sure which disturbed her more, the horribly inaccurate wizard take on the fairy tale he was reading, or the fact that Harry was sitting on his bed reading the story to a bludger of all things. She wasn't sure whether she should send for Madam Pomfrey or laugh hysterically at his behavior.

"What is gold? Can I eat it? Does it make good bread? the Troll asked," Harry read on.

Hermione's attention was shifted from her friends insanity towards the window just beyond him in the wall space between Harry's and Ron's beds. A fluffy snowy owl sat outside on the window ledge. Hedwig was watching Harry with what Hermione thought was the most heart breaking expression she had ever seen on any animal in her entire life.

The occasional chirp from the owl seemed to Hermione to be a call out to Harry for the attention he was giving the bludger.

Harry wrapped his arm around the bludger and pulled it closer to him.

"You're the best pet in the world!" he hummed, giving the bludger a light kiss.

Hermione watched as Hedwig stiffened and chirped maliciously at the glass before flying off in an obvious jealous huff.

-20- Head Punch

Harry couldn't wait to see Hagrid. He and Hermione had managed to travel back in time, which still sounded remarkable to him, and save Sirius and Buckbeak from their certain deaths. The three friends were just about down the hill when Hermione suddenly grabbed both Ron's and Harry's wrists and stopped in her tracks along the path. He wondered why she had stopped when he knew she was just as eager to see Hagrid as he was, maybe more. Harry didn't have to ask her what was wrong. He just looked where she looked and answered his own question, and so it seemed did Ron. The three exchanged a glance and then looked back at the sight before them.

It was hard to believe, but they watched in silence as Draco was carring wood over to the side of Hagrid's hut and handed them to Goyle, who stacked them into the pile, while Crabbe used an axe to chop the wood. Hagrid watched on in what oddly looked like thanks, sitting on the ground in front of his door. The faint sounds of enthusiastic whistling reached the three friends ears.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned their heads back towards each other.

"Dude, how hard did you punch Malfoy?" Ron asked Hermione as seriously as he could. Hermione looked away, back down towards Hagrid's, as she slid her right sleeve down over her hand with her left hand. Harry reached forward and grabbed her arm just above the wrist and slid her sleeve up. Ron and Harry stared at her hand. Their eyes focused on her knuckles which were a faint reddish purple color.

I dedicate this story to Matelia-legwll, Thanks for all the inspiration!

- umi