"You wouldn't believe the things I hear being shouted around my classroom as the day go by," Minerva said, shaking her head as she lowered her glasses off her face to rub her eyes briefly. "Some of the things that these students say, you'd swear they were raised by wild animals or never taught the polite way to address a person in charge."
"I know what you mean," Sybill chimed in. "Just the other day, I heard one of them talking about a prank they were planning to pull in the dormitory. Where they got the crazy idea, I'll never know, and I'm not sure I want to know how they planned on getting a hippogriff into the towers without anyone knowing…"
"A hippogriff?" Minerva asked, furrowing her brow. "Don't tell me potter is up to something with Sirius Black again. I thought he was hiding away in Grimmauld place for the time being."
Sybill shrugged. "I'm not sure who he is teamed up with, but he certainly has plans. I don't know that I want to know the rest of them. He and the Weasley boy were far too giddy for their own good this morning when they were on their way out the door after class. I worry about those two, though, that's for sure."
"I do too. They are great boys, but sometimes they just get into all sorts of trouble, and there's nothing that any of us can do to stop them. I've brought it up to Albus, but he's been of no help other than saying to let them try it and fail. But I don't see how letting them fail is going to teach them any kind of lesson. Those two would be able to get away with murder in Albus's eyes if they tried."
"I know what you mean, but you have to look at who we are talking about. The Chosen One and his best friend, plus you can't forget the Granger girl who's always hanging around with them."
"You'd think she'd be able to talk some sense into them when they tell her about one of their hair-brained schemes, but it would appear she has no control over them either. And some days," Minerva said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "they are working with her ideas. You remember the polyjuice potion incident, right?"
Sybill nodded and hung her head. The whole school remembers that incident like it was only yesterday. It was a rare thing to see a cat standing as tall and as wide as human. Poor Hermione would never be able to forget that.
"I know they mean well, but don't you think someone ought to sit them down and talk about their life choices with them?" Sybill asked.
"It would be ideal, but the only question is who would they actually take the time to listen to. Anyone who has any influence over their lives besides the two of us seems to agree with all their antics," Minerva said, shaking her head. "It makes me wonder if things would have been any different had Harry's parents survived, but alas, I guess we will never know."
"Sadly, that is the case," Sybill agreed.
"So you said they had something in mind that dealt with a hippogriff? Where are they planning to put it?" Minerva asked. Even if she didn't approve of their pranks, she usually found many of them rather entertaining. The only thing that would be concerning would be who they were planning to torment with the creature. The last time a hippogriff was on campus, she and Albus had to deal with an angry Lucius Malfoy. If only he remembered what a pain in the arse he was a student at Hogwarts, then maybe he'd back off a bit in terms of picking on these boys. Not to mention, his son is no angel either, regardless of what he reported back home.
"They were trying to figure out how to get it into the Gryffindor tower for at least overnight. I'm not sure what they wanted to do with it once they got it inside," Sybill replied. She pushed her chair back from the table. "Tea, Minerva?"
"Yes, please," she replied with a smile. She thought about the hippogriff situation for a few more moments and furrowed her brow. "Where in Merlin's name do they think they are going to hide a hippogriff in the tower? There's barely enough room in there for all of the students to fit in their dorms, let alone when they are all hanging out in the common room. Not to mention, hippogriffs aren't exactly small…"
"Maybe they are going to use a shrinking potion?" Sybill suggested, glancing back over her shoulder. "I didn't hear them say anything about making one, but it was just Potter and Weasley. I don't see Granger anymore since she decided she didn't agree with what I was teaching in my class."
"Don't take that the wrong way, Sybill," Minerva said. "It was actually my suggestion that we remove her from your class. Ms. Granger is going to do wonderful things for the Wizarding World in her life, and there were a few other classes that Albus and I both thought it best if she focused her studies in other places."
"I'm not upset about her not being in the class, and I understand why you two made the suggestions you did for her schedule. I probably would have suggested something much the same to her in the near future," she said with a shrug. With a flick of her wrist, she levitated the now full teacups over to the table, followed by the teapot.
"Ms. Granger is probably in on this prank as well, but who knows to what extent," Minerva mumbled, lifting the teacup to her lips. "I guess we'll have to wait to find out any more the extent of their plan."
"A teacher's life is never dull, that's for sure," Sybill said, taking a sip of her tea. They both laughed and shook their heads. Teaching may not have been the career path for everyone, but they each certainly enjoyed it.