South Tower, McGonagall's Classroom, April 1976 - Severus Snape

It was nearing exam time and it was quite clear that the fifth-year class was determined to ensure that every professor at Hogwarts lost the shreds of dignity, patience and sanity that they were clinging to. She, however, would not be deterred. The Ordinary Wizarding Levels were right around the corner and Minerva McGonagall had never had the misfortune of having a student earn less than a mark of Acceptable (damn that blasted Avery Mulciber), and she did not intend to start now.

And if she had been a lesser woman, walking into the chaos that was unfolding in her class, would have sent her into a full blown conniption.

There was a general scene of chaos unfolding toward the back of the class and she had to make a rather concerted effort to not blow a fuse. She mumbled an apology as she pushed past Marlene McKinnon and Daniel Cross to see what exactly had upended her Transfiguration lesson.

"Potter, you complete arse, give it back to him! Professor McGonagall!" A petite, red-haired witch shrieked sheepishly at the sight of the professor.

The older witch wasn't sure if she should be offended by Lily Evans' profanity or proud of the young witch for trying to stop this utter madness.

"Silence, Evans. All of you, too your seats now," She said, looking between the two boys in the center of the commotion as the students dispersed to their respective seats. "Potter - " Minerva started.

The skinny, bespectacled teenager looked at her, eyes wide, "I'm innocent," said James immediately, earning a death stare from Lily.

Severus Snape, a relatively quiet student in class, though she had other less becoming things of him outside of class, stood a few feet away. "Profesor," He said calmly, "Potter has taken my pocket watch…"

"More lies!" cried James, gripping his head tightly as though he were truly worried that his reputation were hanging in the balance, "I can't work under these conditions…" This earned a chuckle from the rest of the class, which clearly delighted him.

She narrowed her eyes at James and pulled out her wand. Wordlessly, with a flick of her wand, a small, gold Bulova pocket-watch flew out of the pocket of his trousers and into the palm of her hand. She handed it to Severus, who mumbled a 'thank you, Professor'.

A mix of annoyance and disappointment was clear on her face. Clearing her throat, she said to the class, "You will continue to work independently on the Vanishing Spell," Professor McGonagall instructed, "Evans, return to your seat. Potter and Snape, come with me."

The redheaded witch gave Potter one more nasty look before finding her seat, and Snape looked as though, given the chance, he might murder him.

Once she had settled into the seat behind her desk at the front of the class and the two boys stood in front of her, unsure of what exactly was happening, she spoke, "I expect better from both of you."

Severus opened his mouth to object, but fell silent at McGonagall's unflinching face. "You two are not first years anymore," She explained as calmly as she could, looking between both of them but more pointedly at James.

"Potter," Her voice had turned harsh, as her eyes fell upon James, who was still feigning innocence, "Theft is not tolerated at Hogwarts and should you ever behave like that in my class again, I will transfigure you into the object that you took. Have I made myself clear? And no Quidditch, you can kiss any letters of recommendation goodbye, y - you may not graduate!" Minerva whispered loudly across her desk.

"I thought professors couldn't use transfiguration as a punish - "

"And I thought aspiring Aurors weren't supposed to be obnoxious bullies," She countered, easily cutting him off. At that, she swore she saw a flicker of...shame, perhaps, cross his face, "Now," McGonagall said, "You've humiliated Severus in front of the class, you will apologize in front of the class."

He covered up his laugh with a fake cough, "I'd rather kiss the giant squid."

Snape interrupted, "No chance," He said, "Even the giant squid has standards." James' bottom lips curled into a sneer.

She struggled to maintain her composure, but inwardly cheered on Severus standing up for himself. "And I don't care what you would prefer to do, Potter," Professor McGonagall stated, "You can apologize, or explain to Professor Dumbledore why you thought it good and proper to steal from Mr. Snape here. Your choice."

While Dumbledore wasn't the strictest in many regards, it was common knowledge that he was unaccountably harsh when it came to theft.

It was obvious that James would've preferred to hand over his wisdom teeth, but slowly, he turned to face the class. Minerva had to admit that she was hoping against hope that her incorrrigible student would actually give a proper apology.

"Ehem," He cleared his throat, causing most of the class to look up from their practical work. She couldn't help but notice that the Evans girl looked especially interested in what he had to say, "I took something from Severus today. That was wrong of me, and I apologize."

The class mumbled a range of responses from general disgust with James (mostly from Evans) to those students who were impressed that he even knew how to form an apology. While it had sounded like Potter was being subjected to experimental torture, it was as good as any apology would get. Snape still looked indifferent; she hadn't expected him to fall over with gratitude at the forced apology.

"Both of you return to your seats and get started on your work," Professor McGonagall ordered. As the two boys started to walk away, she called, "And Potter, I mean it, I will not tolerate bullying in my class. You put so much as another toe out of line and I will not be as forgiving."

"Got it, got it…"

"Professor McGonagall?" Severus' nervous voice sputtered after class had been dismissed.

"Snape," She acknowledged, "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to say thanks for making James apologize," He said, quickly shifting his gaze to the floor, "Most professors let him get him away with stuff like that because he's on the Quidditch team, but you didn't and - uh - well, thank you."

She swallowed hard and nodded, making a mental note to prod her colleagues about Potter's behavior in their class, "I can't speak for what other professors do or fail to do, Severus," Minerva said plainly, "But there will be no bullying in my class."

"Right, then," Snape mumbled, "Well, good afternoon, Professor."

"Good afternoon, Severus."

A/N: I made a mistake in the first chapter. Her age is 41 in 1976, not thirty six.