Hello everyone! This is a fun little story idea that I got from a Harry Potter Facebook page. Don't forget to leave a review as it's greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoy the story!
Moony Strikes Again, A Harry Potter Fanfiction
Synopsis: 1993. It's another year at Hogwarts and Professor Albus Dumbledore has hired Remus Lupin, a Hogwarts alumnus and a member of the great Order of The Phoenix as DADA teacher. Professor McGonagall was sure he was a talented teacher—she shouldn't be too relaxed though; she was Moony's new target.
NOTE: I don't own any of the characters obviously, nor the story idea. I credit the person who came up with the idea in the HP Facebook page. Happy reading!
September the 1st couldn't come any faster. Soon, the Hogwarts Express arrived, students marching up the Entrance Hall (keeping close watch on Mr. Potter and his extremely unruly hair), and of course, the Sorting of the new first-year students. She was always quite enthusiastic at the addition of new Gryffindors.
Dumbledore was now making his Welcome speech, and Minerva most certainly would like to take off points from Draco Malfoy and his goonies for sniggering and chatting non-stop during it. Making no attempt to pay attention to the introduction of the new DADA teacher and merely glancing at him and went back to sniggering.
Minerva had seen Remus Lupin enter the castle doors as they had arrived at the feast with the other teachers, but she had no chance of speaking with him yet as they were busy with all the preparations. But that didn't mean she didn't like to get to know Remus. She knew Mr. Lupin quite well, very well indeed.
Remus had been one of her old students and was simply brilliant. He was so very smart that Minerva hadn't expected him to be friends of the very popular pairing of James Potter and Sirius Black. She also saw little Peter Pettigrew trailing along them at times. James Potter and Sirius Black were like the older version of the Weasley twins, such troublemakers, they were. So no teacher had expected when bright, young Remus became one of their closest friends. And helped with their pranks, mind you.
Although, she was not at all surprised when Dumbledore had hired Remus. He was excellent with the Dark Arts after all, also having been part of the Order of The Phoenix. A secret society that fights You-Know-Who and his supporters. Minerva was ready for a non-problematic year. She was quite nervous about Hagrid's appointment as Care of Magical Creatures professor, though.
The next morning was her first Transfiguration class with her Gryffindors. All seemed well. It bothered her a bit when she had transformed into her cat form that the class seemingly did not pay attention. According to Miss Granger, they had just had their first Divination class. Sybill had predicted Potter's death. No big deal, Minerva thought. Potter almost dies every year.
Weeks came and went and she was thoroughly pleased to see that the students were not disappointed, confused, or angry when they had come out of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. In fact, she had overheard some students eager for Lupin's next lesson and that they had tackled Boggarts for their first class. Minerva was sincere in hoping Remus would stay longer than the other teachers.
But little did Minerva McGonagall know; she'd maybe think twice about having Remus Lupin as her colleague.
On Monday morning during breakfast, while she was peacefully deep in conversation with Filius Flitwick about the Dementors swarming around school, her plate carrying a particularly delicious tuna sandwich had abruptly fallen off her table.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" she exclaimed.
"Do you need help, Minerva?" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick.
"No, no, thank you, Filius, I can manage myself," she muttered, bending down to clean up the contents of the food. She wasn't aware of a certain open packet of pepper flying over the heads of the busy eating professors, stopping immediately at her cup of tea.
The packet tilted and poured all its contents into Professor McGonagall's cup. She slowly sat up, not noticing again the now empty packet zooming back to a grinning, shabby-looking professor.
"Shame. I was looking forward to eating that," Minerva said gloomily.
"Shame, indeed, Minerva, old friend," Albus said with a smile.
At least, I still have my tea, she thought satisfyingly. Little did she know, Professor Remus Lupin was now watching her very closely. As if he had done something very menacing to her tea.
Minerva took a small sip of her tea. When it had reached her tongue however, she noticed something was a bit odd about its taste.
"Is it supposed to taste like this?"
"Like what, Minerva, dear?" Albus smiled.
"Nothing. I must have been dreaming," she said.
Then she took a larger sip of her tea and her eyes widened as she abruptly spit the drink out of her mouth, out towards her empty plate. The students turned to the High Table in alarm, seeing the professors making their way towards Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva!" Filius shrieked with concern.
"Are you alright Professor?" Hagrid stood up in concern.
"My tea! It tastes—tastes like—"
"Like what, Minerva?" Professor Vector asked her.
Professor McGonagall could not describe it. It was like someone had put some kind of ingredient to make it extremely spicy, it was stinging her mouth! Something like, like—PEPPER!
Albus took a sip of the tea and had a confused look on his face, though Minerva was surprised to see he didn't spit it out, in fact, he swallowed it.
"There is something going on with your tea, my dear. Perhaps the house-elves accidentally dropped too much pepper in here."
"But that can't be, Albus! The house-elves wouldn't dare do that!" Professor Vector exclaimed.
"But it surely is a possibility, isn't it, Professor Vector?" Remus suddenly spoke from his end of the table, beside Severus Snape. There was something odd about his kind smile, thought Minerva. And suddenly, Severus spoke in his usual, flat tone, "Or perhaps someone had altered it on purpose?" Professor Snape's head turned slightly to Professor Lupin.
"Me? Really, Severus," Remus said with a slight laugh, shaking his head, "I beg your pardon, I respect Professor McGonagall and I would never switch or alter, as you say, her tea like that!"
"But it surely is a possibility, isn't it, Professor Lupin?" Severus replied, looking most intently at Remus with a cold smile.
"It most surely is, Severus," Remus said, nodding curtly.
Minerva couldn't help but think though, that it surely was a possibility, as Severus had said, that someone had altered her tea. She was very sure that the house-elves wouldn't dare do a stunt like that on a teacher no matter their personalities. She agreed with Severus, someone did alter her morning tea; and she was quite sure who the culprit was.
Although sure as she was that it was indeed someone near her who altered her tea, she had no proof. Especially when nothing else had happened the rest of the day. That is, until Wednesday afternoon during her Transfiguration class with the fourth-year Ravenclaws.
Minerva was about to enter the classroom when Remus suddenly asked to speak to her.
"Professor! May I have a word with you?"
"Excuse me, Professor Lupin, I have a class to teach, and I am running a bit late already. Can this wait after class?"
"Not really. It'll only take a minute," he replied.
He then started telling her that the Boggart he had used on the third years' lesson had disappeared from the cabinet in his office.
"What?!" Minerva exclaimed, as she felt a slight tickle by her hips. She assumed it was just another student's robe brushing past her, as she had just seen Hermione Granger run past her and Remus.
"Look, I'm sorry to frighten you at this time but I don't need help looking for it, I thought I'd just warn you. Keep an eye out, eh?" he said with a smile, "Have a good lesson, professor," Remus said, walking away to his next lesson.
Minerva now had a slight headache thinking about a Boggart moving around the school, frightening students out of their wits with their worst fears.
She entered the classroom, and bid good morning to the Ravenclaw students. Professor McGonagall was about to demonstrate to them how to Transfigure a hedgehog into a pin cushion.
"Alright, everyone eyes on me! Watch closely as I Transfigure this hedgehog into a pin cushion."
Minerva swished her wand and flicked it—
"OH, MY DEAR LORD!" she exclaimed as she jumped and dropped the wand in fright. The wand did not Transfigure the hedgehog into a pin cushion. In fact, the wand itself had Transfigured into a rubber duck.
The students started sniggering and suppressing their laughs very evidently as Professor McGonagall stared at them very furiously. She recognized it immediately as a Zonko's product, but she had never seen one Transfigure into a rubber duck before.
"Who, in this class, dare give me a…a fake wand? I shall see to it that I take away 20 points from your house if no one wishes to answer!" Professor McGonagall furiously said to the now-nervous looking Ravenclaw students.
Cho Chang slowly raised a shaking hand.
"Yes, Ms. Chang?" Professor McGonagall knew better than to reprimand Cho Chang. She was not by any means, a troublemaker.
"Please, professor. How can anyone of us replace your wand when all of us were already seated and you entered at least a minute or two after us?" she explained carefully as the other students murmured in agreement.
She was right, Minerva thought, and the fourth years haven't learned any Summoning spells yet since it's only their first week.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and addressed the students, "Very well, then. We shall postpone our lesson on Transfiguring to tomorrow as we cannot continue without my wand."
She dismissed the students and they filed out of the classroom some looking rather cheerful because their lesson had ended early. But, still, the question remains, who had switched Minerva's wand?
She thought back before her Transfiguration lesson, she was talking with someone about a Boggart running loose in the castle…it was Professor Lupin! Minerva remembered she felt a tickle in her pocket as she was talking, and remembered Hermione Granger running past. It couldn't have been her, she thought, Ms. Granger wouldn't risk getting in trouble with a professor. And besides; she was running some two feet from her and Professor Lupin.
Huffing to herself, she thought, she ought to pay back naughty Mister Moony any day now…it so seems that Remus Lupin hasn't fully grown up yet…a shadow of Moony was still lurking behind that little brain of his.
On the first Hogsmeade weekend—after feeling sympathy for Harry Potter after he would have to stay behind while his friends went and enjoyed themselves—she went back to her office and decided to check on some students' homework.
She was just about to grab them from the top shelf when the papers had seemingly moved to the right.
"Oh, how stupid of me," she mumbled as she walked to the right, not noticing the stack of papers moving back to where she had first stopped.
Looking up to get the papers, Minerva's face slowly started to grow red with frustration.
"Why doesn't anything seem to go right these days?!" she exclaimed as she went back to get the papers but not taking her eyes off the shelf this time. She moved extremely slowly as she watched the stack papers move to the right again.
"Accio papers!" she suddenly said and the stack of papers came flying straight to her and she caught it by the hand.
Minerva lay the stack of papers on her desk, walking straight to her office door to check if anyone was outside, mischievously moving her papers from left to right, but saw no one there.
That's when she decided she'll have payback to Moony, who, by the way, she thought, no doubt made her week already worse than it is.
Meanwhile, just outside Professor McGonagall's door, a shabby, Disillusioned professor was leaning and struggling to suppress his laughs, his eyes now watering from laughter.
Professor Lupin ran straight back to his office, not daring to take off the Disillusionment charm on himself before someone asks him what he was doing outside Minerva's office.
But a certain old wizard with quite a long, fabulous beard smiled at him as he watched Remus run and laugh at the same time back to his office.
Moony's back, Albus thought fondly.
Remus lay back in his chair, a broad grin across his face as he thought he'd accomplish his mission.
The next day would change everything, however.
All the professors were peacefully eating and conversing up on the High Table when Professor Lupin took a bite of his sandwich. Unknowingly, however, a certain professor was looking intently at him as he took a bite of his scrumptious sandwich.
Remus suddenly dropped his sandwich as he barfed a disgusting green on the floor and immediately cleaned it up from the floor. All the students and professors worriedly looked at him.
"Professor Lupi—"
"I'm fine, Dumbledore, there was…something funny in my sandwich this morning, I think," he said.
"Really? Now we know Remus did not, in fact switch Minerva's tea. Right, Severus?"
"Right," Snape replied in a low, suspecting tone.
"You ought to ask the house-elves, Albus, make sure this does not happen to the students!" Minerva said.
"Yes, I suppose so," he added with a smile and twinkle in his eyes. As though he knew something about this little mix-up.
Next, he entered the classroom of thoroughly nervous looking first years as the little students seemed to be bothered by something on the ceiling.
"What are all you little ones worry—" he was abruptly cut off in surprise as the books and things he needed for teaching wasn't anywhere to be found.
"Have anyone of you seen my, uh, things?"
Dennis Creevey pointed up a finger on the ceiling.
"What…?" Reluctantly, Remus looked up at the ceiling too. His jaw dropped at what he saw.
Impossible, though, it seemed, his desk, his chair, his books, his quill, and his other things were stuck to the ceiling.
Professor Lupin's mouth opened and closed, apparently struggling to speak. "Does anyone know what happened here?"
"Professor McGonagall said to keep quiet—" the frightened little girl who spoke suddenly gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide and nervous.
"Don't get mad at us, Professor Lupin!"
"Of course, I won't! It's not your fault, I don't believe you kids would be able to do this! Alright, back to your seats then, as I sort this out."
The first years scrambled back to their seats as Remus got the things slowly from above the ceiling.
So…Professor McGonagall, eh? Pretty good, he thought, not as good as me, though, he thought naughtily.
"Alright, see, all sorted out. Nothing to worry, about."
He took a deep breath and started their lesson.
…
Hours later, once the dinner had finished that night, Remus Lupin made to return to his office and prepare the Grindylows for the third-year lessons.
Little did he know however, a curious, tabby cat, was now sitting in his office, along with…
"OH MY—" Remus didn't have time to speak as an orange cat jumped out at him and started scratching his face. He struggled to fight off the cat, and once he did, however, it seemed for a second he would have a heart attack.
Meowing and looking curiously at him were what seemed like over a hundred cats sitting in his office, some jumping around or else licking themselves.
"What in Godric's name?"
It seemed, also, his things were completely gone and his office had become a cat-house now.
Of course, at this very moment, he was quite aware who had done this.
"Minerva…you can come out now."
All the cats meowed in response, however.
"Alright, then. Please, Professor McGonagall, you may come out now."
The gray, tabby cat with curious markings on its eyes suddenly transformed into Minerva McGonagall, who was wearing her nightgown and her hair in a neat braid.
"Did you like my joke, Remus?"
"Ha, ha, very clever. Could you please help me transfigure everything? I have to prepare the third years' lesson. Although, I should admit, the cats were a cute payback."
Minerva merely smiled at him as they Transfigured everything back in its normal state for what seemed like an hour. After that, they both sat back in a chair.
"Well, that was fun!" Minerva said to an exhausted Remus.
"I suppose so," Remus said with a curious look at Minerva. He had never expected his quite old colleague to get back at him for his pranks.
"I beg of you, please don't leave cats in my office. I'm not a fan of them, really, no offense, with an exception for you."
"No promises, Moony."
Remus raised his eyebrows and chuckled at both their stupidities.
"You know, James would be quite proud you successfully pranked me," Minerva said with a smile.
"Ah, but James would be much disappointed if he only knew how you got revenge," Remus smiled sadly, remembering the old times when he and the rest of the Marauders pranked professors and students all the time. "You admit I'm a better prankster, then?" Minerva asked with a flip of her hair.
Remus nodded hesitantly.
Meanwhile, up in the heavens, James Potter was howling with laughter that entire two weeks. So much so that Lily Potter often had to smack him on the head from his loud laughter.
James sighed, Moony strikes again, he thought fondly.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story and had a little fun reading it. Don't forget to leave your reviews as it's gladly appreciated!