Chapter 18 They fell in... Wait a second! Snape, Love? As he sipped at his evening pumpkin juice, he noticed he felt funny. What he had left for a heart was... lighter. He smiled (yes, be afraid. Be very afraid...) and looked to his left. To his left was, none other than... Professor McGonagall... AND Trelawney, both arguing. But really, which one did he see first? He noticed that the bags under McGonagall's eyes weren't as noticeable today. And Trelawney's wrinkles were only minor... In his opinion they were suddenly both beautiful! But which one did he like more? He noticed the Black twins were standing on the Gryffindor table. He didn't even yell at them. He was basking in the glow of McGonagall and Trelawney's supreme beauty (Umm *COUGH*). By this point, Brynn and Bryce had suspected something... "Snape hasn't yelled at us yet..." Brynn said to her twin. "Is he mentally ill?" "Um... Let's just enjoy this while we can-- FOOD FIGHT!" Bryce replied. Bryce grabbed a squishy item of food, and chucked it at the Slytherin table, managing to hit the worst person he could possibly hit, Felicity... She had been hit on the back of the head with a piece of stake sloshed around in potatoes. Bryce's jaw dropped when his 'niece' wheeled around, and chucked a goblet, and with very precise aim, hit him in the head. This knocked him out. But no one seemed to notice. They were all too busy taking part in the now- engaged food fight. It was all too bad for Crystal, Brian, Fred, and George that they had left... By now, even McGonagall had noticed something. Maybe it was the way that Snape was looking at her; an unblinking stare. His black beetle eyes were staring at her, underneath his greasy black hair, which was in his face. Then, to her horror... she believed he winked at her! "Severus, is there something wrong?" she demanded, tapping her foot. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she had been hit with a large slob of what looked like Jell-O... "Not a thing, Minny." Snape said softly. "Your fair face has forever captured my heart." McGonagall nearly passed out. Was she delirious? Or was Snape? But Snape rounded now on Trelawney. "Sybil! A name of beauty! Which fits, for you certainly a beautiful person! Your eyes are deep, like a crystal ball, I can see into your heart, like you see the future." To this, Trelawney was stumped. Nothing in her phony gazing could have prepared her for this. She was paranoid now, but had this gone too far? Had the one supremely crabby teacher, that kept everyone in line, finally lost his... marbles? "Would either of you lovely ladies care for a dance?" he asked. There was no music. Only the sound of students shouting, and the sound of mashing food. What a lovely beat. "Um... No thanks..." Trelawney said, inching as far away as possible from him. McGonagall however, took this opportunity to splash him with water. "SNAP OUT OF IT, SEVERUS!" She shouted, and the Hall stopped for a second to look at her. They realized then that she was not yelling at them, and they went back to their fight... This had no effect on Snape. "The water is clear, like your complexion." he sighed. The he puckered his lips, and said, "Kiss me Minny!" McGonagall could take it no longer, and she left the Great Hall. Professor Trelawney took one look at Snape and used her 'future telling powers' to tell her that she should leave as well... So she gracefully excused herself (by this I mean, broke out in a dead run towards the exit) and left. Was Hell going to freeze over now? Or were the Hufflepuffs just going to win the House Cup? There was no telling, as both were rare events... ~*~ "Children these days!" Cate fumed. Bellum backed up. He had been walking down the hall, when the door blasted off its hinges. It narrowly missed him. "Do you know what your daughter has been up to?" "Um..." Bellum looked around nervously. "Which one?" He wondered what Felicity had done. He really didn't think Paige was the type to do something bad... "Paige!" Cate hissed. "She was chumming around with... that Potter girl! Juanita, or whatever revolting name she has. She had a necklace. Can you believe it, BEST FRIENDS! She knows very well I hate Meagan. She knows that, and still.... ARGH!" Bellum took another step back... Cate was fuming. She was angry. Very angry. "Cate, calm down." he said softly. "Calm down!?" Cate shouted. She threw an electric zap blindly at him, and missed. "My child is friends with the enemy..." Cate clenched her fists. "Cate, you're pregnant and angry. Calm down, sweetie. Breathe... That's it... inhale... exhale..." Bellum said. He felt safe enough now to approach her. Cate had her eyes closed. She was glowing, and her hair was fanning out behind her. Her put his hands on her waist, and felt her relax at once. "I think you need to go to sleep... we'll talk in the morning..." Cate nodded, not opening her eyes. Bellum, looking slightly nervous, led her off to their bedroom... ~*~ "Bridgett..." Paige whispered. She had snuck out of the house. She had to tell Bridgett, who lived across the street, what had happened. A very groggy Bridgett answered the door. It was her bedroom door. "Paige, what?" Bridgett muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Mum's in hysterics. She found out I was friends with Nita!" Paige aid quickly. "And you're still alive? And better yet... you're here?" Bridgett said, waking slightly, and hoping for a story of some sort. "Cate gone mad?" "Well, she doesn't know I'm here now. I'd best get back. Mum doesn't know I can do the appearing trick yet... I'll talk to you some other time, when I have time to explain." Paige looked around, waved to the confused Bridgett, and appeared back in her own room... safe and sound. ~*~ "Cate... stop hitting me." Bellum muttered. Cate seemed to be in a deep sleep, and was being rather violent. He groaned, as he was punched in the nose. He gave his wife a shake, and she sat up, now wide-awake... "Paige! I'm going to---" She muttered, her teeth gritted. But Bellum, who seemed to have been conceiving a plan all night, interrupted her, since he was awake anyways. "Bad dream, Cate?" he asked. A blank look crossed Cate's angry face, and she stopped shaking with anger. "What was it about this time?" Cate paused, taking into consideration that the ordeal with Paige may have very well been a dream. "Um... Paige friends with the little Potter girl..." She shook her head. "Paigie knows better, Cate." Bellum said. He looked around, for no real obvious reason. "Go back to sleep, I'll cook something for breakfast." "MMM-Kay." Cate sighed, stretching. Bellum patted her growing stomach, and kissed her quickly. She smiled, and lay back down to go off to sleep again... Bellum didn't set off for the kitchen, either. He took a left turn three doors down the hall, and opened the door to Paige's room. She was sitting up, holding the necklace Nita gave her. She gasped, when she saw her father, in nothing but boxers, walking around much like a secret agent, keen not to have Cate hear this conversation. "Paige. We need to talk." he said shortly. "'Bout what? You going to give me the lecture too?" Paige rolled her dark brown eyes. "No, I just got you out of a lot of trouble. You see, your rather delirious pregnant mother is now convinced that was a dream. Courtesy of none other than myself. So... I have nothing against you being friends with Nita, just be sure your mother knows nothing of it..." "Oh, daddy!" Paige squealed, as quietly as possible, leaping forth and hugging him. "You're the best!" "Don't mention it. But this means you can't wear that necklace, darling. Keep it in your pocket... and stay in the house a little more. Your mother might be less suspicious of you. Just... act normally. Pretend yesterday never happened." Paige nodded. She put the necklace in her pajama pocket, hoping that her father was telling the truth, and that her mother really did believe it was a dream. Her father smiled, and hurried out, off to make breakfast... quickly. "Even though they may seem insane... you really do have to appreciate fathers every now and then." She said to herself. ~*~ "Pink!" Snape huffed. He had his hands on his hips, and was standing in front of the disarray he called a closet. It was a sea of black robes, all long and flowing. Alas, I lied. They were not all long, black, and flowing. One was dark brown. "Why haven't I got any pink!?" He made a strange noise; much like what a teenage girl makes when she doesn't get her way. He could fix that though... With a wave of his wand, all the robes except the dark brown one turned all pink and frilly. The brown robes turned bright magenta and lacey. "Perfect!" He cried, throwing his arms happily in the air. With a wave of his wand, he was dressed in frilly pink robes, with frills about the collar. He grabbed two bouquets of cheery daisies, and set off to give them to the apples of his eyes... McGonagall and Trelawney. As he emerged into the hallways, the Modern-Day Marauders could not suppress a laugh. It started as a giggle, and turned into raucous laughter after a while. It worked to their advantage that Snape did not care about this. He strutted down the hallway, catching the eyes of many (okay... ALL) of the students' eyes. Felicity herself seemed ashamed that the head of house, who seemed to be living proof that dinosaurs did roam the planet (A/N: Where the Heck did that line come from? I know I've heard it, but WHERE?) (A/N-Meagan-in reply: Me! That's what I say about Mrs. Henry!). But now he was bedecked in pink. Of all colors, PINK! Snape took no notice that Brynn Black felt the liberty of changing the color of his hair to match his hideous robes. "Hm... He looks like a cotton candy monster." She commented, as he walked by. Bryce added to this a fro hairstyle. It was quite hideous, and he truly did look quite a fright by the time he reached Professor McGonagall. He handed her the yellow daisies, and she took off in the other direction as fast as her old lady legs could carry her. "Minny!" He shouted, in despair. "I want a kiss! Please! Grace me with the pleasure of your lips on mine! I love you!" At this point, the students that were snickering at him abandoned the corridor, in fright. He turned in the direction of the Divination room, in search of his other 'love'... Professor Trelawney. Somehow, and in some way, Trelawney had seen this coming, and had locked her door. She claimed to have used her crystal ball, but everyone could tell she could just hear the sound of Snape humming while skipping down the corridor to meet her. "But Sybil! My love!" Snape cried, pounding on the door. "I have brought daisies for you!" Trelawney screamed shrilly, and fainted. Snape took this as a sign that he should leave, and try again another time. He didn't know she didn't like daisies... ~*~ "Ice cream..." Cate muttered. "Must have ice cream." She was alone in the large kitchen, searching desperately about the freezer for ice cream. She had found yogurt, but that was not what she wanted. Yelling in agony because there was no ice cream, this caught the attention of Bellum, who had been peacefully been reading his daily newspaper. He never finished. Ever. "What is it now?" he groaned, looking at her. "Ice cream. Cookie dough." Cate frowned. "Why don't we have any!?" "Because... you ate it all yesterday morning." Bellum replied. "No I didn't. I want my ice cream. You hid it. I know you did." "Cate, I don't want the ice cream! I do not like that ice cream! Even Jack doesn't like it!" "But it's good." "Well, whatever floats your boat." Bellum sighed, shaking his head at her. "I'll get you more if you'd like, though." "I'd like that." She smiled. "Okay... Cookie Dough it is then..." ~*~ "Bridgett... Max... Dominic... Nita." Paige said, rather shyly, which was a change for her. "I can't really be out as much... so my mom isn't suspicious. See, I'm not supposed to be friends with Nita, because our mothers don't like each other too well. Actually, they hate each other. Mum found out I was Nita's friend. Dad fixed it.... I think. And hope. So I have to act a little more normal. He said I have to watch Jack now... He didn't say that at first, and then he changed his mind, because he was crabby later on." Everyone nodded, only understanding half of what she said. But they grasped the important part. Paige went on to explain deeper into the story, managing to make it last a mere... 10 minutes. This was good timing for a 'Paige Story,' as they liked to call it. Paige glanced around the Black house, and turned back to he friends. "I have to watch Jack. My mother has gotten the nerve to go out in public... Bye!" ~*~ "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Screamed a frightened McGonagall, running down the hallway. She paused to catch her breath, and began screaming again. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! He... kissed... ME!" Mac fell out of his chair in the classroom, dragging Brynn with him. Bryce and Ethan laughed until they could no longer breathe when Snape, dressed today in canary yellow, entered the room. "BACK!" McGonagall shouted, pointing her wand at him. "You know I will, Severus. Frankly, I liked the greasy-hair, snobby, waste of space old Snape better!" "But-" "No buts, Professor. Now stop stalking me, and please escort yourself out of my classroom." Not knowing what else to do, Snape backed out of the classroom, McGonagall's wand pointed at him the entire time, in a very threatening manner. Once he was gone, probably off to find Trelawney, McGonagall glared at her class. "Not a word, Mr. Black." she said, noticing Bryce's halfway open mouth. "Not a word. Unless you wish to be severely punished." "Yes, Professor." Bryce muttered, settling deep in his seat. This sure was going to be an interesting class... and for however long Snape was under the Potion... ~*~ "All alone, Cate..." A high male voice hissed. "All alone." Cate found herself locked alone in a white room. There were no windows, or anything in it, with the exception of her in it. Dressed in maternity robes, as usual with pregnant witches, Cate looked around. "What do you want?" She shouted, still cautious of her blank surroundings. This time a female voice replied... "Oh, nothing at all, all seems to be well... Another child coming, I see, Cate?" "Dolere." Cate hissed. "Ah, very good. You can still play the guessing games. Cate, I am impressed." "Still jealous then?" Cate spat out, imagining Dolere to be in front of her. "What do you want of me?" "Why, have you any plans for that child?" Dolere asked, seemingly changing the subject. Cate didn't respond. Instead, she growled very angrily, and looked around the room again. "I should think so..." Dolere said smoothly. "T' would be a horrible ordeal if something happened to mommy... or daddy." A large screen appeared, and Cate wheeled around and faced the screen behind her. She screamed this time, as she watched her husband doing nothing... he was gagged, and out cold on the floor. "Let him go!" She shrieked angrily. "Leave Bellum out of this!" "Ah, now I couldn't do that. That husband of yours was almost responsible for my demise. Lucky for me though I have friends in high places." Another thought crossed Cate's mind. "You still like him. Even though you have Draco Malfoy, you could never have Bellum. All your life... he was never interested." "That comment will cost you, Cate." Dolere's voice hissed. "I should kill him now... No father for this new baby. What were you going to call it? Fiona?" Cate closed her eyes and screamed. She had no power in this place. Dolere could torture her, and whoever else she had captured. But at the moment, Dolere didn't seem to be in the mood. She would rather inflict pain on Cate. Cate suddenly screamed, and clutched at her middle. "Damn it!" She managed to choke. It felt like... labor pains? That was exactly what it felt like... Was she in labor now? What had Dolere done to her? "You stupid whore!" She managed to shout again. She heard laughter, and then she couldn't take it anymore... ~*~ "Cate! Cate! CATE! Wake up!" was heard. Realizing that she was on her living room couch, writhing in pain, Cate looked up, and saw Bellum's face. "Whassamatter!?" "Oh... Bad dream." Cate said, grasping for breath. "I hope at least. Dolere attack. All my fears come true." Bellum really didn't say anything. He knew what she was afraid of. Something happening to him, and the rest of their family. He pulled her close to him, and picked her up. He then sat on the couch, cradling her in his lap. "You're my best friend." Cate said. "The man I love, husband, friend... everything. If I lost you... I don't think I could live. My whole life, you're the only one I truly trust. The one I can talk to. Sure, people think I'm wonderful- until they know me. Quidditch fans. Teenage boys like me... But they don't love me. You're about the only one who accepts me the way I am..." "I can't see why they wouldn't.. But don't think about that, Cate. Nothing's going to happen to me. Nothing's going to happen to you, Ethan, Felicity, Paige, Jack, or even our unborn baby. I won't let anything happen...." Cate nodded, and simply hugged him. "I love you. I love you in every possible way." ~*~ Why was he wearing pink? Why was his hair like... that? What was wrong with him? "Love Potion." Snape muttered after a while. "I wonder which lovely soul decided to rid me of it, by giving me the anecdote." The first thing on his list of things to do was to get back to 'Normal Snape' look. His hair was changed to greasy black, and his hideous pink robes changed to flowing long, boring black. The second thing on his list was to find McGonagall and Trelawney and clear things with them. After a trip down one short corridor, he had handed out 13 detentions to various snickering students, and spotted Trelawney and McGonagall plotting how to get rid of him... He approached the other of them, and spoke. "I would like you both to know that you are ugly old wenches, and I can see why you are each unmarried. For that matter, probably even have never had a boyfriend of any sort. Minerva, I would like you to know that you have wrinkles, and your breath smells strongly of Scotch. Makes one wonder what you do in your spare time. Sybil... Where to start? You're hideous glasses, false seer act. Wrinkles as well, though you have not come nearly as far as Minerva. You have dark circles under your eyes, and look like you have returned from the Forbidden Forest every time I see you." McGonagall and Trelawney stared. "Is that all?" McGonagall asked blankly. "Yes." Snape said, turning to leave. Someone clinging stopped him tightly to his waist... this person was McGonagall. He simply glared at her, and she released him. "Ugly glasses? Wrinkles? Dark circles?" Trelawney was fretting. "Yes." Snape snapped. "And much, MUCH more... Now excuse me, you ugly Professors, while I find the culprits responsible for this nonsense..." He still found it hard to believe that he had 'fallen for' the ugliest and oldest female teachers in the school. The thought of it made him shudder. But he couldn't let that bother him, as he had people to find, and detentions to give.... ~*~ For some reason, Cate felt very good this particular morning. She stretched, yawned, and felt around for a husband to hug. She poked Bellum, and he looked up. Cate screamed, and jumped off the bed... with ease. Bellum screamed as well... for a few very obvious reasons. Number one: Cate was not pregnant. Number two: It was not their bed. It was a small four-poster that they were sandwiched on. Number three: There were other people in the room, on identical beds. Number four: Cate was in her twelve year old body. Number five: Bellum appeared to be about 13 years of age. Cate screamed loudly again, and looked at herself. She was a whole lot shorter, and much, much less round. She was tiny for even twelve. She looked shy, sweet, and innocent, and very pleasant. Bellum looked rather confused. He looked quite befuddled of all this, and sat up in the bed. But Cate's yelling had woke up other people... "Stop screaming, Nita." Muttered a twelve-year-old Meagan. "Go back to sleep." Cate threw the nearest pillow at Meagan's bed. "Do I look like Nita?" She demanded shrilly. Meagan opened her eyes this time, and looked at Cate. "Um... Paige?" She then looked at Bellum. "Ethan?" "Guess again." Cate said through gritted teeth. "Have a look at yourself, why don't you?" Cate pulled a classic 'Cate Move' and placed her hands on her hips, while glaring at Meagan. Meagan looked at herself, and squealed. She rolled off the bed, and made a face. "You aren't Paige." She concluded. "You're Cate... and you must be Bellum." Bellum nodded. Cate made a distinct noise of distaste, and crossed her arms. She moved much easily as a preteen, rather than being pregnant. She was also angry though, that instead of her curves on her regular body, she was a small, undeveloped child. Not that the young Bellum minded a lot though... Not soon after, a few more people appeared... Lizzie and Sirius. Ron and Harry. James and Marykate. Athena and her husband Ryan... Max's parents, Isabella and Thomas McKenzie. They were both blonde, like their children all were. Everyone looked at each other. Then, the door opened, and Crystal walked in. "Um..." she said. "Who are all of you?" No one wanted to explain this one, because they didn't know how... Everyone looked at each other. Cate glared at Meagan, as if blaming her for this nonsense... No one said a word... ~*~ "Er... Maybe we shouldn't have touched that." Max half-laughed. He, Dominic, Nita, Paige, and Bridgett were in the attic of Paige's home... Black Manor. Contrary to popular belief, the Blacks did not live there. Cate did. They were standing in front of a large mirror, which had a few buttons on it. In the mirror they could see their parents, all young. "Paige... what happened?" Dominic asked. Paige leaned forward to examine the mirror. "It seems as if all our parents have been taken to Hogwarts. They also seem to be... little." "So basically we've put our parents in Hogwarts?" Bridgett asked. "Yup." Paige nodded, with a grin on her face. "That's my sister... she looks like... my mom!" Nita observed. "Ha!" "Paige looks like about like 5 people there." Max laughed. "She's related to half the world, I swear..." "Shall we leave them like this for a bit?" Paige grinned again. The laughs from her friends answered that question...