BASHING WARNING: Snape fans are unlikely to enjoy this chapter. I don't especially dislike the guy, but I can't especially see any of the Marauders having warm, fuzzy feelings for him. Although perhaps this is a little extreme…

A couple of revelations of Minerva's past, and yay! We finally find a trace of a plot!

The Vengeance of Minerva McGonagall

"Thank you." Dumbledore's voice was soft, reassuring to the sixteen-year-old who stood before him in his office. The boy was shaking convulsively; his blonde hair, normally so immaculate, completely dishevelled. A vivid red gash slithered across one white cheek.

"You understand what I am asking of you in this?"

The boy seemed to feel some justification was needed, so he rushed into speech. "S-sir, my father took me with him last night, when he went to meet the Death Eaters. I saw them torture and kill somebody and- and I helped. They made me." A single tear ran down Draco Malfoy's cheek, in what Dumbledore suspected was the first show of vulnerability he had been allowed to display since infanthood. Since it had been beaten out of him. "I-I can't do that, sir. I can't kill the- the way they do. Without any feeling or- or any caring at all. But I can't back out now-" slowly he pulled up the robes covering his left arm and exposed the burning red mark branded to his pale arm. "So- I want to help. I want to do something."

"Very well. I will be in touch, Draco. And- be careful." The child- for a child he still was, despite all his bluster to the contrary- nodded, then threw Floo powder into the fire.

"Malfoy Manor," he said with a quiet firmness, and vanished.

Always the same. Children on the front line, fighting when they should be playing. And they'll go and get themselves killed, and they'll never have lived. Never truly lived, the way we have. It was the same in the last war. The old wizard shook himself mentally, forcing away his reverie.

Dumbledore now advanced to the fire, throwing a pinch of a different powder into it.

"Severus, I need a word, if you would." A moment later, Professor Severus Snape, Dumbledore's most important spy, strode out of the flames.

"You wished to see me, Headmaster?"

"Yes- and call me Albus!" Dumbledore corrected automatically. "Draco Malfoy came to see me just now. He told me that he has been formally initiated into Lord Voldemort's Black Circle. He also told me that he wished to be a spy for the Light." Dumbledore watched the Potions Master-turned-spy carefully as his news sank in, but Snape displayed no reaction whatsoever.

"I need you to switch any Veritaserum he may have to drink with some other liquid. Can you manage that?"

"I should imagine so, but I can give you no promises on the subject."

Dumbledore nodded understandingly. "Also- do you think he was speaking the truth?"

Snape considered for a moment, the sort of behaviour that had always marked him as being so different from Sirius and James, his hated enemies. "I see no reason why not, Headmaster. The younger Malfoy has always struck me as being–if you'll pardon the expression- 'all mouth and no trousers'. He professes undying hatred to Harry Potter, but he does not automatically go for his wand every time he sees him, in the way that I would have for James. He rarely fires curses at Mr. Potter himself, generally at his friends or when his back is turned, and is more fond of calling him names than acting. In my experience, those who grew up to be truly dedicated Death Eaters would almost certainly have attempted, at the very least, to kill or seriously wound Potter before now. On the other hand, it may simply be a wish to keep his nose clean, to bide his time and to set himself up for his current job. It is difficult to say." Snape blinked in surprise at himself, the way he tended to do whenever he made a speech.

"His 'current job' as you put it, being to pretend to be a spy for the Light while in reality being a spy for Voldemort?"

"You don't need me to tell you that, Headmaster."

"Perhaps not, but you're so damned hard to pin down, Severus." Severus blinked again. He'd never before heard Dumbledore use any sort of bad language, however mild. Clearly the man was under some strain.

"I believe I've stayed alive for most of my thirty-three years by being that way. Why should I break the habit?"

"Ease for those who know you?" Dumbledore suggested.

"Why should I drag those around me into danger by being accessible and therefore friend material?"

"Do stop with the sacrificing hero act, Severus, it's most unbecoming," Albus told him with more than a hint of irritation. "You'll get me started, and I'm sure that's not something you'll wish to hear. You are alive, however you may have managed it, so get living, or where's the point? But what I wanted to tell you before we got, ahem, sidetracked by melancholy, is that I have called a meeting of the new recruits this evening in this office and I want you to attend. You don't have to talk to Sirius, or even to acknowledge his presence. Nonetheless, the information we will be sharing will be of use to you also."

What could he do but to agree? But Monique would be there… he hadn't seen his old crush for years.

"Very well, Headmaster."

"I believe I keep telling you to call me Albus, like the rest of the staff."

"To do that would put me on a level with a werewolf," Severus observed dryly, stepping back into the fire from whence he had emerged and disappearing back to the dungeons without waiting for an answer, for he suspected that he had gone too far.

"I am alive… I'd never have guessed."

***

Snape has arrived early to the meeting, Minerva noted, alone in the meeting room. Good. I've been wanting to do this for a full year, and my temper never did like to be kept waiting.

It had not been until the summer holidays following Harry Potter's third year of Hogwarts that Minerva had received an explanation from Remus, her boyfriend of long standing, of what had happened on that night in the Shrieking Shack when Wormtail had reappeared, including the part where Snape had threatened Remus and Sirius with the Dementor's Kiss. Minerva had been incensed, but Snape had conveniently disappeared during the holidays, and had been careful the next year that she only met him in Hogwarts, when there were plenty of people around. Minerva, who adored the job she had followed her dead father into (except when she was trying to batter some respect into Slytherins), had no intention in jeopardising her position as both Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress by exacting revenge in school time, though it had taken all of the not-inconsiderable self-restraint she had. That, she decided, would be playing absolutely into Snape's hands. So, with the enduring patience of the cat she transformed into, she had waited. For right now.

"Snape," she snapped. He looked startled as he saw her; she suspected he had thought himself alone. He wishes. Bugger my self-control. "I heard about the Dementors last year. A little from Sirius, a little from Remus. And amongst the stuff I heard from Sirius there was one bit he was very angry about- a very interesting quote from you concerning Remus. Remember what you said, back in the Shrieking Shack?"

"Minerva, I- I was- He- he-"

But the woman wasn't listening. No longer was she the little girl whose crippling shyness had earned her the nickname Minnie Mouse back in her first year of Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall, almost certainly the most powerful witch amongst the teachers of Hogwarts, wasn't a little girl any longer. She was angry- very, very angry…

"Shall I quote? I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him, too... And you would have done that... He was innocent, and you would have done that… You and your little friends in Slytherin weren't content, were you, when Lucius Malfoy tried to take my- my body back in our fifth year of Hogwarts? Or when your Death Eater pals killed my father? No, you had to try to take the man I loved as well, just as soon as you got the chance! No matter that it was a fate worse than death itself, he'd hurt you, and you had to hurt him back, a thousand times worse! Well, I'm not some shy little kid any longer, Snape, I can hold my own in a fight without Lily and Remus and the others to stand up for me, and I'm finally up for payback, you- you-"

Smack! She hit him in the face, just below the eye, with all the strength she could muster, careful that her knuckles hit his cheekbones for maximum pain, for Monique had not been the only one to learn some fighting skills from Lily Evans...

"Bastard!"

She pushed her face as close to his as she could for added impact, snarling like a wounded tiger.

"You come anywhere near Remus or any of my other friends again, and so God help me, I won't just put you in the Infirmary, I'll put you in the morgue. Are we clear?" Snape didn't have the chance to reply before she brought her knee up, smashing into his crotch, then kicked him as he crumpled. She swung her leg back, preparing to kick him again, but Erin burst into the room and yanked her away, grabbing the arm that threatened to hit her as well.

"Minerva… calm down, he's not worth it, you won't give Monique a chance at him either if you send him to the Infirmary, calm down, c'mon cousin, self control, you've hit him, now leave him alone and for pity's sake calm down." Artemis and Apollo arrived with the near perfect sync that was almost certainly to do with being twins; definitely no one else had ever quite managed it. Astoundingly, the normally volatile Artemis remained calm despite the situation, hanging on to Minerva's other arm and repeating Erin's order to calm down. Meanwhile, Apollo dropped beside Snape, checking that he was all right, for only once in his twenty or more years of knowing Minerva McGonagall had he seen her lose control like this, and that had been when the news of Lily and James' death had reached her. That night, she had personally brought down nearly twenty Death Eaters for Azkaban on her own. However, as soon as he was sure that Snape was conscious, Apollo stood up and went to help the girls calm Minerva down, clearly feeling that it was no more than the man deserved. After all, back in their fifth year, Snape's best friend Lucius Malfoy had attempted to rape Minerva, almost certainly egged on by his friends, in revenge for a prank played on them. There were two reasons he had not been expelled for this, the first being that thanks to Remus Lupin he didn't succeed. The second was that, incensed by what he had tried to do, Sirius told Snape how to find Remus in the Shrieking Shack, nearly killing Snape… Dumbledore had felt that one cancelled out the other, and that he could not expel both boys. He merely allowed the Marauders- and the rest of the school- to make life hell for those Slytherins who it was felt to have been involved, for the rest of their school career. Not even two years afterwards, Lucius Malfoy had murdered Minerva's American-Scots father, Michigan. It was as though the Death Eaters had a personal vendetta against her, determined to rob her of everything she had.

Snape struggled to his feet, a black eye blooming, just as the others succeeded in calming their irate friend. She'd never fought anybody like this before, not even the Death Eaters she'd fought on the night of Lily and James' deaths. But all that fury had been building up below the surface for a year like a dormant volcano, making the explosion, when it came, worse than anyone could anticipate.

***

Ten minutes later, Dumbledore swept in, bringing with him his usual air of refined calm. It swept through the room, repairing the frayed tempers of those in it. Sighing, her anger now completely spent, Minerva went to the glassless window, leaning out to breathe in the coolness of the summer night. The breeze whispered through her hair- she kept it loose in the holidays- pulling the waist length ebony tresses back off her neck as she watched the almost-full moon, at peace for once. The wind didn't tease her or make her feel nervous or worried the way people did, it didn't tell her things she didn't want to believe, of murders and torture and betrayal. She wondered how it had felt for Lily, when her Animagus form- a green-eyed snowy owl- had let her soar on the breezes, to twist and dive and roll on the currents.

Minerva missed Lily with a kind of aching sadness: the normally wild, hot-tempered girl had understood her, had known when to let her be and when to comfort. She could see Lily right now, eyes sparkling with fury as she faced down the gang of Death Eaters who'd had the misfortune to be stupid enough to try to take Harry from her; without terror, only scorn, a dangerous smile playing round her perfect features. That had been the day they'd heard that fateful news from Dumbledore: of the spy in their midst. They'd always assumed that they were a team, could count on each other for everything, and that while they were together they were unbeatable, that things would always work out the way they always had before. Then when the news broke they'd begun to look at each other sideways, to hold secrets –even ordinary, commonplace information and gossip!- back that would normally have been spilled immediately. It had been the saddest thing of all, that such close friends could be blown apart that way, to think that friendship and love could not always conquer all they way they'd always believed.

When they'd heard the news of Lily and James' death, Minerva had felt only rage, blazing, unconquerable fury at the unfairness of it all, for they had been beautiful, the handsome man and the lovely woman with their perfect baby. So, so unbelievably perfect, so alive, with so much to give, and only twenty-one… The tears had come later, the hopeless, abandoned sobbing late into the night, for she had lost three of her best friends and the man she had thought had been another. Even Remus hadn't spoken for nearly a month after Lily and James' deaths- even at the funeral he had barely said a word. Then they'd both hurled themselves into work, and even some full moons she hadn't always been there with him.

Minerva whirled around as she felt soft hands touch her shoulders. It was Remus.

"Shhh…" he murmured, wrapping his arms round her, careless of the presence of others the way he had never been when they'd first gone out together. "Steady, now. What's wrong?"

"Oh- nothing." Her denial was a little too insistent; Remus' steady green-grey eyes showed his doubt.

"Just- remembering."

Remus didn't look at all convinced, but let it pass. "You did a good job with Snape," he said, softly

enough that the man couldn't hear. Minerva coloured, but he just laughed. "He'll be limping for a good while- Artemis put a charm on him so he can't magically heal the bruises; she wants the pupils to see them when they come back in a week or so."

"Oh hell- what's Dumbledore going to say?"

"What can he do? You didn't hit him in school time and the general consensus is that Snape deserved it anyway. Monique'll be furious though: she swore she was going to beat the living daylights out of him a while ago, but you got there first."

Minerva laughed properly for the first time. "I think she'll be so chuffed the greasy bastard got his comeuppance she won't get too mad; I hope so anyway. I mean, did you see her the last time she completely lost her temper? It wasn't pretty."

"D'you mean when she first spoke to Dumbledore about Harry living with his aunt and uncle? The time she totally and utterly lost it so completely I doubted she'd ever get it back again?"

Minerva chuckled. "That's the one."

"You know, I've noticed something these past few days that I never saw before; in the group I mean," Remus mused. "It's like we're almost taking on aspects of Lily and James personalities: I mean, look at Monique and Sirius; they've sort of stepped into their best friends' shoes by becoming the leaders the way Lily and James were. We got busted by Snape earlier and Erin used Lily's sort of caustic wit on him- a comment about him fancying me- which totally cracked us up. Apollo's turning more like his sister (and you know how scary that would be) every day, and Artemis actually managed to stay calm under difficult circumstances- not unlike James. And then you, beating up Snape! That's Lily to the life."

Minerva smiled thoughtfully. "Hmm, I suppose you're right."

***

Monique grinned as she watched the two lovebirds at the window, glad that they'd finally got back together but less than happy that Minerva had beaten her to Snape.

I promised myself I'd get him, she thought ruefully, studying the limping, black-eyed man sitting as far away from Sirius and herself as he could manage. Well, there's plenty of time for that yet, and anyway, old Tippaws does seem to have done a good job…

Dumbledore coughed pointedly, and Minerva and Remus jumped in surprise, blushing as they made their ways over to sit next to the Westhaven twins, who sat on Monique's left. Sirius was to her right, with Erin and Milo talking quietly further along. Mundungus and Arabella sat next to them, on the left of Dumbledore, who sat at the head of the long table with Snape at his right. The old man looked quietly amused, his blue eyes twinkling as he surveyed the table. Five seats were empty: the places that had always been reserved for Lily and James (Snape sat in Peter's old place, a source of unspoken entertainment to those who had noticed), James' brother Michael and Suki Potter's places, and Lily's sister Rose's seat. Michael had been paralysed from the waist down by an attack by Death Eaters the day his brother had been killed, to prevent James from using Gryffindor's sword and his only chance against Voldemort, since Michael had been using it at the time, and he and his fiancée Suki Chang had gone to America in order that Michael could be treated there. They had stayed there ever since, only returning for their wedding, while Rose, Lily's two- years- younger sister, now lived in France but travelled all over the world modelling. Both had stayed away from Harry on Dumbledore's orders, in case their powerful magic betrayed Harry's presence to those Death Eaters who escaped after their Master's first downfall. Now, however, the three were needed in their old roles to assist Dumbledore, and would arrive in Britain as soon as they could tie up their affairs and book Floo powder tickets.

Dumbledore coughed again, and all heads flickered from wherever they had been looking to stare at the aged Headmaster.

"I have called you together once again, as you know, to answer the threat of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. As I'm sure Sirius and Minerva will have told you, Severus Snape is an undercover spy for the Light. Obviously, this information will go no further than this room, but I considered it necessary for you all to know this. I may point out that it was Severus who first informed me as to the threat to Lily and James' lives, prolonging their lives by several months.

I am told you have a new name for yourselves; may I hear it?"

Erin spoke first. "We thought we'd use your Fawkes as our symbol, Dumbledore," she said, stroking the neck feathers of the beautiful bird on her shoulder. "So we've decided on the Order of the Phoenix. It was Minerva's idea. We also thought that it should maybe be the name for all your closest fighters, not just us: the Weasleys, the Diggorys, all those people."

"Very well," agreed Dumbledore. "How do you feel about acting as mascot, Fawkes?" The red and

gold bird hooted softly in approval.

"Now that that's settled, latest news. It has been communicated to me that roughly half of the Ministry is behind us, all the teachers and their families, and all our old friends. The French and German Ministers for Magic, our closest allies from the Muggle World War in which we aided them, have contacted me with their backing but say that openly declaring this would lead to extremely awkward situations with our Ministry. However they are sending all the trained Aurors and Hit Wizards they can manage to assist us and say that in the event of the British Ministry accepting Lord Voldemort's return we have their full and open support. However, increasing along with our supporters are our enemies. Their audacity is now approaching the height it was at the worst point in the first Wizarding World War. We need Michael Potter."

"Right here," came a voice.

Twelve heads spun round; ten hearts dropped with a thud as an older James glided into the room in an old-fashioned wheelchair floating a few centimetres above the floor. Michael Potter, James Potter's five-years-older brother, was popularly said to be the spitting image of his sibling. Following him were two beautiful women who were almost the negative of each other: Suki Potter and Rose Evans. Suki was small, with beautiful cropped ebony hair as smooth and glossy to her head as a jet mirror, her eyes the colour of liquid dark chocolate. Rose was tall and curvy as the wizarding fashions dictated, her golden waves cascading down her back, her skin flawless and the perfectly-shaped emerald eyes she had shared with her sister Lily smiling a greeting.

"We just got back," Michael explained. "It wasn't hard to guess the password- your love of Muggle sweets, Dumbledore, never ceases to amaze me. Chocolate drops, indeed. And did I just hear someone fully appreciating me at last?"

"We were rather hoping we'd at least get to die looking at something pretty," said Minerva dryly. "I am of course referring to your harem, not you, Michael, so you can stop smirking. It's good to see you three. Did you all arrive together?"

"Came in to the same fireplace five minutes after Rose," Suki told her. "We got delayed rescuing her from an extremely obsessed (but extremely good looking) fan, or we'd have been here right on time."

"Since when is a Potter on time?" enquired Monique. "It's always seemed to be a sort of inbred Potter trait or something."

"You're no better," returned Michael.

"Point taken."

"Ahem!" put in Dumbledore pointedly, waving the three newcomers to their seats. "To return to matters more important than the Potter Lateness Disorder, a quite alarming piece of information has come my way. Harry Potter has come into his full powers more than one year ahead of time, and as such all protections I have laid on him while he stays with his aunt and uncle are worse than useless."

In the wizarding world, children came of age on their sixteenth birthday, as their powers intensified to full adult strength. Until then they were virtually undetectable on all magic sensors.

A fist came crashing down on the table as Rose's green eyes blazed with sudden anger.

"Woah, woah, there," she growled. "Harry is still living with Petunia? You told me it was only until he reached eleven! What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Protecting the future of the wizarding world, actually."

"So as long as Harry's still technically alive his state of health and mind can go to hell? Never mind the fact that you deliberately lied- something you keep reminding everyone that you never do."

"I did not deliberately lie, Rose," said Dumbledore quietly. "At the time I did indeed imagine that Harry could stay at Hogwarts after his eleventh birthday, or stay with the grandparents that he doesn't know he has. That was until he defeated the Dark Lord and his servant, and until Holly and David Evans were nearly killed after a Death Eater attack on their safe house. The presence of Harry's rather strong magic, even as an infant, would certainly have given escaped Death Eaters a target they could hardly miss. It is mostly negated by the exceptionally thick Muggle presence where Harry's aunt and uncle live, and also Petunia now does not carry the family name of Evans. I considered Harry's loss of freedom infinitely preferable to Harry and his grandparents losing their lives."

"I'm still not happy, but passed. Where are Mam and Dad anyway?"

"They missed being blown up by a matter of seconds the day after Voldemort returned –I won't insult your intelligence by pretending we don't know who by- and are being moved to Hogwarts in several stages, since having a continuous journey would make them far too vulnerable to attack: Voldemort is clearly still determined to revenge himself on your family for his first defeat. Thankfully several Aurors who knew them were in the area at the time when they were last attacked and got your parents out just in time, though they paid a heavy price. Two are now critical in our Hospital Wing, but Madam Pomfrey believes they will recover."

"Who?" asked Minerva, startled. "Anyone we know?"

"I'm afraid so: Sonorussa Silbain and Vicindha Vector."

Silbain had been Potions teacher while the Marauders had been at Hogwarts and had married the then-Astronomy teacher, Michael Starthorn-Marcy, in their seventh year, then leaving with her husband to become Aurors, while Vector had taught Muggle Studies and Arithmancy since a few years before the Marauders' time.

"I didn't know Vector was an Auror," put in Erin soberly. "But they will be OK, right?"

"That is Poppy Pomfrey's opinion- indeed Sonorussa's husband Michael is with her now; she regained consciousness for a few minutes earlier today. On the subject, Poppy's mother and twin sisters will be joining us in the next few days: the Pomfreys are an old family, not without pull in the Ministry. But to return to the pressing subject of Harry Potter's escalating powers, I have had his Gryffindor dormitory prepared for him and all that now remains is for someone to collect him from his aunt and uncle in the next few days. Sirius, I need you here for a few days, and anyway it is not a good idea for a fugitive to go dashing around the country. Remus and the twins, I need your help in dropping the barriers around the Dursleys' house so that magical adults may enter, and anyway none of you are at all accustomed to the Muggle world."

Monique's grin was only half humorous. "I think I'd rather enjoy renewing my acquaintance with the lovely Petunia Evans, how about you, Minerva?" Monique's parents had both been Muggleborn and had brought her up in both worlds, including sending her to a muggle primary school while Minerva had lived largely with her muggle mother because her wizard father was away most of the year, teaching at Hogwarts. Minerva's grin now matched Monique's: they had both known Petunia of old. "I'm in."

"Hmm, I would like to see dear darling Petty again," said Rose, her smile dangerous. "I'll come- she'll never dare turn you away if I'm there."

"I'll give it a whirl as well," nodded Erin. "Safety in numbers, and all that."

"I think four of you will be enough," agreed Dumbledore. "Can any of you do Group Apparition?"

"What's that?" asked Rose. "Never heard of it."

"It's an encantation to Apparate up to two people along with yourself," explained Minerva. "It's not a very new discovery- Albus finished working on it a few years before the Dark Lord's fall- Lily could do it with Harry, but a lot of wizards have trouble with it since it's even more complicated than basic Apparition. I can just about do it."

"We've been practicing tonight, so now Erin, Arabella and I are reasonably sure we've got it down, too," said Monique. "Ara managed two people on our last few tries, and I managed it once. We should be OK."

"I can just about manage it as well," put in Erin.

"I'd like to learn," said Suki suddenly.

"It'd probably be as well if I learnt too," nodded Rose.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I'll show you both later and you can practice tomorrow. Monique, I don't want too great a fuss when you pick Harry up tomorrow, mind."

Monique had the grace to blush; the last time she'd spoken to Dumbledore (on the subject of Harry going to live with the Dursleys) she'd called the greatest wizard in the world a 'smug, self-satisfied nonce', with less appreciation of Lily's feelings on the subject than 'an anaemic, retarded dung beetle'- and those had been her more repeatable comments.

"All right, all right," she grumbled, holding up her hands in an expression of surrender. "You always spoil all my fun."

Sirius nudged her, laughing. "All your fun?"

Snape snorted loudly but the rest ignored him as Monique swatted at Sirius' head in mock annoyance.

"By the way, Remus, the potion's almost ready- it's got to brew for a further fourteen hours overnight, and we'll test in the morning," Artemis called over the noise.

"Potion? What potion?" enquired Severus irritably. Artemis opened her steel-grey eyes wide in an expression of childlike innocence that fooled nobody.

"The Wolfsbane Potion, of course, my dear Severus." An opportunity to antagonize Snape so completely hadn't arisen for more than ten years, so Artemis and her partner in crime Monique cherished this one deeply.

"By the way, when was the last time a house-elf popped into your dungeons?" Monique enquired smoothly. "Because your Potions Laboratory is, quite frankly, disgusting."

"Really, Snape, I expected better of you," put in Erin severely.

"You went into my private dungeons?" growled Snape, looking passably murderous.

"Well, if you will keep locking the doors so atrociously…" tutted Artemis. "Of course we did! Where else were we supposed to make it, darling imbecile?"

"Well, I've heard Moaning Myrtle's bathroom is a popular choice," chuckled Minerva. "Heaven only knows why- she keeps flooding the place."

"And you wouldn't want us to get wet, would you?" finished Artemis, pouting and batting her eyelashes theatrically. Snape showed long yellow canines in an almost animalistic grin.

"Of course you know I love you all. To death."

Dumbledore interrupted what looked to become a promising (and possibly fatal) argument.

"You are supposed to be on the same side in this war," he said severely.

Monique's grin was nearly as panther-like as Snape's. "Nothing wrong with a little healthy difference of opinion- or in Snape's case, not so healthy. I hope. And I think I'll go to bed now, how about you guys?"

She strode out of the room before Snape could answer, and after a moment's pause the rest followed.

"Unbelievably childish, the lot of them," Snape sneered, watching Apollo and Artemis' retreating backs.

"Of course," agreed Dumbledore. "But did you notice that they had much more fun than you?"

He swept out of the room, leaving a fuming Severus Snape to his thoughts.