Disclaimer: Do not own the Wonderful World of Harry Potter… not making any money from my writings…DO NOT LIKE that Rowling has killed Sirius Black and have chosen to pointedly ignore that certain, allowing him to make an appearance here…

Note to readers: your reviews are only welcome in these type of formats: praise, gushing, skepticism, flames, anger, denial, repulse/disgust, and I suppose constructive criticism can be entertained as well…

A/N: Warning: Snape/McGonagall appearance starting from this chapter, will get worse as story progresses, or as worst can be without increasing the ratings. Also be prepared for unorthodox reaction of Harry towards Snape and Snape's unSnapeish behavior

~*@*~

Jessica stared at the rock in front of her, her nerves strung to a thin line. She had tried and tried and tried, but she couldn't get the damn rock to turn into a freaking pineapple, much less get up and dance! So far, the damn rock had turned yellow, or sprouted leaves and at one time even leaked pineapple juice, but never, not even once had it resembled a pineapple fruit. She knew it was her pronunciation that was wrong, but she had already said it twenty different ways, and honestly how many ways can you pronounce a five-syllable sentence? Sighing loudly, she lay down on the classroom floor, the cool marble a comfort to her over heated brain.

Slowly her mind began to drift. Images began to form in her mind, specifically of a bushy haired girl and her red headed and raven haired friends. She had never met anyone so pushy, so domineering so… wanting to be her friend. She had to admit; no one had ever tried so hard to get through to her. She had learnt a long time ago, if you kept to yourself, people will leave you alone. It just doesn't seem to appear like that here in Hogwarts. It was only the other day; Ginny Weasley had come up to her to ask about Arithmancy, even though that was mainly because Hermione wasn't there. But the point is, it had been a pleasant encounter and she even chatted for a while with Ginny. Now, whenever the younger girl sees her, she'll wave or say hi. And as Jessica lay down, thinking of her fellow Gryffindors, the ice surrounding her heart began to thaw.

"All right brain, enough slacking. Time for work," she said to herself. She stood up and shook her arms and head, loosening up her nerves. Remember what you taught Neville… imagine a pineapple… be the pineapple. Jessica focused all her attention on the rock, a clear image of a pineapple forming in her mind. Her black eyes glinted with determination and waved her wand.

"Veravertio!" she cried. Nothing. But just as she was about to give up, the rock begun to shake. A spot of yellow materialized in the middle of the gray and slowly spread across, covering the gray. A small patch of green jagged leaves sprouted from its top and the rock lost its solid form. It took a total of thirty seconds before the rock turned into a pineapple. Once it was complete, Jessica began to dance around the first corner then cart wheeled the next corner before running back to the pineapple. She hugged the fruit but squeezed too hard, the fruit burst, splattering her clothes and face with pineapple juice. She was too happy to care. I can't wait to see McGonagall's face tomorrow!

@~~}~~~

 The sun had barely risen, when Jessica came flying down the stairs. She wanted to see Professor McGonagall before her brain had a chance to lose whatever knowledge she had. In her rush, she didn't see Harry sitting at one of the sofas, concentrating hard on a piece of paper. At least he had been.

"Hey, Jessica, where's the fire?" he called out. Jessica walked up to him, grinning broadly. Harry had to swallow a few times, as his throat had gone unusually dry. He had always thought Jessica as pretty, even when she had a sullen look, or was snapping at someone. But now, with her eyes twinkling with excitement, her lips curved up into a smile and her hair glowing from the reflection of the fire, she looked breath taking.

"No fire, Potter, I'm just gonna go see Professor McGonagall," she said. Harry snapped out of his daze and gaped at her.

"You're going to see her by choice?" he asked. She nodded and laughed at him.

"Yeah, believe it or not, actually I've finally gotten the hang of her assignment, so I just want to show her before, it leaks out of my ears," she replied.

"You're done? That's great! Congrats," Harry cried out, jumping out from his seat.

"Shut up Potter, you'll wake everyone up," she said good-naturedly. Harry just looked at her in amazement. She began to squirm under his scrutiny.

"What?" she said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You just seem different," he said; wonder shining in his green eyes,

"Whatever, Potter," she scoffed.

"I should get going now… why are you up so early?" she asked, the thought suddenly crossing her mind.

Harry picked up the paper he had been staring at before she entered.

"Quidditch starts today and I haven't figured out a strategy yet," he sighed. It had seemed so easy when Angelina or Oliver had done it. In the two years he had been captain; he still had trouble with thinking up strategy ideas. Jessica took a glance at the paper. All she could see were little dots moving along squiggly lines.

"It's all Greek to me. Have fun figuring it out and when you do, don't tell me!" she said and with one last wave flew out the portrait door. Harry continued staring at the door long after she had left.

@~~}~~~

Relax… breath in, breath out… her brain instructed, trying to calm the super hyped imagination of the host body. Jessica could feel her breathing become ragged as she walked down the pitch-dark corridor, illuminated only by her wand. Remember, you're a witch, if a shadow jumps out at you, hex it, she thought to herself. Besides, who ever heard of a witch scared of ghosts? Her brain added.

"Curse the gift of imagination," she muttered under her breath. Suddenly all the ghost stories she had seen started flashing through her mind. Images of bloody fangs, sharp claws and dismembered bodies soared through her brain. If she hadn't arrived at a huge painting of a male lion and his lioness, she would've run back to the tower screaming. As it is, she was there and common sense began to replace her wild images. She took a deep breath and faced the male lion, which had been watching her penetratingly (just like McGonagall, she shuddered).

"I would like to see Professor McGonagall please," she said politely. The lion stood up and walked out of the painting, leaving the lioness that was licking herself lazily. The lion returned shortly afterwards and less than a second later, the painting swung open, revealing Professor McGonagall in her tartan robes, her hair let loose from her tight bun, and it looked like it had been run through with fingers several times.

"Ms. Stanford, is everything alright?" she asked, her tone alert.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor, but I must show you my completed assignment," she said in one breath. All of a sudden, seeing Professor McGonagall so early in the morning wasn't such a good idea anymore.

"And why, pray tell, did you feel the need to show me now, at this time of the morning?" she asked, very surprised.

"Well, Professor, there really isn't much difference between my brain and a sieve," she said, hoping to appease Professor McGonagall with a little early morning humor. It must have worked, as she moved away from the entrance and beckoned Jessica to enter. Jessica looked around and saw it was not much different than the Gryffindor tower, just smaller and no stairs (of course) with two rooms.

Professor McGonagall sat herself down on one of the few armchairs in her living room and with a flick of her wrist, a rock materialized on top her coffee table. Jessica pulled out her wand and made a great show of pulling up her robe sleeves.

All right, brain, this is it. Don't disappoint me, now think of a pineapple, she thought as she pointed her wand at the rock. Instead, a pair of green eyes belonging to a face with unruly hair took shape in her mind. She quickly shook her head, to clear the image. Just thought you'd need some inspiration, her brain said. Very funny! Now, visualize a pineapple, she hissed mentally. Slowly the face changed shape to a pineapple.

"Veravertio!" she said. The rock lifted up slightly and started to tremble, rocking back and forth. A patch of yellow spread around the rock and pointy leaves sprouted from the top. The rock had successfully transfigured into a pineapple.

"Very good, Jessica. I have to admit, I am very surprised that you managed to grasp such technique in a short matter of time," said Professor McGonagall, taking a sip from her coffee mug.

"If you didn't think I could do it, why did you assign the work to me?" she asked. Did she deliberately want me to fail? She thought in surprise. Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"I never said, I didn't think you could do it at all, I said I didn't think you could do it in such a short period of time. There's a difference there, Ms. Stanford," she answered, smiling a little. Jessica nodded in understanding. Maybe Professor McGonagall isn't such a tough nut after all.

Oh no… Jessica groaned inwardly, her elation dropping to her feet. She had forgotten about the tap dancing.

"Professor!" she cried. "I was so tired last night, that I forgot to make it tap dance,"

"If you had managed to do that, then I would be really surprised. But I wouldn't worry if I were you. With the addition of the 20 marks I will give you, in total you have earned 130 points for the house," said Professor McGonagall, gratitude shinning in her eyes. Jessica just stared at her. It might have been extreme fatigue, or intense shock, but her brain couldn't register with what her ears just heard.

"130 points?" she asked.

"Yes, you heard right. 30 points from other teachers during school hours and 100 from the extra assignments. Not only have you recovered the points you lost, you've also managed to earn some interest," she explained.

"Whoa! I… wow…" Jessica stammered, for once not having a quick retort.

"It's a shame you've decided to keep it a secret. You've done a great deed for your house," said Professor McGonagall. Jessica blushed.

"So on behalf on my students, thank you Jessica," she continued. Jessica's mind was reeling. No one had said anything nice about her. No one had ever appreciated her efforts, but this wonderful woman in front of her was showering her with gratitude, one sentence after another. It was a foreign feeling swimming inside her, something she hadn't felt for a long time. Professor McGonagall was grateful to her for obtaining a few points, but she was grateful to Professor McGonagall for teaching her to respect again, and how wonderful it feels to look up to someone.

"Minerva, what are you doing out there? Its getting cold and lonely here by myself," said a deep and seductive voice from one of the rooms. Professor McGonagall choked on her coffee and Jessica looked intently towards the doorframe. I don't believe it, Professor McGonagall has a lover! She thought. Who could it be? Out of the doorway shadow, into the living room light, looking tousled and hungry for some loving was none other than…Snape.

(Now I'm not going to explain why Snape was in McGonagall's room, early Friday morning in his boxers, because we're all grown ups and we know why.)

Professor McGonagall's lover was Snape!?!? She thought horror-struck. But she didn't wait to find out, as the next second, she mumbled a quick thank you to a horrified McGonagall, and ran out. 

@~~}~~~

She didn't stop running till she was back at the Gryffindor tower. Just for the record, Jessica finds it bothersome to get along with the students in her house, so she definitely makes no effort with students in other houses, therefore causing her to be oblivious to the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. What she felt was more of a sense of betrayal, that someone she now respected was… well, sleeping with the enemy. Snape was unfair, constantly picking on Gryffindors for no apparent reason and McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor, was sleeping with him!! Anger began to grow inside her until she was like a volcano ready to explode. The flames in her eyes were putting the common room fire to shame.

He watched her from across the room, clenching and unclenching her fist in anger. Ron and Hermione were still upstairs, getting ready. As usual, everyone around her was passing her by as if she wasn't there. She could be dancing on the table naked and no one would pay attention to her, he thought in disgust. In a way, it really bugged him that the other students were taking her at face value. Unwilling to delve deeper into her thoughts and try to break her fortress, like Hermione was trying.

Cheap talk, Harry, you're not exactly going over to ask her what's wrong, his conscience pointed out. Harry sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her; it's just that whenever he comes within touching distance of her, his mind blanks out and he can't hear himself speak over the loud thumping of his heart. But he knew, if he didn't appease the angry volcano goddess, then everyone would be in for a rough time, especially Hermione.

"Hey, stare any harder at the walls and the tapestries will combust into flames," he said, trying to lighten her mood. So far so good, his brain and his mouth were in sync. She shot him an irate look, her eyes dark with anger.

"What do you want Potter?" she snapped then turned away. Well, so much for small talk, he thought.

"It didn't go well?" he asked. She snorted.

"Oh no, it went well. The best transfiguration I'd ever done," she replied.

"We're 20 points up this morning."

"Congrats. But why are you so angry? I could feel your fury vibes all across the room," he said, puzzled. If he had done half the thing she had done, he'd be doing cartwheels around the school. Jessica turned and fastened her angry eyes onto his again. He could see his perplexed reflection reflected in her eyes.

"She's sleeping with him," she said, her voice low and deadly.

"Who is?" he asked. I thought she went to see McGonagall? Who is this 'she'? Is she having some kind of tryst with another female? Whoa heavy stuff!

"McGonagall is sleeping with the spawn of Satan himself," she hissed.

"Spawn of Satan? Who the hell is that?" he said. Is she talking about Voldermort? She's not making sense.

"Snape!" ah… close enough.

"Oh him," he said, relaxing visibly.

"That's all you can say? Oh him? Aren't you angry, pissed, betrayed?" she demanded.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Well, it really isn't any of my business, one and two, she's happy with him. Jessica, he only mistreats us, not McGonagall. And it's the Slytherins who are abysmal, he's not such a bad guy," said Harry, thinking of the time Snape had risked his life by dispensing information about Voldermort's whereabouts to Lord Merlin and Professor Dumbledore. He also knew that the only reason Snape did what he did was because Snape knew how much it meant to Professor McGonagall to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. So, if anyone was going to condemn the two being in love, it wasn't going to be him.

"And you know this from experience?" she insisted. Harry nodded. Jessica leaned back on the sofa, the fire slowly dying in her eyes. Jessica was a lot of things, but she wasn't unreasonable… sometimes.

"I guess it isn't fair to condemn her when it's us he treats badly," she said. With her anger gone, she could see the stupidity of her emotions and realized that although McGonagall was dating Snape, she had been completely unbiased when it came to giving Jessica a chance to redeem herself.

"Yep," agreed Harry.

"So I'm just being silly here aren't I?" she said.

"Yep," said Harry again. Jessica smacked him on the arm.

"Thanks a lot Potter! You could've disagreed," she said, pretending to be hurt.

"What? And miss a chance to prove you wrong?" he retorted. Jessica gave a small laugh and looked back at Harry. She stared into his green eyes, suddenly becoming well aware of their close proximity. She wanted to tear her eyes away, but her brain (once again taken over by her sex-crazed hormones) wouldn't send the proper signals to her eyes.

Harry felt his insides turn to mush. He couldn't remember feeling like this. With Cho and Ginny, he still had a little of himself to hold on to. But with her, his whole being became… mush.

"Hey, you two!" a chirpy voice broke their eye contact. Jessica gave her brain a mental shake and looked up to see Hermione and Ron. Harry had looked away, slowly feeling the faint heat of a blush creep up his neck. Ron realized it but didn't say anything… for now.

"Hey you, ready for breakfast?" asked Jessica. Ron stared at her. This couldn't possibly be Jessica Stanford. It's the tale of the body snatchers all over again. Hermione must have felt the same way.

"What?" she said clearly flabbergasted. Jessica rolled her eyes and got up.

"Y'know breakfast? The most important meal of the day?" Jessica mocked. What is it with British people anyways? Weren't they the health conscious ones?

"I know what breakfast is! I'm just surprised you're the one suggesting it!" replied Hermione.

"Are you okay? Do you want to see Madam Pomfrey?"

"One minute you nag me for NOT going for meals and when I suggest we actually go for meals, you nag me anyways! I can't win with you Granger," said Jessica in mock disgust. Hermione laughed and released Ron's arm to entwine around Jessica's arm.

"C'mon Jessica, lets go for breakfast," she said and led the pack out to the Great Hall.

In the back, Ron was whispering to Harry.

"What'd you do? Give her a new personality?" Harry laughed at Ron's statement but refused to comment on it.

A/N/N: pls be gentle with the flames, I've never experienced it before… you may torch me with full force later, when it's REALLY worth it… _