A/N: I disturb myself sometimes...
Lily Evans walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room in a daze, surrounded by her fellow Gryffindors. The other seventh, not to mention the sixth and fifth year girls were clumped around the red-head and chattering excitedly. No one had missed that the stunningly handsome, almost angelic man had smiled a positively dreamy smile at Lily. Thus the Head Girl found herself as literally the center of attention as the large group headed up to their common room.
The boys and young men of Gryffindor were closely following the girls. Most of them talking about 'Miss Wildcat' and wondering why that leather outfit of her's couldn't be modified slightly into the new Hogwarts uniform. However, one young man did not join in the almost girly chatter of his house mates.
Dark brown eyes belonging to one James Potter stared at the space-case his girlfriend Lily had become. Using one hand in an effort to smooth down his messy black hair, James' expression could rival a heartbroken puppy as he watched the other girls steer Lily into the common room and then up into the girls' dorms for a gossip session. She hadn't even seemed to notice he was alive since the incident in the Great Hall.
Turning, James quickly found that his almost-brother/best mate Sirius Black was excitedly talking to a group of sixth year boys over the leather-clad woman. Rolling his eyes, James turned his attention to his other best mates. Remus Lupin was leaning against the wall, his expression made it seem as if he knew something before he caught James watching him and tilted his head toward the stairs that would lead to their dorm. Giving him a slight nod, James allowed his gaze to turn to Peter Pettigrew who was currently acting as if he were Sirius' puppy with the way he practically bounced and wiggled in place as he agreed with Sirius.
Huffing slightly, James walked over and snagged a handful of Sirius' long black hair. "Sorry boys, new instructors means Marauder planning..." And with that, he dragged a yelping Sirius up the stairs with an anxious Peter and an amused Remus following along.
Once they were safe in their dorm, Sirius finally managed to pry his hair out of James' fingers. "Ouch, what was that for?" Sirius sat on Remus' bed and crossed his arms, a definite sulk settling into place. "All I wanted to do was figure out that short fuzzy fur she covered her entire body or if she had to wear the leather for a reason..."
"What happened down there?" James didn't seem to hear Sirius as he started pacing. "One minute we were having a nice conversation, then all hell breaks out, only to find out our new 'instructors' are some weird half-breeds and with one smile my girlfriend forgets I exist and gets all dreamy-eyed over one of those things?" He paced furiously around the room, waving his arms as he ranted.
Remus sat down next to Sirius on his bed and watched as James ranted. It was a rather amusing sight when the Head Boy got all worked up over something. He had wanted to share something he had overheard before dinner, but this impromptu entertainment session distracted him from ihs original intent.
"And what the hell kind of smile was that anyway? He looked like a stupid sot or something..."
Seating himself on his own bed, Peter lay down facing the center of the room and watched, eyes wide, as his hero seemed to forget anyone else was around.
"Of all the years in Hogwarts we have never had something like this happen before, why did Dumbledore have to go and bring those things here this year?"
As James continued his rant, Sirius pawed through Remus' nightstand and dug out a plain deck of muggle playing cards. With a nod that clearly said James was going to take forever, Sirius and Remus began playing poker.
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Within the seventh year girls' dorm, an entirely different scene was taking place.
"Oh my God, Lily! You are sooo lucky!"
"Yeah! Did you see that smile? It was totally a bedroom smile..." This comment caused more than one sigh from the group of girls.
"I'm so glad Dumbledore decided on having the special class this year! I can't wait to get into the classroom with that hunk..."
This seemed to snap Lily out of her starry-eyed daze. "But what if he's already with that Wildcat girl? I doubt he'd be interested in any of us when he has her."
That comment gave the other girls pause. "It is possible... You have to admit that she was pretty. If you go for that tall, buff amazon look." The one that said this sounded slightly worried.
"But if he was with her, why would he give that bedroom smile to Lily?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Did it ever occur to any of you that maybe it wasn't a bedroom smile, maybe it was just a friendly smile?" Thankfully no one heard the hint of disappointment in her tone.
The comment itself was a big mistake.
"Oh gosh! If that was his friendly smile, I wonder what his bedroom smile looks like!"
This sent the girls off on another round of giggling gossip.
Lily groaned, falling back onto her bed, but as soon as she closed her eyes she saw that smile again and the entrancing emerald eyes that had brought a bright blush to her cheeks. Before she knew it, a giggle had escaped and Lily was drawn into the world of being a giggling school girl.
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Harry stormed into the common room he shared with Hermione, the feline following moments later. She made certain the portrait was secure and then cast a few privacy charms upon the entrance. Once that was done, she walked over and seated herself on the the sofa, waiting for the explosion. She was rather impressed when it took nearly thirty minutes for the explosion to occur.
"Why didn't he just tell us?" Little did Harry know, but his pacing was rather like someone else's in another part of the castle, though decidedly less angry and energetic.
"I'm assuming that's because it would ruin the surprise." There was no mistaking the grin in Hermione's voice.
Harry paused in his pacing and glared at her, though he couldn't hold the glare and grinned. "You've been spending too much time with the twins."
"Probably. But they're so much fun." Hermione patted the cushion next to her and smiled when Harry joined her on the sofa. "So, All-But-True-Brother-Of-Mine..." Gentle fingers began to pull the feathers from Harry's hair as she spoke, "At first thought it could have possibly been your daughter and maybe we were in the future."
Giving the feline-hybrid a startled look, Harry asked, "What on earth would make you think she could have been my daughter?"
Hermione gave Harry a 'duh' kind of look. "Because genius. You are currently engaged to Bloodpaw." She waited to see if he would catch on, but seeing the blank look on her best friend's face, she sighed. "With pureblood genetics, for whatever reason I don't know, it seems that children seem to turn into clones of their parents or other close relatives."
Harry and Hermione both paused to have the mandatory Attack of the Clones thought.
"Though most have minor differences. It's the same reason everyone says you're just like your father. When I saw the young man sitting near her that looked remarkably like you, I figured maybe you and Bloodpaw had twins who, like most of pureblood descent, would look remarkably like their parents which would, in the case of a blend between you and a Weasley, appear remarkably like James Potter and Lily Evans."
Thinking about this, Harry eventually nodded. "So basically my kids could look just like my parents?"
"Of course!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "But then I saw Sirius, Remus and... Peter."
They both paused again, mandatory thoughts of murder going through their minds.
"Too bad Albus told us that they wouldn't remember us once we left." Harry's tone was saddened and Hermione moved over to hug him.
"Don't worry, Brother-Mine. I've also figured it out. Albus told us that we couldn't use our names... This is for public reasons, no one can find out we don't really exist in this time and start asking questions that could lead to Voldemort coming after us... But that doesn't mean we can't take some aside later on and tell them the truth."
Both were once more off in thought-land, staring blankly into the fire as they held each other like siblings lost in the Forbidden Forest. It seemed hours had gone by before either spoke again.
"Hermione...?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Have I told you lately that you're bloody brilliant?"
"No, not lately."
Harry gave a nod against her side and once more lapsed into silence.
Eight minutes later:
"Hermione?"
"Hmm?"
"You're bloody brilliant."
Hermione grinned. "I think that's the longest you've managed to hold it in..." Right then, something registered. "It was Remus we smelled in the corridor!"
Harry sat up. "Oh no..."
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Back in the Gryffindor Seventh Year Boys' Dorm...
James had finally exhausted all possibilities of his rant. It had seriously helped when even Peter had gotten fed up with the Head Boy's antics and had thrown a pillow, hitting James squarely on the side of his head. Once the wrestling match that had spawned ended, James being declared the winner, all four boys had taken up residence on Remus' bed and were playing poker.
"Spill, Moony." James finally piped up, his voice a bit hoarse from the earlier rant. "You know something, I saw that look in the common room earlier."
Peter and Sirius turned to look at Remus with curious expressions while James used the opportunity to peek at their cards.
"Well... It mostly confuses me. But I want to warn you now that these 'instructors' have hearing that's at least as good as mine." He used finger quotes on the word 'instructors.' "I was heading down to return a book to the library when I saw them walking by wearing cloaks. They were murmuring so softly I didn't even realise they were having a conversation at first..."
Sirius and Peter leaned in a bit, rather like a group of busybody old housewives eager for gossip. James, able to multitask exceptionally well, deftly replaced some of their cards while listening.
"But like I said, it didn't make much sense. They said that back home Albus would encourage them to do a repeat of a Halloween entrance and the other students having known about them longer, not them just popping up out of the blue. Then they paused and said they smelled something familiar so I hurried on." Remus looked worried. "Guys, I think they could tell I was a werewolf by my scent."
Sirius leaned closer and took an exaggeratedly loud sniff. "Whew! Dunno if you smell like a werewolf, but you definitely need a bath, Moony!"
James and Peter laughed while Remus reached over and smacked Sirius upside the head. "Dolt..."
"Well, even if they couldn't tell, Dumbledore probably told them. I mean, all of the teachers are supposed to know, right?"
"Wormtail has a good point." James conceeded. "Still, their conversation leaves many questions. Should we, as honorable Marauders..." He managed to ignore the snickers at the word 'hororable.' "Investigate the peculiarities of these new instructors?"
"No." Surprisingly enough, that was Sirius. "If we investigate them, we might find out that that sexy Wildcat is a lesbian or something..."
Right about then there was a good five minute drool session as all four Marauders suddenly had a hard time focusing on anything else...
"But then again, that wouldn't be a bad discovery." Sirius grinned, realising the foolishness of even suggesting that would be a bad to learn.
"Or maybe she has a massive boyfriend already!" They had already decided that Bolt wasn't her boyfriend, why else would he smile like that at Lily? Peter gloated slightly when Sirius' pleased expression fell at his comment.
Suddenly James, Sirius and Peter all found themselves lying on the floor.
"Ow!"
"What the f..."
"Moony!"
"I'm tired, you guys go play on your beds."
Knowing how quickly their friend could descend into King Grumpy-pants when he wasn't allowed to sleep, the three displaced Marauders wandered off to their own beds with a Brady Bunch round of goodnights.
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The next morning, the Marauders indulged in frequent glances at the head table. This went completely unnoticed, as pretty much everyone was doing the same thing. Both of the new instructors were decked out in clothing similar to what they wore the night before, though Wildcat's leather was a pale creamy color and it looked as if Bolt was wearing jean shorts instead of leather. It was the revealing attire surrounded by all enshrouding robes that demanded such attention from the students... And even some of the staff!
"What is that red stuff Wildcat is eating?" It was Peter that had noticed the way the half-breed indulged in chunks of something red that she seemed to relish.
His question caused the other three Marauders to turn their focus once more to the head table where they watched entranced as she delicately plucked a chunk from her plate and moved it to her lips. Wildcat slid the small cube into her mouth, pausing to lick her fingers. Her attention seemed to be on Bolt who seemed to be talking around a bite of apple.
After a moment, Remus answered. "Looks like..." He gulped. "Raw meat."
Shivering slightly, the Marauders abruptly turned their attention back to their own plates, their own breakfasts not seeming quite as appealing as before. That lasted perhaps three minutes before their seventeen and eighteen year old male appetites once more demanded attention.
"Today!"
Startled, the four young men looked up to find Lily standing over them. She held a handful of parchments in her hand before passing one to each of the boys. "After our normal classes today we get the special class for two hours!" Lily looked very pleased with this as she seated herself next to James. "And again for two hours Fridays."
Looking at their schedules, they saw that they did indeed sit two classes a week, two hours each. As seemed typical for all potentially interesting classes, they had to sit it with the Slytherins. Hopefully their instructors wouldn't play favorites... Unless they were favoring Gryffindors, of course!
"So I guess we'll find out just what these special classes are for later today..."
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At lunch that day, the younger years seemed to be bouncing. Apparently they had their first special class that morning during what used to be their free period. Surprisingly, none of the talked about what the actual class was, most of the fourth years were more interested in talking about the way the instructors had looked. While the other students were quite content with this information, it didn't truly help anything... Maybe... Ok, so it was very helpful, but not for purposes of education!
Finally, the seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins made their way to where the special class was being held on the third floor. According to one of the fourth years that had actually paid attention in class, the instructors had wanted to hold class outdoors, but since it was already December, the decided to spare the students from being out in the cold too long.
Filing into the class one by one or in groups, eventually all eighteen seventh students from the two houses had entered the room and taken seats. There were no desks, the place looked more like a common room than a class room, the reason apparent when they saw their instructors transfiguring a chair into a bean bag.
"Honestly, Bolt... A bean bag?"
"Someone will want to use it eventually, just you watch..." With that, the new bean bag chair joined an assortment of couches, chairs and cushions on which the students were invited to sit.
"Good afternoon students... For those of you that were not paying attention last night... I am Miss Wildcat and this is Mr Bolt. We are not professors, so use of that title is not necessary." Hermione stood before the class, her tail flicking absent-mindedly. "The reason this class is being held is to teach you tolerance, patience and understanding for those not like yourself."
Predictably, this revelation caused the Slytherins to sneer derisively.
Ignoring the Slytherins, she continued. "Bolt and I are two of the seven original members of what is still a relatively small and new race called Animalities." Hermione flicked her wand at a blackboard and the word appeared. "We were once average witches and wizards. But an accident caused us to be permanently bonded with an animal persona that can at times take over our daily lives."
Hermione sighed, seeing glazed expressions on half the faces in the room. "If you could kindly stop staring at my tits long enough pay attention, I will demonstrate just why tolerance and understanding are good things to have when dealing with Animalities."
Harry, along with more than one student, mostly the girls, gave amused snorts at her blatant and bored use of the word 'tits.' Most of the boys in class suddenly sported guilty expressions which, for the most part, were swiftly concealed.
Walking over to a table, Hermione scooped something into her hand. Making certain the students were paying attention, she walked up beside Harry and placed her hand in front of his face. Harry's wings flicked slightly as he caught the scent of what she held and before he could stop himself, he was eating right out of her hand.
The students laughed, a few making whipped sounds while Hermione smirked. Harry, once he had finished whatever it was she had held, sent the cougar woman a death glare. Hermione gave a cheeky grin in return and turned back to the students.
"Despite the seeming silliness of that... It was a very apt demonstration for the main part of our classes. Animalities, especially when first turned, have quite a bit of difficulty controlling the instincts of their animal selves." Hermione moved back to the table and held up a bowl. "Sugar cubes." She explained, sending an amused look toward the irritated Harry.
The revelation brought amused snorts and giggles from all around the class.
"But there is another thing to keep in mind... While Bolt might not be so inclined, my own instincts can have... Violent tendencies." All amusement had left her amber gaze when she said this and the students went silent. "Now, does anyone have any questions?" Seeing several hands go up, Hermione gestured toward Lily. "Yes, Miss... ?"
"Lily Evans." Lily smiled shyly, her emerald gaze flicking to Harry for a brief moment before she turned back to Hermione. "Are Animalities anything like Animagi?"
"So glad you asked that... While both types are related to animals, we come about in different ways. We have learned through testing that Animagi cannot be turned into Animalities..." Neither Hermione nor Harry missed the sudden flicker of disappointment on three familiar faces. "We did learn from Animagi, allowing us to do such things as this..." She turned to look expectantly at Harry.
The class all turned to watch as Harry sat up from his lounging position and seemed to melt. His body grew larger, colors shifting in that unique way until the black pegasus with silver wings stood elegantly before them. He stretched a wing, pulling it around to the front to preen at his feathers in a vain manner that drew snickers from a few students. Once he had finished his preening, he shifted back into his hybrid form with a lazy smile on his face. The class applauded.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione continued. "Unlike an Animagus, an Animality cannot, once turned, return to a full human form..." She exchanged a brief look with Harry after giving the half-lie from the 'history' they had worked out for Animalities. "Any other questions? Yes, Mister...?"
"Severus Snape..." The boy with limp black hair and large nose sat up straighter. "What did you mean by bonded with an animal?"
Hermione smiled pleasantly, though she could sense Bolt's annoyance at this particular student speaking up. "I suppose it isn't a true bond, as there were no real animals involved... The accident that turned us latched onto our emotional state at the time it occured." The class was listening intently now. "Then, once it had a hold of our emotions, it seemed to search our mnemonic lexicon of the animal kingdom, both muggle and wizarding, and forced our bodies into the hybrid breed of whichever animal most closely fit our emotional state."
Satisfied with the intelligent answer, Severus settled back onto the bean bag chair...
A brown haired Slytherin girl got to ask the next question. "What kinds of Animalities are there at present?"
This question caused another glance to be shared by the instructors before Harry spoke up. "Quite a few breeds have been touched..." He reached into a bag from earlier and started enlarging wizarding photos which were then affixed around the classroom. The photos, which the students didn't know had been edited to remove any trace of Hogwarts or familiar faces, showed a variety of hybrid Animalities doing various activities.
The one that Harry first showed had the seven original Animalities hanging out by a wall. "This is the original group here... Myself, Wildcat, Prints and Tracks, Galleon, Moonshine and Bloodpaw." He pointed out each Animality to the students. The next one was of a blue dragon hybrid animated to show changing between hybrid and animal form. "FireEye..." On and on the list went, eventualy showing all the Animalities that had either been one temporarily during the Final Battle, or had turned in the three and a half years after the battle. There were nearly fifty in total, most of them old school mates of the seven originals. By far and above, the most amusing of these images was the one of a giant furball called Fluffy flicking off the camera.
Once the awed students could draw their gazes from the pictures, Hermione spoke up once more. "We have time for one last question... Mister?"
"Black, Sirius Black..." Sirius flashed a winning grin at Wildcat and she rolled her eyes at his James Bond attempt. James tried not to laugh, he knew what was coming and, judging from the way Remus covered his eyes with one hand, he knew as well. "I was wondering if you would go on a date with me this weekend?"
Hermione and Harry both managed to refrain from bursting into laughter at the question, though how neither knew. Eventually, when she felt she could control herself, Hermione held her left hand forward, the light glinting off the gold and amber ring. "Sure, just as soon as you manage to get my fiancees to agree..."
Sirius sulked, then he seemed to catch on. "Fiancees?" He stressed the multiple insinuation.
"Of course." Harry's voice was positively cheerful. "Wildcat is engaged to both Prints and Tracks."
Turning once more to look at the group photo, Sirius paled upon seeing the massively muscular tigers Bolt had identified as Prints and Tracks. The tiger hybrids in the picture, having heard the conversation, wrapped their arms possessively around the picture Wildcat and glared in Sirius' direction. He gulped audibly, causing half the class to laugh at him, before sulking.
"That's all for today. Class dismissed. And if we don't see you before then, we'll see you Friday!" Bolt cheerfully shooed the class out the door. Once the last students were on their way, he turned back to grin at Wildcat...
Hermione blinked at the look, confused.
"I can't believe you actually said tits!"
Harry burst into laughter as Hermione turned a brilliant scarlet.
A/N: I was going to end this before the first lesson, but I realized if I did that, there would be about a million more chapters than I wanted to have! I'm already starting on the next chapter, so it should hopefully be out in the next couple days. Don't be afraid to review! It inspires my muse when she gets to read reviews...