Disclaimer: Not mine!
A/N: Hey everyone! Wow, I'm just amazed by what totally awesome people y'all are, to leave me such inspiring and terrific reviews! Oh, I'd like to put in a quick, shameless plug, and ask everyone to go review my story "Take Time to Smell the Roses". It's at 988 reviews, and I'd love for it to get pushed over 1,000. It's a Hermione/Severus story, and I must say I'm rather proud of it, and think it's pretty good. So that'd be appreciated if you have the time or inclination. Now onto this story!
Love Means Never Having to Time Travel
Chapter Nine: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!
"To truly understand another human being, you must gain some insight into the condition which made him what he is." -unknown
"Welcome back and a very happy new year to you all," Albus smiled out over the students. "Now I'm sure you are all simply famished, so without further ado, enjoy the feast!"
"Finally!" Sirius exclaimed, and grabbed a piece of cornbread and started munching on it with one hand, while his other was busy piling food onto his plate.
"You know you're not going to be able to eat half of that," Lily admonished, then paused as she watched him wolf down a piece of chicken in what seemed to be an infinitely small amount of time. "On second thought, maybe you will."
"Of course I can," he replied, causing crumbs to fall and become stuck in the short beard he had started growing over Christmas break.
"Though you'll be stinking up the water closet for the better part of the evening if you do," Peter chortled, everyone else sniggering too at the look of annoyance that flashed across Sirius' face.
"You know it's true Padfoot," Remus said with a slight grin as he reached out a hand and patted him on the back.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," he grumbled.
"Oh don't pout Sirius, it doesn't become you," Lily teased. "Besides, Mary Etta's been watching you."
"Mary Etta, hmm?" Sirius perked up immediately, looking down the table to where a rather pretty brunette was sitting with friends. "I think I'll go talk to her for a while. See you guys in the common room later then."
"Nice save Lils," James leaned over and kissed her cheek in thanks. "I thought we'd be stuck with a moody Padfoot for the rest of the night."
"You're welcome, though you do realise that you'll now be stuck with a love-sick Sirius instead?"
"True, but if he's happy, than that's all that matters," Peter piped up.
"Well spoken Wormtail," Remus grinned, lifting his goblet to him in a mock toast.
"At least he didn't have to spend Christmas with his family," James spat in disgust. "Wretched bastards the lot of 'em."
"Language James!"
"Sorry Lily, but you know it's true. Bellatrix and Narcissa especially. Did you know the betrothal contract was signed between Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy? And Bellatrix and that Lestrange bloke?"
"Great," Peter wrinkled his nose. "Now the world is going to be filled with demon spawn."
"You don't know that," Lily said with a frown. "Take Sirius again; he's the total opposite of his parents and family."
"I hate it when you're right and point out the obvious," Peter muttered amongst his friends' laughter.
"And that's precisely why she should stick around, to keep you all in line," Hermione smiled as she came up behind them.
"Professor Mya!" Lily, James, Remus and Peter all greeted her.
"How was your holiday? Did you go anywhere or do anything? Get any neat gifts?" James fired off a bunch of questions.
"Slow down Mr. Potter," Mya sat down with them. "My holiday was wonderful, thanks for asking. Greg and I didn't go anywhere except Diagon Alley and Hogsmede for a bit of shopping, though we joined the other professors and students staying here for a few games of bowling. As for neat gifts, Greg gave me this necklace."
"Very pretty," Lily complimented.
"Thank you. I also got some lovely winter gear, a silver frame with a picture of Greg and me at the ball, some sweets, and a few books. And Mr. Snape gave me a cloak clasp with a matching pendant. Greg received similar gifts, and a handsome trunk with a number of compartments in it from Mr. Snape."
"You spent Christmas with Severus?" Remus asked curiously.
"He didn't really have any family to go home to, and we didn't have any family around to spend the holiday with, so we extended an invitation to him to spend Christmas day with us," Hermione said evenly. "We've become each others adopted family in a way."
"Humph," James huffed slightly, but didn't say anything after a glare from Lily.
"Have no fear Mr. Potter, I won't show any favouritism in class."
"I wasn't worried about that Professor," he rolled his eyes. "I just don't like or trust him farther than I can see."
"And that's fine," Hermione said mildly. "I'm not asking you to. I simply wish you would stop the bullying and teasing."
"But-"
"Don't even try to say that you don't. I know you do. And I know most of the time Severus does indeed provoke you, but you could be the bigger person and simply ignore him or walk away. Also, you might try keeping in mind that he might have a good reason for being the way he is. He hasn't had such an easy life. So try not to make it harder, hmm?"
"I'm not making any promises," James replied defiantly. "But I'll try Professor. Though if you're so close to him, you might try talking to him about his attitude towards us."
"If I hadn't deserved that, I'd deduct points for your attitude," Hermione raised an eyebrow at his uncharacteristic show of rebellion.
"Sorry Professor," James had the decency to colour slightly as he ducked his head. "He just…brings out the worst in me."
"I understand what that can be like," she muttered, remembering Draco. "Now I think I'm going to go say hello to some of the other students, so I'll see you in class."
"See ya Professor," Remus called as she headed to the Hufflepuff table, sitting down near some of the second years.
"I can't believe you James!" Lily hissed, smacking him upside the head. "Practically scolding a professor! And in a way that's insulting too!"
"I didn't mean to, but you know I can't stand talk of Snivellus," he apologised, rubbing his head with a wince.
"Well you'll just have to start practicing tolerance then, won't you?"
"And if I don't?"
"Then for every time I hear you insult him, that's one day you go without any kiss from me," she smirked, then giving him a hard kiss to drive her point home, stood and left for the library.
"You've gotten James in trouble with Lily," Fred mind-spoke to Hermione as he walked towards the entrance where she was waiting for him.
"Well if it gets him to stop bothering Severus, than that's perfectly all right," she replied, giving him a smile as he reached her and immediately took her hand in his.
"Still, kisses should be used for good and not evil."
"It will be for good. Severus' good at any rate. If James stops reacting to Severus' comments, than Severus will become bored with it too. Now if I could just find a way to keep Sirius from picking fights."
"I think that animosity between the two of them stems from something deeper than just petty school grudges. I don't think there's much you can do there, except to stop whatever fights do break out between them. Though since you've got pretty good leverage over James, thanks to Lily, I think he'll help keep Sirius in line."
"As if that were possible," she snorted in disbelief. "Not to speak ill of the future-dead, but he was never really able to be kept in line as an adult, so I highly doubt it's any easier as a teenager."
"True," Fred agreed, giving the password to open their portrait.
He quickly made his way to their office and grabbed their things before joining her again in the hall. They needed to get to their classroom to set up for the day's lessons. Up first was fifth year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. They were finally going to start the kids dueling today. The first term was spent reviewing their knowledge of spells, curses, and hexes, and working on their execution of them. Now that that was done, they were going to start the students in some one-on-one dueling.
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"All right, take your seats everyone!" Fred called out as the bell chimed the next morning, signaling the start of class.
"We hope you all had a wonderful break," Hermione smiled as she surveyed the students. "And to get you back in the spirit of things, we're going to start off the term with some one-on-one duels."
"Now hold on," Fred shouted, effectively quieting the students who had begun chattering excitedly. "We'll be taking several precautions. Anyone who duels will have a block placed on them restricting the spells you may use. No harmful curses, hexes, or spells will be able to be cast. Only disarming spells, shields, and minor jinxes and spells that won't cause any harm will be allowed."
"In a few weeks, as you become comfortable with the proper form of dueling, we'll slowly begin incorporating more curses, hexes, and the like," Hermione continued, appeasing several of the students who had whined at that bit of news.
"Now, how about a pair of volunteers to start us off?" Fred surveyed the room as hands shot up. "Uh, let's see…Coleman and Shriver, you're up."
The two students, Mark Shriver of Hufflepuff and Jacelyn Coleman of Slytherin, made their way to the dueling platform that Hermione and Fred had constructed at the side of the room. Jacelyn took her place at one end, a confident look on her face as she bowed slightly to Mark. Mark was looking rather nervous about the duel, though he also appeared determined to give it a try. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quite fast enough in getting his shield up, and was hit with the tickling charm, resulting in Jacelyn easily winning the match.
"No Hufflepuffs against Slytherins," Fred mind-spoke to Hermione as Jacelyn cancelled the charm and went to shake his hand, as they'd been instructed.
"No girls against boys either," Hermione added. "Some won't care, but most boys have a problem with hexing a girl, even if it's not harmful. That's something we'll have to work on with all the classes."
"All right, why don't we have you split up into pairs, yes of your choosing Mr. Watkins," Fred answered the un-asked question, bringing laughs from the class as a boy lowered his half-raised hand with a sheepish grin. "And remember, we've taken precautions so you can't cast anything harmful. Now, make sure you've got a few feet between you and any other dueling pairs, and get started."
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"Bloody hell, that was a mess!" Fred collapsed into his chair a few minutes after class had ended.
"Greg!" Hermione chided him, glaring half-heartedly before she too sighed. "Though you're right."
"Who would have thought that there were so many different spells that aren't harmful, but can still cause problems?" Fred reached his hands out and placed them on Hermione's hips. He pulled her towards him and onto his lap, smiling as she relaxed against him.
"Some of our students were extremely creative. Lara's use of the toe-nail growing hex was especially…inventive," Hermione shuddered, remembering seeing Lara's opponent Nancy yelping in pain as she struggled to pull off her shoes, revealing rapidly growing toenails. Lara of course, stopped the curse, but it didn't counter the spell, leaving a mortified Nancy with six foot long toenails till the end of class. Other student's problems included multi-coloured hair, abnormally long hair all over, elongated appendages, and just over-all insanity. Fred and Hermione had to spend a good ten minutes countering all the various spells used, leaving them both amused and tired at the same time.
"Yes, well just imagine what's going to happen with our next class," Fred kissed her head, tightening his arms around her as she gave a sigh.
"Hello Professors!" Sirius called as he bounced into the classroom, Lily and the other marauders not far behind him.
"Well what has you in such a wonderful mood today, Mr. Black?" Hermione smiled at seeing him so excited.
"He's got a date for Hogsmede this weekend," Remus answered, punching Sirius in the arm playfully.
"And who's the unlucky lady?" Fred grinned.
"Hey! I resemble that!" Sirius said indignantly.
"You resemble that?" Lily rose an eyebrow before turning to the professors. "He's going out with Mary Etta."
"Well congratulations Mr. Black, have fun."
"Thanks Professor Mya," he nodded, taking his seat as the sounds of other students down the hall could be heard.
"Guess I should be getting up," Hermione mind-spoke, but made no move to actually do so.
"Yeah, especially since we'll be going outside in a few minutes," Fred answered. "Though I like having you here"
"All right everyone, leave your bags here and follow us please!" Hermione called as she stood up, giving Fred a quick smile.
"What do you suppose we're doing?" Peter questioned as the group of Slytherins and Gryffindors trailed behind the two professors.
"I don't know, I suppose we'll find out in due time," James shrugged. They continued to chit-chat as they made their way to the entrance hall of the castle, where the professors stopped them.
"We've been covering one-on-one duels and strategy for fighting, now we're going to put it into practice," Hermione informed them.
"So cast a warming charm on yourself, and count off by two's," Fred directed them, and waited for them to do so. "Now one's will be with me, and two's will be with Professor Mya."
"We'll begin the mock duel in precisely ten minutes, allowing us enough time to reach the area we'll be fighting in, as well as giving both teams a few minutes to strategize and try to come up with a plan for the fight," Hermione continued. "Now since you're seventh years, we're going to allow you the use of any spells except the unforgivables. You all will also be given a rubber-band that will transport you to the infirmary if you touch it and say Pomfrey. If you come across someone who's badly hurt or unconscious, then touch your wand to the rubber-band and say Pomfrey, which will transport them there."
"If you are severely injured and do not use the portkey immediately, and we find out, you will receive a week's worth of detention, and a loss of thirty house points. Is…that…clear?" Fred stressed the words, looking at each student.
"Yes Professor," they all chimed.
"Good, now let's go!" Fred grinned, and with a wink at Hermione, ran out of the castle and across the grounds to the Forbidden forest where a large purple dome (the protective shield to prevent spells from straying and hurting anything in the forest) could be seen through the trees. The Gryffindor's in his group whooped and cheered, and ran after him, while the Slytherins simply stared in disgust and walked calmly after them, though Hermione could hear them talking excitedly.
"Well, now that they're off, I suppose we'd better follow. Shall we?" Hermione smiled brightly, and the group began to make their way to the dome also. "So what are your ideas for how we're going to win this?"
"Aren't you the one who's supposed to be telling us how to win?" Sirius asked. Of the marauders, Hermione had ended up with Sirius, Remus, and Lily. She also had Severus on her team.
"No," she laughed at the look on his face. "I'll fight in the mock-battle, but I'm not going to tell you how to win. In a real war, you may not have any kind of instruction from anyone. You may go in with a team and a plan, but teams can get split up, and plans can be easily knocked off track if your opponents spring something on you. That's why we're doing this exercise, so you can see that battle isn't at all organised, or neat, or planned out."
"So what we do we then?" Severus asked, curious.
"You train, you plan anyways in the hope it'll work, and you hope," she looked around at them, a smile on her lips. "And make sure to have a couple of surprises up your sleeve."
"Why don't we pair off?" Remus suggested after a moment. "That way, we each have someone defending our backs, or someone who can keep a shield up around us both while the other does the cursing and hexing and all."
"Not a bad idea Lupin," Melisande Goyle nodded towards him. She was Gregory Goyle's aunt in the future. "And we should pair up a Slytherin and Gryffindor for each team."
"Why?" Lily questioned. "Is that so the other Slytherins won't be so ready to hex our teams?"
"No, it's so you Gryffindors won't end up in the hospital wing in under thirty seconds," she sneered as she answered. "Slytherins don't have the reputation for putting out dark wizards for nothing. Even if not all of us agree with the dark lord's ideals, we all grow up learning the dark arts. If you don't have one of us with you to defend against them, you'll be down before you know it. Some are so bad that they're on a par with the unforgiveables."
"Makes sense," Lily said sheepishly.
"Of course it does, now let's pair up," Melisande ordered, moving to stand beside Remus. Lily paired up with Severus, and Hermione watched as everyone else paired up quickly, leaving her with Anthony Collins, who looked delighted at being paired with the teacher. He probably assumed he'd have it easy.
"All right, a loud chime will sound when the duel's started, so arrange yourselves where you think it best. The dome encompasses a square kilometer of land, covered with trees, bushes, rocks, and the like, so think how you can use your surroundings to your advantage. And remember, even though this is a mock-duel, you may very well find yourself in a similar situation in the future. Now be careful, and good luck!"
As the group dispersed, Hermione turned to Anthony and motioned for him to take the lead as to where they would go. He looked around a moment before casting do-not-notice spells on both of them, as well as a spell that would erase their footprints, and make them un-trackable. Hermione was impressed with that, and stored the spell in her memory for future reference. He came to a rather large pine tree with a number of low-lying branches, and began to climb up, giving Hermione a hand as she followed. Once they were about fifteen feet up, Hermione transfigured some pinecones into harnesses, giving him a pointed look, and had to fight a laugh as he rolled his eyes, but secured it to himself, and the tree. Now that there was less danger of falling and hurting themselves, they began to discuss some spells that might be useful. Not a few seconds later though, the gong sounded.
They quieted, and listened carefully for anyone walking below. A few moments later, one pair from the opposite team appeared not far from the tree they were in. It was Peter, looking decidedly nervous, with his wand visibly shaking in his hand as he whipped around at the slightest noise. Anthony made a noise of disgust, and knocked him out with a well-placed stunner. As Peter fell, shouts could be heard.
"Guess that means we have to give up our spot and join the ground-dwellers," Anthony said loftily as he unhooked his harness and began to quickly climb down, Hermione right behind him.
"Well let's go then, and remember, be on your guard," she nodded as they moved slowly to where sounds of fighting could be heard.
They came upon a small clearing where it appeared that the majority of the team members were fighting one another. Hermione could see Fred casting bat-bogey hexes at unsuspecting students, all while James stood next to him, alternating between keeping a shield up, and binding the students who Fred hexed. They were doing very well, till Melisande shot several low slashing hexes their way, hitting their legs and ankles, forcing them to focus on that. Hermione shot a thread unraveling spell at them, laughing as their pants tore at the knees, leaving them in odd looking trousers.
Her attention focused on them, she didn't see Adrienne Collins, twin sister to Anthony, come up behind her, and cast a needles curse at her. The needles curse would cause your arms and legs to appear as if they had been punctured with hundreds of needles, causing pain and discomfort. Hermione couldn't help but let out a cry as it hit her, before smoothly spinning to stun the girl. Fred heard her cry, and rushed over to her.
"What are you doing, we're in the middle of a duel-" Hermione started to question, but was cut off.
"Pomfrey," he said, touching his wand to the rubber-band around her arm.
She disappeared with a flash, appearing a moment later in the hospital wing, anger clouding her vision. She quickly cast the healing spell necessary to heal her cuts, and stormed from the hospital wing, ignoring Poppy's questions. She made her way through the castle and to the grounds once more. As she walked down to the forest, she passed the seventh years on their way back to the castle, class having ended a few minutes after she had been sent to the infirmary. A few of the students opened their mouths to say hello, but stopped upon seeing her face.
"Professor Greg's in a world of trouble, isn't he?" James grinned as she stormed past.
"I think so," Lily agreed. "But you know the best part of fighting."
"What?"
"Making up," Lily leaned in and kissed him before they caught up with their friends.
"GREGORY WILSON!" She yelled upon reaching the clearing where Fred was restoring a few trees to rights.
"Mya," he smiled upon seeing her, but it quickly faded at the yell. "What'd I do?"
"WHAT'D YOU DO!" She stormed over to him, poking him in the chest as she looked up into his eyes, her own blazing. "You sent me to the hospital wing, that's what!"
"You were hurt," he shook his head, looking utterly confused as to why she was angry.
"With a curse that was easily fixed with a single spell! There were plenty of others hurt worse than I was, and I didn't see you rushing over to send them off to the hospital like some child!"
"Well I was just trying to protect you," he defended himself as he reached out to take her hand.
"Protect me! Why the hell do you think you need to protect me? I'm perfect capable of protecting myself. Being friends with Harry has ensures that I have a wide knowledge of spells, and being friends with Ron ensures that I have a good knowledge of strategy. So tell me, why do you need to protect me?"
"Because you're my friend and I don't want you getting hurt."
"Well the funny thing is, by trying to protect me, you ended up hurting me yourself," she pursed her lips, before spinning about and storming back to the castle, leaving a confused, slightly angry, and slightly upset man behind.
"What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into?" He mumbled, and after shaking his head in disbelief, began to slowly job up to the castle to fix their relationship.
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A/N: Well that's that chapter. Hope you all liked it. I thought it'd be kinda fun to take a look at some of their classes, and give you an idea of how that's going. We also have a little snag in their relationship, don't we? So sad…I hope they fix everything. Lol. I should know, since I write this story. But honestly, y'all can't tell me you weren't expecting something. No couple ever gets along perfectly, and I figured that was as good as anything for them to "fight" about, so there ya go. Next chapter may take a little longer to get up, since I'm now back at school. Thanks for all the best wishes, and good luck to everyone who's in school themselves! I'll be starting classes, and have no idea how busy they'll keep me. I'm only taking 18 credits, so not too busy hopefully, but just keep checking back for a new chapter, and leave a review for this one :-)