Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.
Author notes:
This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.
To all the authors who work and also find time to write in midst busy schedules, I bow down to you. It took me so long to find time to write, and here it is- I hope you enjoy it!
Three cheers to my beta HogwartsDreamer113!
Chapter 11: The one where Minnie forgot to give detentions…
It was two weeks since the duel. The next day after their classes ended, Severus had met the lions in the Room of Requirement. The lions had wide smirks on their faces, and they hung on every word as Severus described the duel. Remus and Lily all but begged Severus to teach him the Curse of Lost Senses. They also decided to start on the promise of teaching Snape and Lily to be Animagus. The three Animagi gleefully gave Severus and Lily homework to read about the transformations and told them they could start with the first step during the Christmas holidays.
They were currently in Room of Requirement planning the various tests and experiments on the room for the approaching full moon. When their stomachs started to make themselves known, they tried asking for food, but couldn't get any. They noted it and left for dinner. It was late, so they took a trip to the kitchen. They ate and bantered with each other. When Lily, Remus and Severus started arguing about some book, all the other three could do was watch. They knew if they tried to interrupt, three pairs of evil eyes would fall on them. Each of their glares individually were bad; combined they could put a Basilisk to sleep. They were quite happy to sit and eat their dinner while watching the other three argue.
Soon dinner was done, and Peter had fallen asleep in his chair. The three still hadn't agreed on their favourite book. James and Sirius were fighting silently on who would be the one to interrupt their debate. The two Marauders had faced the likes of Voldy himself; they shouldn't be afraid to interrupt the combination of Snape, Lily and Remus, right?
"Umm, guys?" James tried in a small voice.
The only response he got was Remus's "NO! He missed so many things…"
Sirius took a deep breath and drew his wand. James' breath hitched, and Sirius prayed to Merlin that he would live to see tomorrow. He ignored James' tug on his other sleeve, aimed his wand at the three and cast Aguamenti. The resulting shriek from the red head, growl from the werewolf, and narrowed eyes from the snake gave him genuine fear for his life. James had woken Peter up, and the pair was almost at the door.
For a moment nobody moved, then the shock broke, and Sirius launched himself towards the door, and the three ran as if demons were on their tail. When they heard a whoosh of a spell, James turned into Prongs, followed by Wormtail and Padfoot. Wormtail scrambled onto Sirius, and held on tight as they ran out of the basements. The three reached the entrance hall and saw the door open. They barrelled towards it, barely noticing Filch, who was standing outside.
James and Sirius crashed into him, and the squib and two Animagi fell in a tangle of limbs and fur. Filch groaned as James' legs kicked him in the stomach as he tried to free himself, and Peter squeaked in fright as Mrs Norris came into view. Sirus barked at her, and she ran off, while Filch paled at his Grim like features. The three heard footsteps and turned to see three shadows near the door. The three ran onto the grounds, towards the forest.
They heard footsteps after them, but they couldn't see anyone. Sirius yelped when he felt a stinging jinx hit his tail. They took off to the forest, and ran in until it felt safe to turn back into humans. The three took shelter behind a tree and turned back. All three were in various states of disarray and panting. Peter kept watch while James and Sirius caught their breath.
Peter peered into the forest, the moonlight helping him see, but he saw nothing. He returned from his watch and whispered," I don't see them, but- " Peter yelped as he suddenly found himself in the air, his back stuck to the tree and his feet were at least two, three feet away from the ground. On the ground, James was petrified, and Sirius was tied down from head to toe with vines and branches and was struggling to free himself. Three forms emerged from the bushes from all three sides.
"Dammit!" Peter swore. No wonder he didn't find anybody behind. Remus must have found them with his super nose. His abilities had always increased near full moon, making him an excellent look out for their pranks. He must have sent the other two to ambush them from the other sides. They were in for it now…
Minerva McGonagall was patrolling the corridors in her Animagus form when she heard the noise. She turned back to her human form and peered down from the corridor to see a gangly puppy and young stag run toward the door, followed by a Slytherin and two Gryffindors. All three of them were soaking wet. Her eyebrows rose when the red head girl grabbed the two boys and dragged them to an alcove near the entrance as they all heard a crash and a yelp that sounded like a mixture of human and dog. She hurried down the stairs as she heard the loud barking, and she saw the three young students run towards the door. She was about to call out to them in anger when they vanished into thin air. Minerva stood frozen as she heard footsteps hurry out of the door. Only when she heard a distant yelp did she snap out of her shock and move out to find empty grounds and a groaning Mr Filch on the floor.
When he saw her, he started going on about how he was going to die because he saw the Grim and it ate Mrs Norris. Minerva barely managed to not roll her eyes and informed him that she saw the cat running towards the staircase. She was always astounded at the speed he could run when he wanted. As she watched him run off, she peered into the grounds bathed in moonlight and saw nobody. She turned back, kept the door open by an inch and stood watching near the darkened alcove.
Around twenty minutes later, she heard voices before she saw the group. First years. They were all first years. The Slytherin must have come to fight against her lions or the Gryffindor had forced the young snake to meet them. She recognised some among the young group, the thin, little Mr Lupin, the white sheep of the Blacks, and the only Slytherin, the talented Snape. He always had that look in his eyes, like he knew her, but she knew she was overthinking things.
The group wasn't even looking in her direction as they entered the entrance hall. She saw them laugh and comment on the still open door. Three of her five looked like they had fought the entire forest and all its inhabitants, while the other three looked very smug. Anger rose within her, but before she could put them all in detention and deduct points, she heard them speak, and her jaw hit the floor. The young Potter was praising Snape's spellwork, while the red headed girl, Ms Evans, was holding Potter's and Snape's hand in each of her own. The entire group was laughing and completely at ease with each other. If they had been wearing clothes without their houses' crests, she would have thought they were friends from years.
If her jaw could go lower, it just did when Black pulled Snape in a mocking headlock and messed up his hair before letting go. It was common knowledge that the young Black and the house of snakes did not go well together. The entire school expected the Black heir to go to Slytherins, but he adamantly refused to associate himself with their house. They separated at the staircase, her cubs going up towards the tower, while Mr Snape went down towards the dungeons. She blinked in astonishment when Lupin shook Snape's hand and traded knowing grins. Evans threw her arms around Snape, and he held her in a loose embrace before Potter cleared his throat pointedly. Lily stuck her tongue at him and kissed Snape on the cheek. They went their separate ways, and Snape was followed with teasing shouts of "good nights", "sweet dreams" and "don't let the snakes bite!" from Pettigrew, Potter and Black, while the other two shushed them. She always thought of Pettigrew as timid and shy, but here he was teasing a Slytherin and wandering around the halls at night.
She stood there gobsmacked. Never in her years at the school had she seen a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors being friends. She eventually moved, still in shock and completed her patrol in a daze, still thinking about what she saw in those six students. Peeves was painting a rude symbol on the wall, and he gaped at her as she passed, completely lost in her thoughts. First years casting perfect disillusionment charms! She had to inform Albus about this. He had asked her to inform him if she saw any out of the ordinary behaviour, and this definitely fit the description. She just hoped they would not break this friendship in fear of their housemates. It was only when she returned to her chambers and got ready for bed she remembered she didn't punish them or give detentions. She forgot about the stag, the grim, and that three of her students had not been there when the other three had run out of the main door as she thought about the first inter-house friendship she had seen in a very long time.
