I Can't Get Enough of You, Baby

I'm Young and Healthy

REMUS TRANSFORMATION?

[detention scenes – S misses R transformation b/c of (Mon nights; is kept late]

Later that evening, [which evening?] Minerva entered through the already-open doorway to her rooms, and quickly paused. Her footsteps had been muted by a throw rug, so the familiar figure in her chair didn't notice her entrance. The figure could only be one person. Who else but Sirius had proven himself able to get in? And there was Sirius' note…she leaned against the doorjamb and watched him with a wry smile. He was drinking her tea again, she noted. On a whim, she closed the door behind her softly and transformed into her Animagus form.

"Mrow!" she mewed. She had some control over her cat brain, but it was limited. Right now, the cat brain was pointing out that it would like to be petted [no, not the brain itself, silly].

Sirius turned around, startled by the cat's mewing. When he saw what had made the sound, he smiled. "Hello, Minerva." The cat approached him and rubbed against his leg. "Oh, you want to be petted, do you?" Still smiling, he reached down and stroked the tabby.

This was probably the closest he would ever come to doing what he so desperately wanted to do with the woman, Sirius thought sadly. Minerva leapt up onto his lap, purring madly. She was just as attractive as a cat as she was as a human, though in different ways, of course, he thought as he petted her soft fur. She was curled up on his lap, but suddenly she appeared to have had enough, and jumped down. "Aw, Minerva..." he said in a disappointed tone.

Her cat ears heard him as she was about to transform. She proceeded to do so. He stared, transfixed by her eyes as he watched them change from yellow cat eyes with vertical slits for pupils, to warm hazel human eyes behind glasses. Shortly thereafter, Minerva McGonagall was standing before him in her customarily unfashionable robes.

"Good evening, Sirius."

Sirius stood up, bringing their faces to be mere inches apart. "Evening, Minerva." Somehow, after he had caressed her cat body, things seemed more intimate between them. Their breathing was quickening due to the proximity, and a couple of seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity.

Finally Minerva broke the tension. Mentions note? "So I see you're making a habit of visiting me."

"I can't get enough of you, baby," Sirius said wryly, quoting a Muggle song Lily had introduced him to.

"Pardon?" asked Minerva.

"Never mind. Suffice it to say that I find your company scintillating."

She raised an eyebrow. "Big words, Black." She was trying desperately to think of anything but his lean young body standing near enough to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"I'm not as dumb as I pretend to be," he replied with a smirk.

"Then perhaps I'm not as smart as I pretend to be," she whispered, placing a hand on his cheek and leaning in to kiss him.

The kiss was over before it had barely begun, but Sirius felt the brush of her lips against his like fire. "You're right," he said huskily, "That wasn't very smart. He was reaching for the back of her neck to pull her into a deeper kiss, when there was a knock at the door. Because you can never have too many clichés. They pulled away from one another.

Minerva gnashed her teeth. "Who is it?" she growled.

"It's Horace, but if this is a bad time..."

"It is," replied Minerva tersely. She knew of Slughorn's unrequited feelings for her, and she also knew that she would have to explain her terse response later. REMEMBER THAT FORESHADOWING FOR LATER.

This was hardly the response Slughorn expected. "Er, um, fine then. Very good. I'll just show myself out," he blustered, trying to save face.

Minerva heard retreating footsteps. "I think he's gone," she said.

"Minerva, I…" said Sirius, taking her hands as he stepped away from her, eyes downcast.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Why should I have thought that a handsome boy like you would want a decrepit old woman like me?" Minerva said, angsting in a very typical fashion.

"That's not at all what I was going to say!" protested Sirius.

"What, then?" said Minerva in a suddenly tired voice.

"I…I don't know what's starting between us, but it could be very dangerous. Especially for you. You wouldn't want to lose your job over a silly little boy like me, would you?"

"You are a silly little boy if you think that I don't know how to be discreet," she said with a sly smile.

"From experience?" Sirius asked. He attempted to raise one eyebrow, but it came out looking as though he had something in his eye.

Minerva chuckled at his facial expression. "Maybe," she replied enigmatically.

"Still, I think it would be best if we left it as it is for tonight."

"You're probably right. Dare I ask if you would join me in a cup of tea?"

"Thanks, but I already had some. And it would be better if I returned to my dormitory now."

"Good night, then."

"Good night." Sirius left and returned to the Gryffindor common room.

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"Where've you been?" James asked for the second time that week (?) when Sirius entered through the portrait hole. Parchment and ink bottles were scattered all over the table in front of James and Sirius.

"Kitchen," lied Sirius. Thanks to the Marauder's Map, the boys knew otherwise, but they exchanged a glance indicating that they were going to play along for now. Where's Lily? Sirius needs to thank her for help w/ note in previous chapter…

"And you didn't take us?" asked Peter.

"Yeah, sorry guys. I felt like being alone."

"Sirius, did you do your Charms homework yet?" James asked.

"No. Is that what you're working on?"

"Yeah, but I thought we'd better do our work for Slughorn. We were waiting for you so we could all do it together. Except for Remus. He's already done," Peter said with a glance to the corner where Remus was sitting. The boys began to take out their work for Slughorn.

"What love potion smells like whatever you are attracted to?" Sirius read aloud from his review sheet for the written part of Slughorn's test the next morning. "James, do you know?"

From the corner, Remus muttered, "The answer is two-and-a-half." In addition to his Charms homework, he had also already finished Slughorn's work, and currently had his nose in a library book entitled Advanced Arithmancy for Anyone but Dummies.

"Thanks!" said Sirius and James nearly simultaneously.

"Wait a minute…" began James suspiciously. Remus was no longer paying any attention.

"What?" asked Sirius, who had already scribbled down "2 ½" on his paper.

"Two-and-a-half' isn't a potion!" James deduced.

"Damn…" muttered Sirius, siphoning the ink from the wrong answer off of his paper with his wand. "Moony, can we borrow your brain?"

"Only if you promise to return it," replied Remus calmly.

"Cool!" said James. He and Sirius exchanged a high five.

"I was kidding," pointed out Remus.

"Damn…" said Sirius again.

"Why don't you go ask your girlfriend?" Peter asked Sirius. Peter had taken a chair and started listening without anyone noticing.

"Which one? Mary, the one I snogged in the broom closet [one wd? - see broom closet in intro also] yesterday, or Sue, the one who slapped me – twice – the day before?"

"McGonagall," said Peter as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

If Sirius had been drinking a beverage, he would have spewed it from his mouth all over Peter. Fortunately for Peter, Sirius was not drinking a beverage, and all that happened was that Sirius sputtered something unintelligible which sounded like, "Erraplck!"

"See? Told you," said Peter, indicating Sirius' reaction to James and Remus.

"Well toast my knickers and paint me purple," said James in astonishment.

"James?" said Remus.

"Yeah?"

"It's really not a good idea to make up those things you're supposed to say when you're surprised."

"It isn't? Well flip my pancake and buy me a canary."

"Stop. It. Now," demanded Remus.

"Well trim my rosebush and put me on a train to California if Remus didn't just tell me to stop it."

"Lily let him watch some American 'flims,'" Sirius explained.

"First of all, it's 'films,' and second of all, how did she get a telly (?) to work in Hogwarts?" asked Remus.

"Oh, that wasn't here," said Peter. "That was while we were at her house over winter holiday, and Sirius and me and you were having a snowball fight," he continued off-handedly. "Remember? We wanted to give James and Lily some alone time?"

"And they watched a movie with their 'alone time?'" Sirius said quizzically.

"Lily said she wasn't ready for more than snuggling yet," Peter replied to Sirius for Remus.

James gaped. "How do you know that?"

"Er, she told me?" said Peter, a bit frightened of what was going through James' mind.

"She told you. About what goes on in our private life."

"Well, she says I'm nice to talk to…" Peter was looking very nervous now.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's all you do. Talk," said James in overdone sarcasm.

"Yes…" Peter said slowly.

"Duel!" James proclaimed, raising from his seat and pointing his wand at Peter. "Winner gets Lily!"

"Are you mad?" Peter asked, finally standing up for himself. "I'm not dueling you! I don't want Lily anyway! We never did anything!"

"James, it's okay," said Remus in a soothing voice. "Count to ten before you get mad."

"Before I get mad?" asked James, nostrils flaring. "I think it's too late for that!"

"Er..." Peter did some of the quickest thinking in his life. "Lily painted my toenails pink!"

James' wand hand dropped to his side as a quizzical expression came over his face. "Can I see?" he asked finally. Remus took the opportunity to snatch the wand from James' hand.

"It wore off," Peter said. No one who was listening was clear on whether the toenail-painting had ever actually happened. Remus and Sirius sincerely hoped Peter had merely made it up to distract James and convince him that his relationship with Lily was only platonic.

"But returning to the topic of the not-so-clandestine romance between our dear Padfoot and his Transfigurations teacher…" began Remus, also trying to distract James.

"There's no such thing between us!" protested Sirius.

"Marauder's Map says otherwise," Remus informed him. "A dot labeled 'Sirius' was standing very near a dot labeled 'McGonagall.' At least I hope they were standing," Remus finished rather sharply.

"Plus, Lily says so," said James, as though that decided everything.

"So she's spreading it around the school that there's something between us without having any evidence?" Sirius asked angrily.

"She has evidence. At least, as much evidence as a girl needs. She sees how you two act around each other in class," Peter explained with a shrug.

"Where is Lily, anyway?" asked Sirius, trying desperately to change the topic.

"Prefects' meeting," replied James.

"James?" said Sirius.

"Yeah?"

"You're Head Boy."

"So wha—oh, shit." James took off at a sprint, barely pausing to fling the portrait hole open.

"You're not getting off that easily," Remus told Sirius. "Tell us about McGonagall. Or should I say, 'Minerva.'"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We kissed, alright?"

Peter squealed in excitement, sounding like a girl. "Was she good?"

Remus gave Peter an odd look, then turned back to Sirius. "Did you do anything else?" he asked suspiciously.

"One question at a time!" protested Sirius. "Peter; I'm not saying. Remus; no."

"Okay…" replied Remus, reluctant to accept Sirius' answer as truth when Sirius had lied to him previously. "What do you see in her, anyway?"

"She's not unattractive," Peter said contemplatively.

"See? Peter knows," Sirius said.

"Peter," said Remus, "is merely defending you because he hero-worships you and James."

"I do not!"

"Quiet, Peter," said Sirius as though talking to a child.

"Okay."

Remus threw Sirius the smug, triumphant look he always got when he was right. "Fine, Sirius. I guess you're not answering my question. But I warn you; be careful. You're playing with fire here."

"Or rather," Peter said, "playing around with a professor." He was the only one who laughed at the feeble joke.

"Ooooo, spooky, spooky," said Sirius mockingly, ignoring Peter and waggling his fingers in front of Remus.

"I think I'll just go over here and read now," Remus said, glaring. "I'm not sure I want to spend anymore time with you, Sirius."

"Harsh, Remus," Sirius said sarcastically. "Real harsh. I'll just be going to the dorm to get off on fantasizing about the love of my life, if that's okay with you."

"Fine!" said Remus.

"Fine!" said Sirius.

"Fine!" said Peter, who was feeling a bit left out. Predictably, no one paid attention. With a final glare, Remus and Sirius got up and left the area. Peter was now sitting alone in one of the best chairs in the room. Usually only seventh years got the best chairs, but Peter saw a small group of first years coveting the chairs recently vacated by his two arguing friends.

"Here," said Peter, getting up and offering his seat.

"Thanks!" said one of the first years with a broad grin. The eleven-year-old and his friends were soon engulfed by the massive chairs. Peter went to a corner to play Exploding Snap by himself. [Now everyone together: "Aw, poor Peter…"]

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Sirius flung himself onto his bed and yanked the curtains around it shut. Despite his angry words to Remus, he was far from in the mood to fantasize or masturbate.

"I'm losing one of my best friends," he muttered aloud. He wondered silently if it would come down to Remus or Minerva. "Minerva," he heard himself choosing aloud before he'd even realised it.

Stuff...