A/N: So this mildly inspired by some weird tumblr post about Minerva wandering around in cat form, but mostly inspired by just chill teacher talks in an effort to humanize. I mean, what else do teachers do in the middle of winter? Vent about their students, I assumed. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Written for (skip):

hogwarts school comp: yr 4: transfiguration (change in appearance), charms (sieze and pull, banish, summon), potions (girding potion), astronomy (happens at night), divination (in between wars); prompts - words: ghost, difficult, fight, heart, gay / era: trio / year: 1991 / color: green, wood brown, white / dotw: thursday / plants: baneberry, dandelion root / actions: walk, stub a toe, cast a spell / adjectives: aggressive, speedy / phrase: better a witty fool than a foolish wit / genre: friendship / closing sentence: "I can't be..."...cocktail; ultimate battle: single accessory; open cat 4: could be canon;

Endurance

"Remind me again, Filius," drawled Severus Snape, "why it is that you need this girding potion, exactly. You were certainly one of the most…energetic professor I had."

"Well, I'm not as young as I once was, Severus! In a momentary lapse of sanity - "

"Momentary?" Severus muttered.

"Don't mumble at me," said Filius Flitwick sternly.

Severus simply rolled his eyes. Both professors stopped conversation when they heard a soft meow. Minerva McGonagall, currently a cat, wandered into the room, approaching the window where moonlight glowed through the green lakewater.

"Why hello, Minerva," commented Filius offhand. "As I was saying, I assigned the same date for all of my years' exams. There's a long weekend of grading after their tests tomorrow, and I'd like to be prepared."

"You have all term! I often wait a week to see them suffer."

Filius hmpfed. "Excuse me for wanting to return my students' grades in a timely manner."

Severus smirked as his hands speedily prepared ingredients across the wood brown preparation board. "Or hiding that you're going to a massive family reunion tomorrow night and need it to get through both drinking with your absurd relatives and the hangover that follows."

Filius registered the words and stopped walking at just the wrong time; his toe had collided with the table. "Ow!" Severus allowed himself a ghost of a chuckle, and Filius glared at him. "How did you hear about that?"

"You're a fool. You disappear on this Friday every two years, and it wasn't difficult to find out. Pomona told me. I'm guessing you couldn't procure the potion through your usual source? Grab me a pestle."

Filius cast a quick seize and pull charm, bringing the object to him and then to Severus, who began to aggressively crush. "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit."

"Please, Filius," came a new voice, and Filius jumped.

"Good heavens Minerva! Why must you always transform when we aren't looking?"

Severus had never stopped his work, now dropping baneberries and dandelion root into his cauldron, as Minerva continued: "Your wit is far and few between, my dear friend. You certainly don't lack humor, though."

"Ah yes, let the ever-gay Minerva present to us her fine wittiness," Filius said sarcastically, and Minerva laughed as Severus banished his pestle to his cabinet. Filius watched as the potion turned white as a sheet and Severus poured it into a vial, which Filius took from him with a "thank you."

Minerva was summoning glasses, firewhiskey, and a drink he didn't recognize when he looked back to her. "So, Severus, we absolutely demolished you in our marvelous Quidditch match," she said with a smile. "Would you like some?" she asked her fellow Heads as she began mixing the liquids.

Severus looked smugly at her. "Agree to disagree on that topic. And yes, please," he reached and accepted her drink.

Minerva was still grinning, and it showed her young heart. "Don't fight me on this. Harry's my secret weapon, I'm telling you. He's brilliant. But that troll... we're going to have some trouble this year." Severus nodded firmly as he drank, shaking her hand.

"You think so? And I'll have a drink as well," Filius said.

"We can't be the only one thinking it," she scoffed, then resumed drinking her cocktail."