Transfiguration
After his last Arithmancy class of the year, which would have been the last of his life if he hadn't changed his choice of taking the Potions NEWT of for that of Medimagic, Sev went to lunch and devoted himself entirely to Deborah and his Sly family. He had gotten hooked on the feeling of the Bond with Deborah and wanted to enjoy it to the fullest while he couldn't do it with Lily and Lauren.
They planned in detail how they were going to do the evening operation and also laughed a lot, and Valerie gave him a lot of kisses, anticipating the magnificent night she hoped to spend with him. (We're the happiest in the Hall, who'd have thought of we Slys.)
He tried to chat privately with Valerie. "Tell me what Minerva told you yesterday in Transfiguration class."
"Wait, wait, we all bond and I'll tell you all."
"Okay, whatever you want."
"Deborah and Andrew already know, but Paul, Anthony and Jack don't," she said.
The seven occlumants bonded again.
"Do you know what Minerva told me yesterday in class?" Valerie asked.
"Tell us," Sev told her.
"The first time she approached me, she apologized to me for telling the old man about what Prince and I did on Monday at breakfast. She told me that we had done very well, that only she and we had found out what was happening and that we had every right to have fun, with all that we are working on, that we don't have a single day off a week."
"Wow, Valerie… I would never have imagined McGonagall saying such things."
"She also added, that time, that she had realized the true meaning of our attitude the next day, when Prince shouted about free women, and that we were absolutely right, we had the right to express in public that we love each other, that the love should never be hidden."
"How amazing…"
She continued, "And that same time, she thanked me for having appreciated her own attitude and for having proclaimed her as a free woman, because indeed, she feels that way, she has spent her whole life fighting to be so in her own way, first getting a good profession and then not tying herself to a man or a family, but she understood women that we do, because each one must choose their own way of being free in life."
"I already believe that more like her, so I do understand everything she told you before. And the second time, what did she tell you?"
"As she had already gained confidence with me, she dared to ask me, did it discreetly and in a low voice, without Deborah or Andrew hearing, she told me that if I didn't want to, I wouldn't answer her. She asked me about the lynchings, if I knew anyone who had participated in them."
"And what did you answer her?" Sev asked.
"That I wasn't going to tell her about the others but that I had done it myself, that I had beaten a rapist. She was very impressed, she was full of praise and showed me her deep admiration for what we had done, risking our freedom in such a way, that she wished she could have done it herself and could train with us in the Army."
"Wow, Valerie... We have to invite her, I'll tell the old man on Friday."
"I don't think she stoops to be with the crowd, Prince."
"Well, I think she would be delighted, I'll tell Albus on Friday," with absolute conviction. "What do you all think?"
"Yes, tell him," Deborah told him, also very convinced. "It seems to me that McGonagall already knows how to fight."
"Yes, I think so too," Paul replied. "She has all the looks of a warrior."
"Tell him, Prince," Jack told him. "She will feel honored."
"If she comes on the weekend, we'll put her to fight in our squad," Andrew said. "And we'll tell her that we all participated in the lynchings, we'll win her for life."
"Very good idea, Andrew, you can tell her that I did it too, she already knows," Sev said.
"Of course she knows," Anthony said. "Last week she let you out of class without subtracting points, I'm sure that this afternoon she'll say something to you too, like Valerie."
"I already suspected it, that's why I wanted Valerie to tell me what she had said to her."
After lunch Sev took a half hour nap with the Restorative potion and in the early afternoon he had Transfiguration, his last class of the year. He concentrated intently on it, managing to perform all the practical exercises perfectly on his own, patiently waiting for Professor McGonagall to make the first move toward him.
Unfortunately, the teacher was very busy, as the students kept asking her to help them. Last class of the year, for OWLs and with the Raves, which is sure to be taken by almost everyone, he thought.When they had been in class for an hour and a quarter, she finally freed herself for a moment and approached him.
"Good afternoon Prince."
Take that! By my nom de guerre. "Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."
"Please, call me Minerva."
Wooow... I tell you I have her in my pocket.
The teacher continued, "I hope I'm not bothering you, but I've been watching you and I've noticed that you're not going to have any problems in the exam. I guess you need an Outstanding, right? You are going to study DADA."
"Yes, and also Medimagic."
"Oh…" admired. "The two most difficult NEWTs. Although I don't know why I'm surprised, you are an exceptional wizard."
Oh, Poppy and Albus haven't told her that. And she takes the opportunity to value me immediately, she already admired me since before the mess, how well I have done working on it all these years. "Thank you Minerva."
"And the most useful in these times. So, you don't mind talking to me for a while?"
"Of course not, Minerva, as if the rest of the class we don't do anything else."
"I'd love to, but you must have already noticed how busy I am today."
"Yes, I already noticed."
"Not as much as you, of course, which is why I haven't asked Professor Dumbledore for a private interview with you yet," she said.
She doesn't call Albus by his first name, of course, she's extremely respectful of authority and surely he hasn't told her we're on first names. But I will do it, one more way to create trust, we must create ties between all of us. And she was also looking forward to contacting me for a long time. "It's true, I'm very busy. But I will do my best to be able to have it before the end of the term. I have days off in the middle of the exam schedule, if it can't be then, the days after. I'll talk it over with him and we'll have it when it's better for both of us."
"When you can, Prince, I'm always available outside of school hours."
Another one that is at my entire disposal.
The teacher went on, "Well, what I wanted to tell you and I should have done three weeks ago. Thank you very much for what you are doing, you have made us all react."
Sev assessed the teacher's attitude, her look, while he listened to her, without taking his eyes off hers. Deep admiration. And she's talking loud enough for Anthony to hear as well, she's doing to him too. "It wasn't just me. We are a lot of people working."
"Of course, and I would love for you to communicate it on my behalf to those thirty brave women and men who accompanied you on May 15th in the Great Hall, to all of you who took the risk without knowing yet if your initiative would succeed, and especially to those few who last week risked their freedom to do justice. But the trigger of all this has been you and you must be recognized, because you have not only risked your freedom but you are going to risk your life perhaps for a very long time, and with yours, that of all your loved ones, and you're not even of age yet. You must be personally recognized for it. I want you to know that you have my deepest admiration and my unconditional support, and that you can count on me for whatever you require, both now and in the future, as long as my obligations allow me. I am at your entire disposal."
"Thank you very much, Minerva, you are going to make me cry. I also want to offer you something."
"Tell me."
"Do you like to fight?"
"I haven't done it for years, but of course I like it, like a good Gryffindor," the teacher replied.
"Do you want to join the Army training? It would be an honor for us if you did." Touched, she doesn't know what to tell me. I'm going to tell her about the squad from home. "My friend Valerie Rush, sixth year of Slytherin, told me that you were chatting with her yesterday and that you told her that you would like to train with the Army. We are organizing it by squads, I don't know if Albus has told you."
"Yes, he has."
She hasn't flinched that I called Albus by his first name, we're already building that trust, Sev thought. "Several of our house, including her, have formed one and would be delighted if you joined them. I was thinking of asking Albus in my next interview with him to propose it to you, but it's no longer necessary, I've already proposed it to you. If you have free Saturday and Sunday morning, stop by. Can you?"
"Of course."
"Do you know where we train and how to enter?"
"Yes I do."
"Then we will wait for you on Saturday after breakfast, we will be at the door to receive you, give us time to arrive before you," he continued. "You can also participate in the commanders' meeting if you feel like it and give us good advice."
She still doesn't answer me, poor woman, she didn't expect it. "Will you come?" He smiled at her.
"Of course I will." She also at him.
"If I have some free time, we can have a little talk then."
"I'm looking forward to it, Prince."
"So today continue attending to your work calmly, see you on Saturday."
"See you."
The teacher continued to attend to the students who called her. Wow… I have made her happy. One more.
Anthony, who had heard it all, bonded with him. "Another one who have a crush on you, Prince… How many have you already had?"
His friend laughed and continued to do so, while Sev tried to attend to the exercises. "Please, Anthony, she could be my mother."
"Yes, but she is alone, is very hungry. I'm sure she gets horny watching you and Valerie making out in the Hall."
"Anthony, you are making me ashamed."
"When you do it in public you don't have any trouble."
How awful, Anthony has stopped being discreet since I talked to him about my things yesterday, I'm going to have to tell him off. "Anthony, stop teasing me, you're distracting me," authoritarian.
"Come on, if you are doing comedy, you have a NEWT level, you have come to class not to lose points."
"You're right, but stop making fun of me, otherwise she's going to admonish you and subtract them from you."
"Well, well, what a problem…" said his friend. "We have her in our pocket, she has already asked you to congratulate all of the Guard."
"True. Come on, attend to the exercises, you still don't have that NEWT level."
"But at the time of curfew I will have it."
"Anthony, don't trust yourself. You will have the talent, but if you haven't practiced it won't do you any good."
Anthony stopped laughing. "It's true, I'll leave you alone, and also in the next one, Charms, also for Outstanding, the first one besides."
Sev softened. "This afternoon I'm staying in the Library with you, so you can help Heather and I can help Fiona. Deborah will probably come along too so you can read her for a while if you have time."
"Yes, she already told me at lunch."
Sev unbonded from Anthony and continued concentrating on class, and also on the next one, Charms, since both were for Outstanding in Defense, and although he didn't need to practice, he knew that Anthony and Lauren did.
After classes they went to the Library, the fifth-years with Deborah. The times that he didn't have to help Fiona, Sev bonded with her, occluding what he did on his own, continue with the 'Way of the Stars' book, which Lauren had already told him he could keep, since she had duplicate copies of the books at home.
Meanwhile, Deborah was making a copy for Valerie and Andrew of Eileen's summary of the Red Magic, by hand, since she couldn't work by verbal dictation in the Library, or by mental, which she was in control of, not to disturb Sev while they were bonded. She had told him, "Even if it costs me triple the effort, I don't want to lose a minute of being with you like this. It's fantastic, like a drug."
At dinner he did chat with Lily and Lauren, because afterward he had four hours or more ahead of him with Deborah. He told them about Minerva, both about Valerie and about him.
Lauren commented, "Well, she has given a radical change in one day, I am also very surprised by what she said to Valerie. I think she is a virgin and frigid."
"What means frigid?" Sev asked.
"That she doesn't like it when she does it."
"Well yes, that fits her much more. But maybe if we make her horny often now, she'll change that too, maybe she'll turn on fighting," laughing.
"Fight her for a while, I'm sure you'll turn her on."
The three laughed.