I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

It can be boring teaching in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere. The main way in which the staff alleviate their boredom? The Great Shipping Sweepstakes!

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There's a goblet in the Staff Room. It was not a particularly fancy goblet, made from bronze without decoration or filigree. It was a plain and serviceable goblet, one that started as a humble vessel for drinking water or other such liquids. It was not made from gleaming porcelain. It was not carved from lovingly polished wood. It was not inherently magical like the imposing Goblet of Fire.

It was however the only goblet to be known as THE goblet of the Staff Room. Any teacher in Hogwarts knew what was referred to when someone mentioned the goblet.

It was the holder of fortune, the breaker of dreams, the harbor, the docks, and other strange but applicable nick names. It was perhaps the most revered artifact in the Staff Room. Surprisingly it was something that was utterly mundane, unenchanted, uncharmed.

And incredibly important.

Pomona Sprout placed the goblet in the middle of the main table. It landed with a heavy thump and immediately all conversation faded into silence. The venerable Mistress of Herbology looked about and held up a gleaming golden Galleon. With a pointed look at the assembled Professors she tossed it in.

"Granger and Weasley!" she proclaimed.

"Balderdash!" Minerva McGonagall rose from her straight back chair. "Really Mona, one would think you like throwing away money."

"Hah! Don't make me pull out the records and see how many I've gotten correct Minnie."

The Mistress of Transfiguration sniffed. "That is wholly unrelated and not entirely factual. Besides, you are living a fool's dream. You've surely seen how Weasley has treated Granger and Potter the last few weeks."

"Ah but I have heard that they have since made up! And with mended bridges comes mended ships."

"You fully expect her to forgive him for weeks of abandonment?" McGonagall waggled a finger. "Granger is far too clever for that."

"Cleverness goes out the window when the heart is involved. As if your 'educated guess' is any more reasonable than mine."

McGonagall rose to her full height. "My 'educated observations' will be proven entirely correct. Granger has supported Potter unfailingly since the beginning. They are perfect compliments in every way and they make a far better 'ship."

Sprout snorted. "Boring you mean. I love the dears, don't think I don't, but they don't have that spark, that flash of passion."

McGonagall looked hurt. "Passion is no foundation for a proper relationship."

"By all means, put your money where your mouth then Minnie."

She did just that. She fished out two gold Galleons and flipped them into the goblet. "Mark my words, One day after they graduate we will be congregating at the Granger and Potter wedding."

Filius Flitwick smiled around his pipe. "Oh dear me, it looks like I'm betting on a different hippogriff." He looked at the astonished witches. "Well, I've noticed young Mister Potter making eyes at one of my own. A certain Cho Chang. Potter is the sort that would benefit from a more experienced witch that shares a...passion for Quidditch like he does."

"A passing fancy, nothing more," McGonagall said with a wave of her hand.

"Agreed. Really Filly, I know our fun here is rather silly but at least be silly with reason."

Flitwick flipped a shiny silver sickle into the goblet. "I will never bet against someone in my House ladies. Love can blossom from the strangest of places. After all, I am the only one to accurately predict Andromeda and Edward."

"It's unseemly for you to constantly trot that accolade out," McGonagall sniffed, ignoring Flitwick's too smug smile.

"What do you think Severus?" Flitwick asked, seeing the thin brooding wizard walk by.

"About?" Snape asked without caring for the answer.

"Granger and Weasley or Granger and Potter?"

Snape sighed deeply. "I think I care about many more things than the three students in this entire school I loathe the most."

Sprout giggled. "Now now Severus. I know you care about them. After all I hear you talk about them so much."

"Complain about them."

"Like I said, so much." She and Flitwick chuckled at Snape's barely restrained sneer.

Snape glared about the room but none were intimidated in the slightest. After a long moment he fished out a small bronze knut and flicked it in the direction of the goblet. "Potter is the spawn incarnate of his father. Arrogant, head strong, utterly pathetic. Since he shares so much like his father, I would imagine that he has similar tastes. In this case, for women smarter than him that he wholly underserves."

"Why Severus, I do believe that is the closest thing to a compliment you have ever paid to Miss Granger," McGonagall said with poorly disguised glee.

The look Snape gave them before leaving the Staff Room sent the Professors into hysterics. Their laughter chased him down the corridor, making his footfalls sound even more annoyed than normal.