"Ah come on Fred," George said. "Ol McGonagall could use a laugh. Dad says she's been more stressed than ever."
"Yeah, but he didn't say we should be the ones making her laugh. We've already had enough trouble with her once this year."
"You still afraid of her?"
"I'll always be afraid of her!" Fred insisted, and George laughed. He may have been making fun of his brother for his fear of McGonagall, but he would be lying if he said she didn't still scare him. They were huddled in the front of her classroom, her drinking glass filled on her desk in front of them. It was surrounded by parchments, but George knew she would always reach for a sip of it before class.
"What are you two doing in here?" came a familiar voice from behind them. George and Fred turned to see a figure clothed fully in black at the back of McGonagall's classroom.
"We were so excited for Transfigurations, sir," George said, putting the bottle in his hand behind his back and passing it to Fred.
"You're lying," Snape replied, walking closer to them. Damn. If anyone still scared George, it was Snape. "Show me what's behind your back," he said, motioning to Fred. Fred passed the bottle back to George who tried to shove it in his back pocket.
Fred pulled his hands out from behind his back and waved his empty hands around. "You becoming paranoid, sir?"
Snape was right in front of them now and reached out to grab George's arm, causing George to hand over the bottle before Snape hurt him. "What is this?"
"That's ten galleons for that one!" George said.
"Tell me what this is or you're getting detention with Umbridge," Snape growled.
"Just a way to cheer up ol' McGonagall," Fred said. "She's looked stressed. Nothin' you'd be interested in as her rival."
"What does this do?" he asked, shaking the bottle.
"Come on, now. A distinguished Potion's Master such as yourself should recognize this," George said, surprised he'd gotten this far with Snape not biting his head off.
"A love potion," Snape muttered. "What exactly does this do?"
"Makes you become enchanted with the person who gave it to you," Fred added, stepping closer to Snape and winking at George. "We made it ourselves."
"Why didn't you two bring this skill to your studies?" he asked, shaking his head. "Well brewed." Snape handed it back to Fred.
George was confused. "Sir?"
"Your intentions seem well enough. I'll let Minerva give you the detention," he said matter-of-factly. Was Snape being…fun?
"How about you give it to her, sir? I think you owe her for the dreaming drought earlier this year," George offered. "Ten galleons." He held his hand out, amused at Snape and McGonagall's rivalry.
Snape stared at him for a moment, but pulled out 10 galleons from his pocket and put them in George's hand, taking the potion from Fred. George felt a rush of excitement and began laughing. "No Quidditch is boring you?"
"Something like that," Snape said. He walked over to McGonagall's desk and poured the whole potion into her glass.
George widened his eyes when he realized he hadn't given Snape instructions. "Uh, sir. You're not supposed to pour the whole thing in."
Snape turned around, looking angry once again. "Why didn't you two morons tell me that?"
"We assumed you knew, being the Potion's Master!" Fred insisted.
Snape smashed the glass on the desk. "What's going to happen to her?"
"Nothing's going to happen," George cut in. "It's just going to be really strong is all."
Snape shook his head. "I'll be back." With that he left, and George turned to Fred. "Can you believe that? Snape is playing just as hard as McGonagall!"
"Umbridge must be getting to everyone," Fred said. They walked to their seats so McGonagall wouldn't suspect anything when she came in. "Even Snape needs fun."
As the class filed in, McGonagall followed. As she cleared the chalkboard with her wand to begin the new class, she did what she always did- took a long sip of her water. On cue, Snape walked in from the back of the room. George and Fred slowly sunk down into their seats, waiting to see what happened. "Today we are going to discuss Professor Snape and-," McGonagall stopped short, lowering her wand from the blackboard. "I…Oh, Professor Snape," she said awkwardly. "Did you need someone? I need you." Her face paled, but then spots of red appeared on her cheeks.
George thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head, and the entire class chuckled. "Do you?" Snape asked from the other side of the room.
"Severus, I…Merlin, you look wonderful," she said, covering her mouth as soon as it came starred at him for an uncomfortable few moments.
"Thank you, Min. Would you like to come in the hallway for a moment?"
"Of course I would. I we can…" she sighed, but stopped short of whatever she was going to say. George was silently laughing, his head buried in his hands, with Fred practically falling into his lap. "Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley. What did you do?"
George let a laugh escape him, and Fred soon followed. When he could open his eyes, he looked up and saw McGonagall was walking towards his desk. "A love potion," George managed to get out.
"Professor Snape, were you in on this?"
"20 points to Slytherin," he said in his normal tone. George's Slytherin classmates clapped. Everyone was laughing; it was the first good laugh they'd all had in a long time. "I have an anecdote in the hallway."
"Start reading chapter twenty nine in silence," McGonagall snapped, throwing her hat off and making her way out the classroom door. When she'd left the room, Fred and George stood up, everyone clapping for them.
"Good one, guys!" one of their fellow Gryffindors shouted.
"We're just getting started," Fred said. "Wait 'til you see what we got for Umbridge."
George watched all of his classmates settle down and begin reading, and he motioned for Fred to sneak with him to peek out the door. Snape and McGonagall were standing in the hallway, and Snape did indeed have a vile in his hand. So that was where he went before class started. McGonagall was leaning up against the wall, her head in her hands. George had a moment of panic, thinking that she was crying, but he felt his shoulders relax when he saw she was laughing. "Detentions for a lifetime?" Snape asked.
"Not at all," she replied. "I needed that. I could kill them, because they don't know the full story and what a risk they put us in, but I needed it. I love my cubs."
"I saved you the embarrassment of one of them putting it in your cup. It makes you enamored with the person who gave it to you," Snape pointed out.
McGonagall laughed harder. "Dear, Merlin. Could you imagine? At least with you, it was…"
Snape raised an eyebrow. "It was?"
"Come on, Severus," she said, hitting his chest. "Give me that vile or I'm going to do something I could get fired for."
George nearly fainted at the idea of McGonagall trying to shag Snape in the middle of the hallway. Fred made a face from beside him, but George elbowed him to stop so they'd keep quiet. "I'm always open to trying something new."
McGonagall downed the potion in an impressive swig, but George wasn't surprised- she could hold her liquor at the Order gatherings he'd been at. "Not here. Not now," she replied. She leaned her head against his chest for a moment. Snape put an arm around her.
"Did it wear off?"
"I don't know if there's a way to truly know; but, if you're asking if I want to rip all of your robes off in front of everyone and have my way with you right now, then yes, I believe it's dulled that urge down." McGonagall shook her head. "Don't you have a class to teach?"
"It's my off period. What a shame."
McGonagall slapped him again, and as she turned to come back to the door, George and Fred rushed back to their seats. "They're shagging," Fred whispered. "You told me I was crazy before, but you have to see what I'm seeing."
"She was under a love potion," George said, dismissing his brother. "That's the whole point."
"You heard them- you saw how they are!" Fred whispered, more insistently. "They're more than friends."
The door to the room fully opened, and McGonagall reentered. "Now, I'm sure you've all had a nice laugh." She sat down on the edge of her desk at the front of her room. "I would like everyone to look up here." Everyone put their books down, and George wondered what she was going to say. "You all know I would normally be giving out a lifetime of detentions for Mr. and Mr. Weasley's ridiculous prank. However, I'm awarding Gryffindor 20 points." The Gryffindors clapped, and she spoke again when the applause died down. "I say this to all of you because…we all need to laugh. I suspect that the last year has not brought much happiness for many of you." The room was silent, and George felt a tinge of emotion at McGonagall's words. She was so rarely soft, but when she was, it was like having a second mother. "We need more of you two in the world. I don't know what else will come this year, but please do find ways to put joy into your lives." McGonagall put her hat back on. "That's enough of that. Let's turn to the beginning of chapter twenty nine."