Secret Santa Fic (Sirius D)

Title: Can't remember what I called it - eeek
Rating: PG13 (possibly)
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.

Notes: Reposting since it disappeared after the crash. Sorry, too busy/lazy to mess about with the formatting of this again. Most people have probably read it already anyway though.

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Minerva McGonagall had a great deal of respect for Albus Dumbledore, really she did. But even so, every now and again he came up with an idea that was, in her opinion, completely barking mad.

The moment he had announced the idea of a Secret Santa she had known it was going to be a recipe for disaster, and as she stood looking down at the name on the piece of parchment she had pulled from the Sorting Hat that belief was reinforced.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to buy a gift for any of the students, but what in the name of Godric Gryffindor was she supposed to buy for him?

There were a dozen students staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays, and for eleven of them she knew exactly what to buy them. Miss Evans was in need of a new travelling cage for her owl, since the one she had was old and broken. Mr Snape’s potions book was looking rather tatty and would no doubt be falling apart by the end of the year.

But Sirius Black! What did you get the boy who had everything?

His parents, for all their faults, had never seen their oldest son go without the best of everything. He wasn’t just born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had the entire dinner service. And even though he was no longer living under their roof, the Potters were equally generous to their son’s best friend.

His robes were the best that money could buy, he had a top of the range broom and the best repair kit on the market. What could she possibly get him?

Minerva glared at Albus Dumbledore as she pocketed the small piece of parchment. From the look in his eyes, she had a feeling that he knew exactly who she had picked, and was getting a small degree of amusement out of it as well.

The key to getting the perfect gift for Sirius Black, Minerva realised, was his friends. Thankfully all three of his closest friends were staying at Hogwarts over the holidays along with him, and she was sure that one of them would be able to give her the information that she required.

“Mr Potter,” Minerva called as she spotted James Potter traipsing mud through the Entrance Hall as he returned from the Quidditch pitch.

James jumped, startled, and dropped his broom on the floor as he looked wildly around the hall, showing clear signs of a guilty conscience. He pulled out his wand and quickly vanished the mud from the stone floor, completely neglecting to clean his boots at the same time.

“Professor McGonagall,” he greeted her, nodding his head respectfully. Minerva narrowed her eyes, wondering what it was he had done to warrant such behaviour. Even though he was now rumoured to be dating Lily Evans, she didn’t believe that the Head Girl’s influence was quite so strong to cause such a personality change.

Minerva approached the Head Boy and looked him over. “I trust that you have not be sneaking into Hogsmeade for any last minute Christmas shopping?” she asked, inwardly crowing when she caught the slight flush of guilt on James’s face.

“No, Professor,” James replied, shaking his head firmly. “I’ve done all my shopping. My owl is already on his way home with my parents’ presents.”

“And your friends’ presents?” she asked, silently pleased at her subtlety.

“All wrapped up and ready for Christmas,” James confirmed. “Nearly anyway.”

“You must have had quite a few people to buy for,” Minerva commented. “Most of the term you seem to be surrounded by friends.”

James shrugged, and a slightly perplexed look came over his face. Good, perplexed was good. It meant there was far less chance of his realising what she was trying to do.

“Or have you only bought for your closets friends?” she pressed on. “Remus, Peter and Sirius?”

James nodded. “Just them and a few others,” he confirmed. “Everyone on the team… and Lily.”

This last was mumbled so that she barely heard it, but the flush on his face brightened considerably. Ah, so the rumours were true.

“I suppose it was harder for you to choose something for Lily than for your other friends,” Minerva commented sympathetically. “Sirius, for example, must be easy to buy for. You’ve been such good friends for nearly seven years now.”

She watched as the confusion cleared and James’s face brightened into a grin. “You’ve got that right,” he replied with a nod. “I’ve not got a clue what to get her. I mean what are you supposed to get girls? What if she’s already got what I get her? Or what if she hates it? If it’s clothes, how do I get the right size? Or are clothes too personal? What about jewellery? Is that too much when we’ve only been on two dates?”

Minerva listened silently as James continued to question her, realising all of a sudden that he was expecting her to tell him what to buy Lily for Christmas.

Ten minutes later and she had given him a few ideas for things that he might buy for his new girlfriend, and he had carried on up to the Tower with a bright smile and a spring in his step. It was only after he had vanished out of sight that she realised that not only had she forgotten to remind him once again that he was not allowed out to Hogsmeade, she had also neglected to find out anything that might help her choose what to buy Sirius.

Since it would clearly be too suspicious if she questioned James again, Minerva directed her attention towards Sirius’s other friends. She wondered whether Remus or Peter would be the most helpful.

Come to think of it, Remus had been spending a lot of time with Sirius lately, probably because of James neglecting his best friend in favour of Lily. Remus was generally hardworking, quiet and very observant. His gift ideas would no doubt be far more suitable than anything James would buy for Sirius anyway.

The full moon was the previous night, which made it easy for Minerva to track Remus down, and he was still in the hospital wing when she strolled through the doors.

“Mr Lupin, how are you this morning?” she asked cheerily.

Remus looked at her in surprise. Was it really that long since she had stopped by to see how he was after the full moon?

“I’m fine,” Remus replied with a smile. “Just about to get out of here and get some breakfast.”

“Your friends aren’t here to escort you out of Poppy’s clutches?” Minerva teased.

Remus shook his head. “They’re probably still asleep,” he said, and Minerva thought she heard a mumbled “lazy gits,” but she could have been mistaken.

“I believe that Mr Potter had an early morning practice on the Quidditch pitch,” she said, nodding out of the window.

Remus nodded in agreement. “I think there’s just enough players and reserves still here to make up a couple of reduced teams,” he said with a shrug and a small wince at the obvious pain the movement caused.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to stay here a while longer?” Minerva asked. “I can get the house elves to bring you something to eat, and tell your friends where you are.”

“I’m okay,” Remus argued. “Just a bit sore. I’d rather go get something to eat and then go to sleep in my own bed for the morning.”

Minerva nodded reluctantly. “Very well, but don’t overdo it. You come right back here to Poppy if you need something for the pain.”

“I will.”

“And no lifting any heavy presents… er… objects, for at least two days. If you need any help with the wrapping, you come and let me know.”

Remus frowned at her in confusion. “Erm… okay, but I’ve already wrapped everything anyway.”

“You have?”

Remus nodded. “You know what my friends are like. If their presents weren’t wrapped up right away they’d find them as soon as I left the dorm.”

Minerva couldn’t stop the smile at the thought of the three other boys frantically hunting down their presents the moment Remus’s back was turned. “You might find buying things at the last minute works just as well,” she suggested with a smile. “They can’t find what hasn’t been bought yet.”

Remus chuckled. “I’ll remember that for next year. But this year is already sorted.”

“Your presents must be very good ones for your friends to go to so much trouble to find them so quickly?” Minerva made her observation more of a question and waited for Remus to take the hint. Thankfully he was a bright boy and caught the hint, but not clever enough to realise why.

“Not that good,” he replied with a grin. “I just got James some new Quidditch gloves, Peter a couple of tickets for a concert he’s been dying to go to, and Sirius…”

Minerva was practically holding her breath in anticipation when Remus’s voice trailed off. “Yes?” she prompted eagerly. “Sirius…”

Remus ducked his head and turned away from her questioning gaze, but not before she saw him turn several rather interesting shades of red.

“And Sirius?” she tried again, but Remus was gathering his things, and practically running out of the door.

“Well, whatever was that all about?” Minerva said to herself as she watched the door swing closed behind Remus.

After she had had time to think on his reaction a little more, Minerva concluded that Remus was probably embarrassed about whatever it was that he had purchased for Sirius. Perhaps it was something that was not as expensive as the Blacks were used to getting. She was sure that whatever it was Sirius would appreciate it just the same.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help her to come up with any ideas of her own. Which left only one more student to question. Peter Pettigrew.

Peter looked as startled as James had when she finally tracked him down near the dungeons, obviously concocting some form of mischief. Still, whatever it was, he hadn’t carried it through, and besides, she had more important things to question him about. Things like what Sirius Black might like for Christmas.

Peter replied to her subtle questioning in a far more enlightening manner than the other two boys had. In fact, he blurted out what he had bought Sirius right away.

“It’s this fantastic set of prank items from a muggle joke shop,” Peter declared excitedly.

“I do hope that these items aren’t on Mr Filch’s list of banned items?” Minerva said with a stern frown.

Peter shook his head. “They’re muggle items, so he’s never heard of them. There’s cushions that make noises when you sit on them, and these things that explode with a loud bang when you throw them at the wall, and –”

“Explode?” Minerva interrupted.

Peter closed his mouth with a snap, a look of guilt on his face. “Well, not explode exactly,” he amended. “More of a bit of a pop really.”

“A pop?” Minerva echoed, her eyebrows raised.

“If you’re lucky,” Peter added. “With muggle stuff it may not work at all. You know how it is?”

Minerva shook her head. “Please do enlighten me,” she said with a cold smile. She had a feeling that after the holidays it might be a good idea for Mr Filch to expand his list of banned items, and to include certain muggle mischief making things.

Peter was now looking decidedly uncomfortable, and had gone suspiciously quiet. It was clear that she was not going to obtain any more useful information out of him. Not that she had found out anything she didn’t already know. She knew that Sirius liked prank items, but what sort of example would she be setting if she gave him something like that?

There was nothing else for it, Minerva decided the following morning. She was going to have to go undercover.

The advantages about wandering around the school in her cat form were numerous, and Minerva savoured the opportunity as often as she could.

The smells from the kitchens were scented from further away than when she was human.

You could spot a mischief brewer far sooner and often stop them in their tracks before they knew what had happened.

But best of all, with so many cats in the school, it was remarkably easy to blend in and be unnoticed when it suited her.

Many a time she had curled up in her favourite spot in front of the Gryffindor common room fireplace, with the students none the wiser to the fact that it was their head of house in the room, and not just one of the other student pets.

One place she didn’t usually go was the dormitories. She didn’t mind keeping a watchful eye on the students in other places around the school, but the stairs that led up to the dormitories and bathrooms she only ascended when in her human form. At least until today.

Today she was going undercover, and she was going to go where no other animagus had gone before… the seventh year boys’ dormitory, and the domain of The Marauders.

She scurried up the stairs and was relieved to find that the door was opening just as she approached it. Cats, no matter how intelligent, couldn’t open up the heavy wooden doors without it looking a little suspicious.

She ran forward and right into James Potter’s foot.

“Bloody stupid cat,” he swore as he fell over her.

Bloody clumsy boy, Minerva thought to herself, wondering if she could give him a detention for it, but realising that she would give herself away if she did.

James continued on his way and Minerva shot under the nearest bed and out of sight of the remaining occupants in the room, Remus and Sirius.

She sniffed cautiously, wondering what the strange smell was. A quick glance behind her revealed a pile of unwashed clothes. Honestly, there was a laundry basket right in the bathroom. Was it too much to ask them to use it?

She wondered whose bed it was and looked out from her hiding place. The top of the bedside table revealed the owner to be Remus Lupin. She sighed in disappointment. He always seemed like such a neat and tidy young man.

She peeked around the covers that were hanging off of the bed and looked across the room. Sirius was sitting on the end of his bed, which was neatly made, with hospital corners and everything. She had to admit that she was surprised, and that was something that very rarely happened.

“Alone at last,” Remus suddenly said, and she watched as he sat down beside Sirius.

“Moony!” Sirius chided. “He might come back.”

“He’s gone to get Lily’s present. He’ll be at least an hour.”

Gone? Minerva wondered to herself. Gone where? She suspected she knew the answer to that question and shook her head. She really only had herself to blame for not impressing on him the importance of remaining in the school grounds.

“What about Peter?” Sirius argued.

“He’s in detention,” Remus reminded him. “We’ve got the dorm to ourselves, so how about we make the most of it?”

Minerva frowned to herself. What an odd thing to say. It was the sort of thing her first boyfriend had said to her back when she was a student here. Surely she had misheard?

She crept out from under the bed and ducked across to the gap between the wardrobe and the bathroom door. She had a much better view from there, but when she looked up towards the two boys, she half wished she’d stayed under the bed.

Remus’s hand was on Sirius’s thigh, and it was creeping rather too closely to a very telling bulge.

Sirius, despite his protests of a few minutes before, leaned towards Remus and kissed him right on the lips.

Minerva had always believed that you could tell a lot about a kiss, and this one was no exception.

Their mouths were locked together, but there was no tussling or groping involved. Other than Remus’s wandering hand, the only parts of them that were touching with their lips.

One of them whimpered, but she could not tell who it was.

It wasn’t a passionate kiss by any definition. Instead it was tender, soft and full of more love than she could ever remember seeing in any other couple she had caught kissing in various corners of the castle.

She felt like an intruder, but James had shut the door behind them and she knew that unless she chose to reveal her presence she was effectively trapped.

She just hoped that all they were going to do was kiss.

Oh, she knew that a number of students didn’t choose to wait until they left school before taking things to another level with their respective partners. She didn’t encourage it, but nor did she actively hunt down those she suspected were doing so. She supposed that at least with these two boys she wouldn’t have to risk one of them arriving in her office wailing that they were late.

While she had been lost in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed that the two boys were no longer kissing, at least not until Sirius spoke.

“What if one of them comes back early?” he said. “What if they catch us?”

Remus sighed impatiently. “What if they do?” he countered. “We’re going to have to tell them sooner or later.”

Minerva looked at Sirius who remained silent.

“It’s been nearly two years,” Remus snapped. “Quite frankly I’m surprised they’ve not noticed already.”

“Well, they’re probably not expecting to see their best mates snogging,” Sirius snapped back.

“I don’t see why we can’t just tell them,” Remus said as he stood up from the bed and began to pace. “What’s going to happen when we leave school? Have you thought about that?”

“Of course I have.”

“And?”

“And what? We’ll carry on like we always have done.”

“You don’t think maybe I’ll want to introduce you to my parents some day?” Remus asked.

“I’ve already met your parents,” Sirius pointed out. “Several times.”

“You know what I mean. I want to tell people that you’re my boyfriend, that we’re together. I don’t like lying to everyone like this.”

“We’re not lying to them.”

“Aren’t we?” Remus asked, and Minerva could hear the sarcasm in his tone. “And when James and Peter come back and ask what we’ve been doing all morning, what are you going to say to them?”

“Er…”

“Studying?” Remus suggested. “Searching for presents? Reading? Or are you going to admit that we’ve been snogging and feeling each other up while they’ve been out of the way?”

“That’s not fair,” Sirius shouted.

“What’s going to happen when we leave school?” Remus repeated quietly. “I need to know.”

“You can move into my flat with me and we’ll be fine.”

“You only have one bedroom,” Remus pointed out. “What are you going to tell James and Peter about the sleeping arrangements?”

“We’ll say you’re kipping on the sofa or something.”

“Permanently?” Remus asked with a laugh. “They might buy that for a few weeks, while I’m looking for my own place and finding a job, but not forever.”

“You have no idea how difficult this is for me,” Sirius argued. “You’ve got no clue at all.”

Remus looked taken aback. “You’re right,” he finally whispered. “I don’t have a clue how hard this is for you, or about a lot of things.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have no idea what I am to you,” Remus replied in a tired voice.

“You’re my boyfriend,” Sirius replied in a confused voice.

“Am I?” Remus asked. “Because when you won’t tell your friends about us, won’t let me tell my parents, and don’t seem to want to do anything that risks anyone finding out what we do together… well, I’m sorry Sirius, but I don’t feel like your boyfriend. I feel like I’m some dirty little secret that you’re too ashamed to reveal. And I’m tired of it.”

Minerva cringed in sympathy as Remus walked out of the door, closing it behind him with a bang.

Sirius was looking at the door with a strange expression on his face. “Have I just been dumped?” he said to himself, and Minerva watched as he reached up to brush what looked suspiciously like a tear from his face.

Minerva wasn’t sure herself, but one thing she did know was that she had finally figured out what it was that Sirius wanted for Christmas.

Of course, figuring out what it was that Sirius wanted and needed for Christmas was one thing, getting it for him was another matter entirely.

“Courage,” Minerva mumbled to herself as she idly stirred her tea. “He just needs to rediscover his courage. But how?”

She considered briefly how James and Peter would react to the idea of their two best friends in a romantic relationship together. She couldn’t really see either of them reacting all that badly, but it was obvious that Sirius was worried that that would be the case. What she had to do was find a way to sort out what had gone wrong between Sirius and Remus.

In her more sane moments she wondered why she was actually planning on interfering. All she really had to do was buy Sirius a present, a book on Quidditch would no doubt be sufficient, or maybe a box of sweets from Honeydukes, always a popular choice.

Instead she was spending every spare minute she had trying to figure out how to fix the broken relationship between the two teenage boys.

She knew it wasn’t necessary, and probably wouldn’t be approved of if anyone knew what she was contemplating doing, but now that the idea had popped into her head she simply couldn’t get rid of it.

Sirius was not going to have a happy Christmas without making up with Remus, that much was obvious to anyone who had seen how miserable the two of them had been for the last few days. Minerva knew that only she and the two boys knew the reason for their argument, and since neither of them seemed to be doing anything to fix it, it was clearly up to her to set matters to rights.

“So, Padfoot, what have you do to upset Moony now?” James asked, in a voice that carried the entire length of the dinner table.

“Nothing,” Sirius mumbled around a mouthful of potatoes.

“You must have done something,” James argued. “You’ve barely spoken all week.”

“We’ve been busy,” replied Sirius, and even Minerva could see that he was avoiding his best friend’s gaze.

“Yeah, right,” James muttered. “Busy avoiding each other, and sniping at each other when you do wind up in the same room together. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Minerva wondered herself just how much James had noticed during his time sharing a dormitory with the other boys. He was as self obsessed as any teenage boy, but surely he had at least some inkling of what had been happening between his friends?

“Remus?” James tried next, when it was clear he was getting nothing out of Sirius. “You want to enlighten me?”

“Not really,” Remus replied brightly. “Can you pass the gravy?”

James muttered something very uncomplimentary under his breath, earning himself a reprimand from Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to him.

James scowled across the table at Remus, before turning his glare on Sirius. “If you two could just see what you look like. You’re like an old married couple or something.”

Remus flushed and ducked his head, while Sirius made a great show of gazing up at the enchanted ceiling, allegedly trying to spot his namesake despite the overcast sky.

Minerva shook her head. How could James not see it? It was so obvious. At least to those who already knew, she amended to herself.

Maybe that was the answer, she contemplated. Sirius was worried about what James and Peter would say when they found out about their relationship, and if they knew then the problem would disappear.

Perhaps she could call them all into her office and get everything out in the open then?

Then again, perhaps that wasn’t the best way of handling things. It would no doubt embarrass everyone concerned and there was no guarantee that it would do any good. As much as she wanted to help, she had a feeling that her presence would be more of a hindrance.

No, this was something that required tact and subtlety. She had to find a way to help without any of them knowing. She just had no idea how.

Two days later and Minerva McGonagall was running out of ideas.

Remus, always one of her favourites, was in a perpetual state of utter misery, and Sirius was just as bad. All four boys were snapping and snarling at each other every time she saw them.

She was actually missing their pranks, and that would never do at all.

She was spending more of her time prowling the school in her cat form as she tried to come up with an idea to set things right. She was on one of these walks near the Divination Tower when she ran across Sirius himself. He was sitting in one of the alcoves listening to one of the portrait occupants on the other side of the hall.

“You’re probably asking the wrong person,” the witch in the painting commented. “I had six husbands and none of them made me happy. Good riddance to the lot of them.”

Minerva ducked behind a tapestry to listen to the conversation.

“The witch with the runny nose, down near the kitchens, she said she thought I should just snog him at the dinner table,” Sirius replied.

“What does she know?” the witch replied. “No sense of propriety at all, that one.”

Minerva had to agree with her on this one. Not that she thought her advice was any better, but kissing another boy at the dinner table was probably not the best of ideas.

What Sirius needed was some support and sensible advice, something he was not likely to get from the portraits of Hogwarts.

After listening a little longer, she turned around and went back to her chambers, resolved as to what to do.

The seating arrangements at the dinner table made it clear to everyone that things were still not as they should be between the marauders. That Sirius had chosen to sit at the opposite end of the table to his friends was a big clue, and that he was seated next to Severus Snape was an even bigger one.

“The presents will be handed out after we’ve finished eating,” Dumbledore explained, and he pointed behind him towards the Christmas tree that stood tall over the small pile of parcels.

Minerva smiled as everyone dove on the food, eager to get to the presents.

“When we’ve all finished,” Dumbledore clarified, before taking a leisurely sip of soup from the bowl in front of him.

Minerva could see that Sirius was picking at his food, barely even touching each course before pushing it aside. She would make sure that she sent the house elves up to him with something else later on that evening.

Finally, the time came to hand out the presents, with Dumbledore doing the honours.

She could see her own present for Sirius near the back, almost unnoticeable behind the large birdcage shaped present for Lily Evans.

James Potter got called up for his gift first, and he drew out the opening of it to ensure that he was the centre of attention for as long as possible. At least until Remus Lupin called out for him to get on with it or else.

Minerva’s own gift was a lovely new tartan scarf, though she had no idea who it was from. She made sure that everyone present knew how much she liked it and how much she appreciated it.

She wasn’t sure whether it was by intention or not that Sirius’s gift was the last one to be handed out. She suspected that it was merely a coincidence and caused by it being so much smaller than the others. After all, a roll of sealed parchment didn’t take up much room.

“What is it?” Peter Pettigrew called out as Sirius gingerly broke the seal and unrolled the parchment.

“It’s a letter,” Sirius replied, his eyes quickly scanning the contents.

“Well, what does it say?” Peter pressed him. “Come on, tell us!”

Minerva watched as Sirius shook his head silently and continued to read. She knew that there was nothing in her letter that could out him to his friends, but until he read it all, she knew that he would not realise this. She hoped that she had got her point across to him.

Dear Sirius

I have seen many friendships formed in the time I have been at Hogwarts. I have seen children who have been lifelong enemies take the first steps towards friendship, and lifelong friends drift apart as they grow older. But the strongest of friendships I only recently realised was that of you and your own friends.

Prejudices could have torn apart you and the rest of the Marauders, but each of you has made sure that it never did.

You all have more courage than is normally considered healthy, something I suspect you may have forgotten recently.

Your friends could have turned from you when they found out who your family were, but they didn’t.

You could have turned from any of your friends at any time after discovering something that most people would not accept, but you didn’t.

Your own fears are stopping you from giving your friends the credit that they deserve, and that they have earned. You do them a disservice by failing to trust them.

You are also tearing apart the strongest friendships I have ever witnessed.

You’re a Gryffindor, Sirius Black, and my Christmas gift to you is a reminder that you have the courage to do what you must.

Do not let the one you love get away because of a little thing like fear.

Merry Christmas from your Secret Santa

Minerva shifted in her seat as she watched Sirius read the letter silently. She wondered if he was disappointed with her gift, and for a brief moment she wished she had made that last minute trip to Honeydukes.

Then she saw him look across the table at Remus and a small smile settled on his lips.

Remus smiled back at him, and she could tell that they were going to be all right. Sirius had found his courage.

Minerva walked along by the lake on the frosty January morning. She didn’t see the Marauders until she was nearly upon them.

They were emerging from the trees, clearly having been up to some sort of mischief. She knew that if she questioned them, she would discover that it was something that she should no doubt be handing out detentions for.

Then she saw something that made her smile widen. It was such a small thing, inconsequential really, but wonderful nonetheless.

“You’d better hurry if you want to get any bacon,” she advised them, nodding towards the castle.

The boys looked at her in surprise, but hurried to do her bidding. At least James and Peter did.

Sirius stood rooted to the ground, and Remus was forced to remain beside him due to the fact they were holding hands.

“Yes, Mr Black?” Minerva asked.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Sirius mumbled in embarrassment.

“For what?” she replied, feigning ignorance. Surely he had no guessed she was the one who had written the letter?

Sirius grinned at her. “For helping me find my courage,” he said. “If you didn’t want me to know it was you, you should have disguised your handwriting.”

Minerva chuckled and waved away his thanks. “Just don’t lose it again,” she advised him with a smile.

Sirius shook his head. “I won’t,” he promised, before he too turned back towards the castle, tugging a bemused Remus along with him.

Minerva could see that James and Peter were waiting at the doors.

“Come on you gits!” James called loudly. “The food will be gone if you don’t get a move on.”

Sirius and Remus quickened their paces and ran to join their friends.

Minerva watched as the Marauders walked into the castle and out of her sight. Their friendship was back on track. Sirius’s relationship with Remus was repaired.

Then there came the sound of an angry and wild animal coming her way from the Forbidden Forest. An animal that had clearly been agitated by the Marauders.

“Well, the peace was nice while it lasted,” Minerva said as she pulled out her wand and waited for whatever it was to appear.

The Marauders were back, and all was well with the world.