"Who the fuck are you?" said the boy.
"Who the fuck are you?" countered Faith.
"I asked first."
"And I asked second."
There was a tense silence. And thenㅡ "James! There's a girl in your living room!"
***
When Faith Potter gets expelled from Beauxbat...
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It turned out that they were in for a surprise.
"I am very disappointed in you five," said Professor McGonagall gravely, breathing sharply through her nose, her nostrils turning white from anger. "Never in my thirty years at Hogwarts have I ever seen such a disregard for the rules, nevertheless from students of my own house. I am at a loss for words." She peered at the five through lenses of dismay.
They weren't being skinned alive, just shredded through a whole life time's worth of lecturing and disappointment. Even though Faith didn't regret what they'd done last night, she couldn't help but feel they had done something very wrong; Professor McGonagall had a way of looking at you that made you feel very small in the sea of life that the Marauders and Faith found they wanted to bury themselves six feet under the Forbidden Forest. Faith resisted the urge to squirm as her gaze lingered on each of them. They stayed silent, looking miserably at the desks they sat before..
She continued. "You're very lucky it had been I who found you wandering around the halls like a bumbling band of baboons this early in the morning; had it been any other member of staff you would be in for far worse a punishment, dare I say expulsionㅡ" Remus blanched. Faith pushed down the urge to vomit at the thought of her mother finding out she'd almost been expelled again, and only two months in. Professor McGonagall waved a hand tiredly. "ㅡFrankly, I'm not sure how much I can protect you from the consequences. I'm more at a loss as to why you hadn't come to me in the first place for guidanceㅡ"
Heads snapped up at once, and Sirius spoke up. "Wait, guidance?" His brows were pinched together, "Aren't you mad at us?"
"No, Mister Black, I am not," she sighed, and Faith felt her shoulders sag in disbelief. "But don't relax just yet." Faith straightened her spine immediately, blushing furiously as her stern gaze landed on herself and Peter who'd done exactly that. "It doesn't negate that what you've done beneath our noses is absolute madness. Brave, but madness nonetheless. In fact, I'm incredibly pleased at the fact that you managed to transform successfully ㅡ however had I been there to assist you along the way we could have avoided this mess. I don't know what I was thinking turning a blind eye at those books Madam Pince brought to my attention, Mister Potterㅡ"
"Wait, you knew?"
"You're not as subtle as you'd think," she deadpanned, and James looked down sheepishly. "Did you really think I wouldn't catch on, what with your 'hypothetical' questions about Animagi over the years?" Professor McGonagall shot Sirius and James a dry look and it took everything in me to suppress the smirk that was tugging at my lips. "I'm surprised Mister Lupin only found out recently."
At being named, Remus jumped with a start, before awkwardly scratching his cheek. "I was... preoccupied." McGonagall gave him an understanding look.
It was a relief to know that they wouldn't be getting into so much trouble. If she knew beforehand and didn't take any action to stop them, didn't that technically mean she was complicit in their rule-breaking? Faith could already feel the knot of anxiety in her stomach loosen, and her tense shoulders relax slightly. She glanced at Peter and Remus beside her and shot them a small smile, holding on to their hands tightly hoping to ease their worries a little bit. Remus squeezed back, while Peter looked like he hadn't noticed at all. Though that may have been because he was holding her mutant hand...
Sirius rose a very uncharacteristic hand to gain the woman's attention. "So, um, forgive me for asking Professor, but if you're so fine with us being..." he waved his black tail as if that were enough of an explanation, "...why the lecture?"
"Because you broke at least fifty school rules! Not to mention one very big law!" she snipped exasperatedly.
"Not me!" Faith piped up, raising a furry mutant hand. "I'm a registered Animagus with the French Ministry, so I only broke the school rules," she grinned proudly.
Faith received a deadpan look in response. "That's not something you should be proud of, Miss Potter, considering your track record at Beauxbatons."
She waved a hand, shrugging. "Pish posh, Professor."
Professor McGonagall sighed, and she looked at her students with ㅡ dare Faith say ㅡ a fondness. "It's incredibly admirable that you children have taken it upon yourselves to aid Mister Lupin and support him, however that doesn't change the fact that should anyone find out that you will be in big trouble." The boys looked downcast and guilty.
McGonagall sniffed. "Well, you could at least try to chin up a little. I never said anyone had to find out."
The Head of House found herself being stared at in awe.
"Professor, are you being serious?" said James. Sirius opened his mouth and James shoved a fully formed hoof into his stomach until he had keeled over the desk. "Shut up, Sirius."
"I would like to think I am, Mister Potter," she cast an amused smile at Sirius wheezing, before her gaze turned stern in the blink of an eye. "Not many Wizards ㅡ or Witches ㅡ can successfully take on their Animagus forms as you have done on their first try. You're very lucky you came out of the transformation with minimal side-effects."
"I could kiss you right now, Professor," Sirius sighed dreamily. Faith rolled my eyes and leaned into Remus who sagged in relief at the light banter that had wiped out the tension in the room in an instant.
"I'd like to keep my job, thank you very much." While Faith snorted a laugh, Professor McGonagall ordered the five to stand before her in a line so she could fix their deformities. With a flick of her wand and a crack of bones, Faith's left arm was no longer the horrific orange-furred hybrid and her human arm returned in all its appendaged glory. James' arms also returned (and she shot him a look before he made another masturbatory comment in front of their Head of House), Sirius lost his tail much to his dismay, and Peter's ears and nose returned to normal.
As she kicked the bunch out of her classroom, she spoke her last words. "By the way, I expect all five of you here for detention everyday this week after dinner." And the door slammed shut before they could make even a sound of protest. They stared at the mahogany door in silence.
"Well. That was totally worth it," Faith quipped, stretching with a pleased grin.
Remus slumped against a wall and closed his eyes. "I think I'm going to pass out."
"Aw, Moony," Sirius slapped his shoulder comfortingly. "Why pass out when you can pass away?" In a second Sirius had the wind punched out of him by Remus. He wheezed, "Merlin, why is everyone attacking me today?"
"I haven't yet!" piped up Faith and made to skip towards him, but he had shuffled away while hunched over.
"Don't you dare, Potter."
[Written: 02/06/20]
[Edited: 29/06/20]
Let the general consensus be that their Patronus forms were what created the Marauders nicknames lol pls ignore my mistake! I hope you enjoyed this chapter my lovelies!
Before you leave, please take a few seconds to click the link in my bio, which will direct you to a site where there will be petitions to sign as well as links for donations regarding BLM. If you are unable to make donations, there is a Youtuber Zoe Amira who has an hour long video showcasing Black artists' works, and it is full of ads in which 100% of the proceeds will go to bailing innocent protestors as well as help families with funeral costs and advocacy. You can stream the video in the background if you want while you do work. Let's all do our part. We as humans have a role to play, and it is not silence. Stand with our black friends. Let their voices be heard.
