Rebellion of the Teachers
Chapter 33: Rebellion of the Teachers
December 13, 1993
"This is going brilliantly," sighed Fred, leaning back in his chair.
"I know! Have you seen the teachers' looks when we're behaving like such stellar students and everyone else is causing havoc?" asked George, grinning. "I'm so proud."
"This was the best idea we've ever come up with!" exclaimed Fred. "I swear, these teachers will pee in their pants."
George laughed. "Most pranks have been done already."
"Yep. Tomorrow or the day after, we can announce the winner." Fred grinned. "I can't wait."
"Who d'ya think the winner will be?" George inquired.
"I don't know, and I don't want to say the names," murmured Fred, shuddering. "Who comes up with these names?!"
"The Popping Apples," agreed George, rolling his eyes. "I mean, what's happening?"
"Who knows," muttered Fred. "I don't care, though, it's honestly worth it."
George grinned again. "Yeah. Everywhere we go, we're being congratulated!"
"I know, we're heroes!"
"We always have been."
"Nah, we've always been the bad guys," Fred disagreed. "Either way, this is the best thing Hogwarts has seen in ages."
"Couldn't agree with you more."
"We're going to start by scrubbing the entire room, no magic," McGonagall ordered. Honestly, the room was spick-and-span with all the detentions she'd given out already, but Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Dean Thomas didn't need to know that. "And you are forbidden from talking to each other. Mr. Thomas, you will be on the right. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, on the left." She knew the two of them weren't on great terms, what with all the Harry Potter stuff, and so she was making their life… miserable. As a teacher, she wasn't supposed to do that, but the "Meow" definitely called for it.
"Yes, Professor," the three of them chorused.
McGonagall rolled her eyes and stormed away into her office. These kids were really getting on her nerves.
"Looks like Granger is finally breaking some rules," she heard Draco drawl. "Did your mom send you a Howler? Oops, I forgot. She's a Muggle."
"You're darn right she is," snapped back Hermione. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but sneaking around after curfew under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, acting against Professor McGonagall's orders," - oh, so they were acting against her orders now? - "in our first year and trying to find the Sorcerer's Stone, all these trips Ron, Harry, and I do, I think that counts as rule breaking, Malfoy."
McGonagall smiled wickedly to herself. This sure was going to be fun.
"Can we just hex them?" moaned Aurora Sinistra.
"Honestly, yeah, can we?" asked Sprout.
A few of the teachers were in an informal meeting, completely unprofessional and secret, and they were discussing how to punish the students. But some punishments might've been… harsh.
"It's not that bad, is it?" asked Charity, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's kind of funny. And with-"
"-all this Sirius Black stuff going on, we really need some fun," finished Snape sourly. "We know."
"It's actually not that funny," Flitwick seconded. "They need to be able to learn."
"So why can't we hex them?" Sinistra pleaded.
"Exactly!" cried Sprout.
Remus spoke up. "That might be a little harsh."
"Yeah, teachers can't hex them students," Hagrid put in.
"Albus would kill us - he finds it funny," grumbled McGonagall. "I make their detentions miserable, though."
"Can we bring in their personal lives into this?" asked Flitwick in his squeaky voice.
"Ooh, I like it!" exclaimed McGonagall.
Hagrid rubbed his hands together. "Perfect."
"Very genius," Snape said dryly.
"I still say we hex them," muttered Aurora under her breath.
"Me too!" cried Sprout.
Liana was flopped on the couch, reading a book. She was wearing a light pink tank top and denim shorts, since it was nighttime and she didn't have to be wearing robes. As she was flipping the page, her finger cut across the page, and a trickle of blood oozed down her finger. Oh, great.
"Liana," said a cold voice.
She turned around and saw Sia standing there, her nose wrinkled and face set in concentration.
"What?" she snapped.
Sia surged backwards, her eyes widening with fear. "Your… Your mom is outside. She wants to talk to you."
"Why are you telling me?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Sia closed her eyes. "I really shouldn't be arguing with you-"
"Nothing's ever stopped you before," pointed out Liana. "So what's the big idea?"
She shook her head, taking a step backwards. "Just don't come any closer." And Sia turned away, shivering as she left the Common Room.
"Weirdo," muttered Liana, putting a bookmark on her page and going out to meet her mom.
"Hi, Liana," said her mom warmly.
"What do you want?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "I came to ask you which of your friends you'd like to invite to the party."
"The…" Oh, right. Every year on Christmas, her parents hosted this large party. Winter party, full with lights and decorations and treats. "Kylie and Candice," she said immediately.
"Sure thing." Her mom pushed back her red hair. "Anyone else? Any boys in your House you're befriending?"
Liana frowned. She had a good point - she hadn't talked to any of the boys in her year. Yet. "Nope." Then she looked up. "Hey, could you invite Draco?"
"I'd love to," her mom said, and Liana could see that it was genuine. "But unfortunately, your dad wouldn't like it. And neither would Harry."
"You can tell Harry to shove his face up a-"
"We try to avoid controversy in our parties," Lily continued as if Liana hadn't spoken. "Like… Severus."
"Oh, Merlin." Liana rolled her eyes. "Don't get all gooey."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, but I'll make a compromise. We don't want James to blow up in front of the crowd…"
"Yeah, your reputation," grumbled Liana.
"But... I guess, we can invite the Malfoys for like, tea, the day after. Would you like that?"
The prospect of Harry and Draco in the same house for a polite chat with tea was highly amusing. A laugh formed on her lips. "Sure, Mum, I'd like that."
"O-OKay. All right, if there's anybody else you'd like…"
"I'll tell you," Liana assured.
"Perfect. I'll see you, then."
"Yep," answered Liana in a bored voice.
She couldn't wait for the tea party.
It was going to be madness.
Ginny could do it.
"You can do it," she told herself quietly.
She was going to do the biggest thing of her life, the scariest, the largest, the grandest, the most looming, the one that put terror in her mind. She had backed out of it seven times, and now she had finally decided to do it. She could do it. She'd rehearsed it over a hundred times, practiced it, tested it out on Ron, Fred, George, Luna, and even Percy. All of them had told her that she'd do great. She had owled her mom and dad about it, and they'd given her essays full of tips.
She still wasn't feeling confident about it, though.
She took a deep breath and marched directly up to Harry. "Harry?" she asked.
He turned around, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, Ginny. What's up?"
Ginny prepared herself. "You left your Transfiguration essay in Professor McGonagall's room."
"Oh, thanks." Harry took the parchment from her. "Anything else?"
"No."
Ginny turned and walked away swiftly.
She had done it!
Remus took a deep breath and pulled up a magazine and a cup of hot tea. He sipped, frequently checking back at the sky and waiting for the moon to shine. Ten more minutes… nine more minutes… eight more minutes… seven more minutes… six more minutes… five more minutes… four… three… two… one…
The moon shone out from behind the clouds, and Remus hurled his cup away from him. It landed with a plop! into the sink.
Remus felt a shudder rip through his body, a roll ripple down his chest. His neck arched out, veins popping as his neck stretched, the pain of the transformation hitting him. Fur started to sprout on his body, and he was officially a werewolf.
Each transformation, he had to focus on a thought that kept him sane. Sometimes it was James, sometimes it was his mother, sometimes it was his father, but today, the woman of his life took over his brain as he curled up into a ball, remembering who he was. His identity.
Nymphadora Tonks.
Tonks was huddled in a large brown coat, studying.
Remus couldn't be there since he was at his transformation, but she knew how much he had wanted to be there.
She was flipping through a case study, and she was so stressed. Her exams would define everything, whether she'd become an Auror like James and Kingsley or go back home and have to find a new job. Or if she'd have to spend three more years in training.
"Dark night sky…" she murmured, underlining the lines. "Hooting… rustle in the trees… What conclusion would I come up with?" She bit on the back of her quill, frowning in concentration. "Someone's hiding in there, but since the sources led to Vientiane, I think this is the bandit from the other case." She scratched in, pulling up her reference books. "That makes sense…"
She picked up the next file and read through it multiple times before quickly scribbling in her answers.
Merlin, was she nervous for this examination.
Lily ran a hand through her red hair, straightening the papers in front of her. The door creaked open, and Jonathan walked inside, hands in his pockets. "Hey."
"Hi, Jonathan," greeted Lily. "How are you doing?'
"Good," he mumbled.
"Yeah? Nice weather, with all the snow, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Did you participate in that large snowball fight?" she asked, engaging him in conversation.
"Yeah."
"How was it? I heard the Giant Squid came."
"Yeah. I don't believe it was him, though."
"Oh?" Lily stacked her papers on her desk and looked at him. "Fun."
He shrugged. "I guess so."
"All right, so are you ready?"
"Yeah."
Kids were difficult. Lily showed him a rock with a rune on it. "Let's start with the basics. This one is…"
"I don't know," he admitted. "Sheep?"
Impatience flooded through her, as she'd said this over ten times. She grit her teeth and waited for the impatience to vanish. "Nope. It's cattle. Remember, sheep doesn't have this line. It's a tricky one."
"No it's not. I'm dumb."
Lily shook her head. "You're not. Sheep just doesn't have this line. It's three lines. Cattle is four. Like, diagonally." She traced the line with her finger.
"Oh." He clearly didn't get it.
She tossed him a pebble. "This might work. Just draw the sheep shape on this with a quill. Without ink."
He pulled out a quill and scratched in the rune. "This one?"
"Yep. Good job."
Jonathan smiled. "Great."
Lily mentally sighed, feeling relieved. Maybe she would be able to make it up to Jonathan.
McGonagall warily watched the Great Hall for another prank.
Here it was.
Harry jumped onto the table and did a break dance.
A break dance!
She watched as he did a flip, landing backwards onto the table, his hands tightly gripped. His face was white, like it was the most difficult thing he'd ever done. He did another flip, landing on one hand, like a one-handed handstand.
"MR. POTT-" she started to scream, but Dumbledore waved his hand, his eyes intently on Harry. She cursed, grit her teeth, and kept quiet.
The students were applauding, cheering, yelling, and clapping. The other teachers weren't as thrilled as Dumbledore or the students were; they were furious and were gripping their armrests as Harry finished his break dance, slowly sitting back in his chair.
Silence.
Then the students burst into applause and cheers.
"WOO!"
"GO HARRY!"
"GREAT JOB, MATE!"
"YES!"
"ONCE MORE, ONCE MORE!"
"DO IT AGAIN!"
"BRAVO!"
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "This is not remotely funny," she hissed.
"GO, HARRY, WOOP!"
"WOOP!" echoed the others.
"WOOP!"
"WOOP!"
"SHUT IT!" yelled McGonagall, unable to take it any longer.
The students fell silent.
"Go Harry!" squeaked Neville.
Madam Hooch was teaching a flying lesson. "So everyone take a broom from the broomshed. Five minutes I want everyone here."
Naturally, as soon as they unlocked the broomshed, there were screams.
Lots of them.
"IT'S PINK!"
"What?" snapped Hooch, storming inside the broomshed. Sure enough, the brooms were all painted a bright, blaring shade of hot pink. The paint apparently hadn't dried off yet, because the few kids who had dared to put their hands on the broomstick were jumping around the place, waving their arms and trying to get the broomsticks off them, as the paint must've stuck.
"We can't sit on this," complained a boy.
"Who did this?" demanded Madam Hooch. "I will hex everyone until we figure out!"
"You can't do that!"
"That's against the law!"
"What?"
"I'll speak to my father about thi-"
"No need, no need," chuckled a boy, Jacques, stepping forward and matching her gaze, though he was way shorter. "I did it. I confess." He bopped his shoulders up and down, grinning like a doofus.
"Two months of detention!" she roared. "Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen!"
"There are only twelve months in a year."
She bared her teeth at him, feeling like a dragon. "You'll have over a year of detentions."
He shrugged. "If only Dumbledore would let you. That's the thing, y'know?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.
She growled.
"Ms. Wang, if you would answer the question," McGonagall said. Mei had been quite cooperative throughout the entire pranking business. She'd never done much wrong.
"Mnkra wa."
"Excuse me?"
"Ogh too laba."
"What?" McGonagall asked.
"Humpa tumpa moka ka."
She blinked, and turned to another student. "Miss Ivanov, please."
Svetlana sighed, flipping her blonde hair. "Lompa ha moonta yumpu."
"Is this a joke?"
"Artompo," replied Svetlana.
"Talk in English," she demanded, annoyed.
"Tolo mpa ka, tho hump hujo lolo tu?"
"Enough!" she roared. "Answer the question properly or else."
No one said anything.
She sighed. "Thank you. Who wants to answer the question properly?"
Irwin raised his hand.
"Go ahead," she told him, relieved.
"Lo bino. Jojo soduwudaaa!"