"You're late, (Y/N)." Mcgonagall commented, taking in my flushed cheeks and windblown hair as I arrived at the classroom door.
I blushed, shifting the strap of the bag on my shoulder. "Sorry Professor."
She looked at me for a moment as if trying to work out why I looked so disgruntled before brushing away my apology, deciding it wasn't worth her time. "It's alright. Take a seat."
I did as she said and made my way to the back of the classroom where the Marauders, Lily and Marlene sat. Lily frowned as she saw the blush on my cheeks; it wasn't often I got embarrassed. "You alright?" she asked as I took a seat at the desk behind her, besides Sirius.
"Yeah. Just got stopped by Greenwood. He said my essay on the lunar cycle of Jupiter was 'unsatisfactory'."
They all groaned; everyone hated the new astronomy teacher, but for some reason he always appeared to have it out for me in particular.
"He's just a greasy-haired git, (Y/N). I bet he'll be gone soon- even old McGonny can't stand him." James stated. "Besides, I bet your essay was better than all of ours."
I rolled my eyes, but his comment had made me smile. "You know that's not true James."
"Well, barr Remus, maybe." Peter replied with a grin. "He knows all about the lunar cycles."
I could have throttled him, but settled with throwing him a death glare, seeing out of the corner of my eye that Sirius was doing the same. When the two of us had officially become a couple at the start of last year, he'd enlightened me to Remus's 'furry little problem'. Not that I hadn't had my suspicions before- the boys were far more conspicuous than they thought they were.
McGonagall snapped at us to focus, and the others turned back around to face the front. She was taking over our DADA classes after the most recent teacher had taken a leave of absence- this one had only lasted two months, six months less than the teacher before that.
"James is right, you know." Sirius muttered lowly, taking my hand under the desk. His breath brushed my ear and I felt my heart rate pick up, sending tingles down my spine. "He's a right nob, that Greenwood." His eyes didn't leave my face; how was it he always knew when something had got to me?
"I know." I replied with a sigh. "I just hate how he gets under my skin. I always end up feeling mad or stupid after a five minute conversation with him."
Sirius squeezed my hand. "You are far from stupid." he promised, before his face spread into a smirk. "Besides, plans are already being put in place to stop the prick's reign of terror."
I narrowed my eyes. "Sirius..."
"Shh, (Y/N)!" Mcgonagall snapped. I tore my eyes away from my conniving boyfriend and back to the front.
McGonagall trained her beady eyes on me. "As I was saying... today we will be practicing patronus charms. Now after all the fuss with Mrs Peter's swift departure, I thought it was about time you got a practical lesson." She looked deliberately at Sirius and James. "Don't make me regret it."
The two boys smirked. "Cross my heart, Professor." James replied, gracing her with his boyish grin. "We'll be on our best behaviour."
"I should hope so." Her expression was stern, but her eyes twinkled; everyone knew she had a soft spot for the troublemaking boys. "Now, stand up and move the tables to the sides of the room, and we shall begin."
Twenty minutes later, we were well underway. James was the only one to have summoned a corporeal patronus, much to Lily's irritation; on his fifth try, Prongs, (surprise, surprise), had exploded from the tip of his wand and galloped around the room, causing students to gasp at the beauty of the creature. James had simply smirked and patted the head of the stag, not in the least surprised by his patronus, whilst McGonagall congratulated him; to produce a patronus so quickly was remarkable for a sixth year student. Sirius, Remus and I had all produced wisps of smoke, but we were nowhere near James's level, and Marlene and Lily were struggling to make anything appear.
