Jily oneshots

Excuses

by HecateA

"Homework?" Professor Babbity asked stopping at James' desk with his wrinkled hand stretched out and shaking.

James hadn't done it. He'd been busy trying to set fire to a chocolate frog, which was surprisingly time consuming.

"I don't have it sir."

"Well, as the master of excuses I expect your reason to be fairly good," Babbity said. "What was it this time, Potter? Owl ate it? Your colleague Mr Black set it on fire? Mr Lupin accidentally cast an invisibility charm on the finished product?"

"No sir, see, Peter and I were trying to get ahead in transfiguration and to our collective horror I accidentally used his wand instead of whine, thus my spell went wrong and turned him into a guinea pig."

The Gryffindors laughed and the Hufflepuffs looked genuinely worried like oh my God what do the Gryffindors do in that common room?

"Of course my priorities were sorting that out seeing as Peter is such a dear friend of mine and seeing Sirius make him do tricks for spare change was very distressing. It took an awful long time and I was just so tired, I decided not to send in a very quickly and badly done paper but to just not do it at all." James said nodding.

"I expect it tomorrow," Babbity said scribbling a word down and moving onto the next desk.

2

"Stop your shenanigans this instant Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall barked. Sirius hid behind her and James stood in front of her. McGonagall took the set of scales out of his hands and held it up unimpressed.

"Can you please explain, Mr Potter, why you are chasing Mr Black through the castle, trying to kill him with this?"

It's the cue we're supposed to give Moony so he knows it's safe to come out from the Room of requirement because we are for sure the only kids in school to know about this and we can't change that.

"Well, Professor," James said rationally. "He's my friend. I wouldn't want his end to be too painful, so that gave me very limited options."

3

"Mr Potter," Slughorn said. "What are you doing down here? It's rather late for you to be loitering around the dungeons, don't you find?"

"It is? What time is it, sir?" He asked. He heard Sirius huff a foot or so away, hidden under the invisibility cloak. He back up a little until he stepped on his friend's foot and he got hit in the back for it.

"Eleven thirty four at night, Mr Potter." Slughorn said.

"Goodness, is it? I was just cramming for Charms and I got so involved in my studies… with the O.W.L.S and everything, it's dreadful how we have them all at once... I didn't see the time go by. Do excuse me. But tell me sir, why are you still wandering the castle yourself?"

"Some unfinished work, Mr Potter."

James gasped.

"It's not more correction, is it? Sir, you aren't paid for that kind of overtime."

"No, I-" Slughorn stopped talking and cocked his head to the side as if a new thought had entered his mind. "I'm not, as a matter of fact."

James clucked his tongue. "It's horrible what kind of expectations people have on teachers."

"Well- well yes, I... I suppose it is." Slughorn said dreamily.

"You better get loads of presents from your students this Christmas. They should realize how lucky they are to have such a dedicated professor."