Beta: Cloudy

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Returning from Hogsmeade was done quickly and quietly. The twins were grinning ear to ear and in such jolly moods. I couldn't blame them. Not only had Sirius taken them aside to privately discuss what it meant to be a marauder, but he had given them a fair bit of gifts. At first the twins had been reluctant to accept some of them—especially the bag of galleons—but Sirius had insisted.

"You need to start somewhere. We had plenty between all of us, but you've only got yourselves!" Sirius had argued. "Hogwarts needs marauders. Make sure you'll set up for the next generation, too."

They eventually agreed.

The one item that made them really happy was a book. It, sadly, wasn't my occlumency book—though they did thank me for that—but rather a book on animagus training. The same one Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus had used.

Fred and George were positively giddy.

The three of us reached Hogwarts without fuss and went our separate ways. I nearly made it back to the dungeons without issue when I ran into a sweet old schemer.

"Good day, Miss Potter," Professor Dumbledore cheerfully greeted me. He looked exceptionally fashionable in his purple star-printed robes and matching hat. "Thank you ever so kindly for the gifts."

"One can never have enough socks. Especially thick woolen ones," I said with a sly smile.

"I could not agree more. People have usually insisted on giving me books. The socks are greatly appreciated."

"I'll make sure to send you more next year along with a matching hat," I promised him. "I'm thinking fox-themed."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled warmly. "I will look forward to them. I do hope you enjoyed seeing your family."

He definitely caught me sneaking out.

"Yep. Thanks for not giving me detention," I chirped.

"It's only fair. You gave me such nice socks."

I laughed.

I did have one more stop to make before returning to my dorms.

I did not know if Professor Snape stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays. I did not feel it would be appropriate to ask such a question, yet. He treated me better than my twin, but closer to indifference when compared to the other snakes. If I answered a question correctly in class it was treated as an expectation, not a praise.

It... did not sit well with me. That type of treatment reminded me of my mother from my past life. I was torn between two ways of dealing with it.

The first option that came to mind would be to try and please him—to go out of my way to earn brownies points. It was something I had done in my past life, and it did absolutely nothing for me. If anything, it made it worse because going above and beyond became the expectation. I was continuously pushed to meet a rising bar, and when I failed it... it did not work out well.

The second option would be to ignore the professor entirely and play a more passive role in class. The second option was equally unappealing because I needed to excel in potions. I had a fair bit of knowledge from self-study and the tutoring from Remus, but Snape was a proper potions master.

There were things that could not be taught in a book—like how to adjust a potion on the fly, how to predict when one has turned volatile, and so on. Such things came with experience. Experience which I lacked, and Professor Snape had plenty to spare.

I needed him to feel comfortable enough to answer more advanced questions on potions, yet I felt sick to my stomach going out of my way to please him.

I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Snape was someone I liked well enough, which was why I could even consider the first option, but the blatant reminder of how I behaved in my past life deeply unsettled me. All semester I struggled with what to do, and at Christmas I made up my mind.

Professor Snape was not my mother.

Lily was my mom.

Professor Snape was a completely different person. If I could offer faith in Fenrir Greyback then surely I could do the very same to Professor Snape—no—surely I would do the same to Professor Snape.

So I entered his potions classroom—I had to use Alohamora, of course—and I placed neatly wrapped Christmas present on his desk along with a sincere thank you for being my potions professor.

I had no way of knowing if it would be thrown immediately in the trash, or accepted, but at least I took the first step in trying.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Once everyone returned from Christmas break things slipped back into a comfortable routine.

Well.

Some upper-years had renewed courage after spending time at home. They tried to usurp me.

I had to break their legs and sit on them until they begged mercy.  Yes, it was extreme, but they did try to legitimately kill me by attempting to throw me down the entire flight of moving staircases.

Third time, I had warned them, and I would snap their wands. That made them start to cry hysterically because they knew I would absolutely do that.

On a lovely morning I lazily trotted behind Hermione and Theodore, watching as the two had an out-breath discussion on Western v Eastern dueling. Theodore's eyes were becoming increasingly shiny as Hermione skillfully rebuked some of his arguments. I couldn't hear their entire conversation, but it sounded like Theodore was playing devil's advocate and Hermione was supporting how he truly felt.

Oh my God, I think he's falling for her, I thought as I watched Theodore gasping with glee as Hermione gestured something with her hands. Just kidding. Puberty hasn't hit any one of these babehs yet. But I think he might come to see her as a friend.

Huge yay for me. Converting the child of Death Eaters to being Pro Hermione was fantastic.

Behind me, I could hear Harry and Draco quietly arguing over Quidditch. There wasn't any heat behind it—they both supported the same Quidditch team—but I guess it was something to do with how the latest referee had disappeared during a match and reappeared in the Sahara Desert. They were discussing the benefits of making referees disappear, and whether it was worth the trouble.

Oh, my sweet Harry. Please don't kidnap those poor referees.

To my right was an extremely determined and focused Daphne Greengrass. She had even pulled her shiny strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail. She hated ponytails, but she was so dead set on kicking Theodore's ass that she was willing to make that sacrifice.

Neville was on my left, the honeypie was bright-eyed and happy. Consistent exercise and friends had already done wonders for the baby boy.

Further behind Draco and Harry were Tracey and Pansy who were encouraging Millicent. Lagging the furthest behind was Vincent and Gregory who were putting in an honest effort. Blaise was at the end, barely putting in any effort.

That's right.

I had them all running in the Room of Requirement. The Room had transformed into a black-stoned gym with a marked track. It was pretty friggin huge, certainly enough that one lap around it had most of us out of breath.

Draco and Theodore had been extra braggy about the runs after the first month. The first month they were miserable, a lot like Neville was at the start. Being pampered Death Eater babies for so long they were completely unused to the physical exertion.

They hated it.

I could see it in their eyes that they actively resented me when I woke them up and dragged them out to run.

Only for the first month, though. When they got used to it, it no longer felt like such a chore. The first time they finished the run without trembling legs or gasps of air, they felt a triumph unlike anything before.

They had never had a significant hurdle to cross.

I gave them one.

They conquered it.

Completing a goal that started out painful and difficult—there simply wasn't a high like it. They came back on their own, victorious grins on their faces.

Exercising had proven time and time again to improve one's overall mood. They had gotten past the hardest part, and now they were reaping in the dopamine and endorphin benefits. By Christmas, they were bragging about how great they felt—and indeed, anyone could see that they looked better, too.

Theodore Nott had been a reedy boy, but after two months of dedicated running every day he visibly changed to someone more toned. Not drastic, of course! But enough that when pointed out everyone could see. Malfoy was the same. Not as reedy as Theodore, but he was too soft.

Daphne and Pansy were the next to join.

Daphne wanted to quit halfway through but—

Theodore smirked, taunting her, "Shoulda known a girl like you couldn't handle it."

That lit a fire under her ass. Never doubt the power of petty and spite. I didn't need to be a legilimency master to read her thoughts of: I am going to KICK YOUR ASS THEODORE!

By the next week Vincent, Millicent, Tracey, and Gregory had tagged along.

And finally, Blaise Zabini who really, really hated running but didn't want to be the only Slytherin in his year group to not be a part of it. Peer pressure really did wonders.

'Course, that now meant that the snakes outnumbered the lions. Had the lions been led by someone other than my brother, that might have caused issues. It was unspoken that if anyone had issues with my twin, then they had issues with me.

Hermione—

Well.

Look, I was working with babeh Death Eaters. Per our House rule, insulting was toned back, and they were forbidden to mock someone using blood status. That being said, they still had such a superiority complex.

Blaise had an ego bigger than the sun. Daphne and Tracey made a face every time Hermione tried to speak with them. Pansy bit so hard on her bottom lip to keep from insulting Hermione that it bled. Vincent and Gregory straight-up walked away if she tried to speak to them.

The only ones who gave her the time of day were Draco—who I praised for being polite, which I think was why he kept being polite to her—Millicent, who was just an all-around nice girl—and Theodore who tried to talk to her about dueling at every opportunity.

Three outta nine was not too bad in my first year. Two outta nine if I counted sincerity. I didn't believe for a second that Draco thought of her as a friend—he would roll his eyes behind her back in class when she got a question right.

I would take what I could.

Hermione was a champ. Even though the other Slytherins hurt her in their rebuffs, she didn't take it out on them.

At the end of the run, I made it a point to pull her aside in a firm hug and tell her something to the effect of, "You're a brilliant witch. I'll make sure they see that eventually."

I loved to see her smile sweetly at me in return.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

From December rolled January, and then into February, and then it was past Easter and everyone was scrambling to deal with their upcoming exams. It was decided that a couple of hours before Roast Night began we would study with each other.

Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass had the prettiest notes. Both had color-coordinated everything. My notes were well written, but I was used to writing shorthand so only I could read them. Draco's face looked like he bit into a rotten lemon when he tried to read my notes.

"Is this a new language?" he asked me, then grimaced as he realized I might have been offended by it.

"Practically is," I snorted. "Sorry, I'm not used to sharing notes."

"It's fine. I have plenty to share," Daphne said with a saccharine smile as she pushed her notes closer to me. "Not to call your notes bad, but if you want to use mine—"

"Mine is written in thick ink. It'll be easier for you to read," Theodore said as he planted his notes right on top of Daphne's.

"She's not blind," Daphne hissed as she shoved his notes away.

I coughed. "I'm fine with my own notes. It's important that all Slytherins do well. We want to keep a hold of the House Cup, don't we?"

The first year babeh snakes nodded in agreement.

"Then let's—"

My charming Saturday afternoon was interrupted by a fidgeting third year Slytherin girl. "U-Um, Queen?"

"What?" I sighed.

"Harry Potter is outside. He needs to talk to you."

"Oh, God," I bemoaned. He wouldn't have come to me unless he was in trouble.

"Want me to take care of it?" Draco offered, jumping at the chance to try and grab the title of being my right hand.

"I can handle it," Pansy interjected.

"Both of you sit down and study," I said. "I'll be back."

I thanked the third year girl before I ducked out of the dungeons to find a nervous Harry. With a frown, I reached forward and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Hagrid's got a dragon," Harry whispered urgently to me. "It's hatching. Now. We've spent weeks trying to convince him to get rid of it but only now will he!"

"Okay..." I let out a slow breath. I pulled out the small notebook I kept in my robes. With my wand I wrote across it: Kreacher, meet us at Hogsmeade within an hour. Wait for my summon.

"Iris, rush this to Hedwig. Tell her it's an emergency," I hissed at her.

Iris slithered out of my robes and grabbed the piece of paper in her mouth. With a quick nod she darted off to the owerly, her pure white wings beating furiously to speed her on. I wasn't sure if Iris and Hedwig could directly communicate, but Hedwig was a smart girl. If Iris was delivering a note to her, I'm sure she could conclude there was an emergency.

"I'm going back in to grab the cloak of invisibility. You need to get Fred and George and we'll all meet at Hagrid's hut. Do not draw any more attention to yourself," I instructed.

Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Right. You know what you're doing."

"Always do." With a sigh I ducked back inside. I looked over at my study group and said, "Change of plans. I need to clean up a mess. Cover for me."

"No one will know you're gone," Daphne promised.

"Good."

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Cloak in hand, I met Harry, Fred, George, Neville, and Hermione at Hagrid's hut. I hadn't known that Harry had bonded with Hagrid—the two didn't meet prior to Hogwarts—but I was happy that friendship still happened. Hagrid was a gentle giant who deserved nothing but happiness and love. If I had more time I would have tried to befriend him, too.

Between grooming Slytherin, prepping Lunar's Orchid, and my studies (both academic and personal) I literally didn't have the time. I had also been hoping to cultivate more friendships, but again—no time.

Being a queen required a lot of multitasking.

At Hagrid's hut, Norbert was already hatched and Hagrid was tending to it.

"Hagrid, this is my sister Rosie," Harry introduced us. "She's here to help."

"Hello, Hagrid. I know you know you can't keep the dragon," I said, keeping my tone warm and soft. "Your hut is no place to raise her—er—him."

"I—I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

"That's fine. You know Sirius and Remus, right?" I said.

"Yeah," Hagrid answered with a nod.

"We're going to get this dragon to them. They can get it to a dragon reserve... like in Romania," I said, recalling that was where Norberta had been originally placed. "I've brought my cloak, we have a few hours before dinner. Fred, George, and I will escort the dragon to a meeting point."

"Paddy already knows?" Harry asked in surprise.

"He's good at thinking on his feet. Kreacher will meet us," I explained. "Harry, Hermione, Neville, I need you three to make it look like there was never a dragon here. We don't want Hagrid to get in trouble, right?"

"Right," Neville agreed.

"I'll leave you three to it. George, Fred, you guys up for another adventure?"

"Trolls first and now a dragon," George said with a grin.

"You really know how to show your friends a good time," Fred joked.

"Troll?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh. Please tell me you didn't go to the third corridor," Hermione moaned.

Fred, George, and I all innocently looked away and pretended we didn't hear that.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Getting Norbert(a) to Hogsmeade without getting caught was tense but uneventful. Fred and George were able to guide us to the secret passage without running into a teacher, and my invisibility cloak hid the sedated dragon perfectly (you didn't think I wouldn't sedate a baby dragon when sneaking it out, did you?).

Kreacher appeared in a snap when I called out to him. While he could appear at Hogwarts, I figured it best to make the trade outside it. I had a feeling if I didn't, we would get caught somehow. I would rather be caught sneaking out than smuggling a dragon. Better safe than sorry.

I explained the situation to Kreacher, instructing him to relay it perfectly to Sirius and Remus and assist them both in sneaking it to Romania.

"We'll write a letter to Charlie tonight," Fred added.

"He studies dragons in Romania," George explained.

"If Sirius and Remus can watch over it until Charlie's ready for it, everything will be okay," I said to Kreacher. "Got it?"

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher said, bobbing his head.

"Great. Thank you, Kreacher."

And that's how I handled the Norbert(a) situation.

Amazing what happens when competent adults step in.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

I let out a woeful sigh as I draped myself across the Slytherin common room couch. Another study group had finally come to an end. Being an adult didn't give me much more advantage in magical education other than the self-discipline to study. All the studies I had done prior to coming to Hogwarts directly related to my long-term plans.

I had to practice as much as the other students. I didn't have a wide variety of spells at my arsenal like I tried to let people think.

I simply mastered a select few.

"If I have to look at another transfiguration book for the rest of my life it'll be too soon," Draco sourly muttered. The pale boy was seated on the floor in front of the couch, his textbooks sprawled out among the coffee table for everyone to use. Vincent and Gregory sat beside him, with Daphne, Pansy, and Theodore opposite. Blaise would never sit on the floor, so the cutie patootie sprawled across one of the armchairs to study.

Millicent Bulstrode returned to our study group with an armful of goodies. I had told the location of the kitchens to all my Slytherin first years, so they could grab snacks whenever needed. Everyone my entire first-year snake babehs had joined in on morning runs they would need to eat more often to keep up their energy.

Tracey Davis pulled her long black hair up into a bun—very similar to my own, actually—and opened up the charms book. "We're almost done. Let's just get this hell over with."

"Do we really need to study more?" Blaise questioned, his dark eyes narrowed as he glared at the charms book.

"We're only as impressive as our weakest link," I told him. "Until everyone is able to get good scores, I will not be satisfied."

Vincent, Gregory, and Millicent lowered their gazes. I wouldn't call them out, but the three had the lowest academic grades. Their strengths simply didn't lie in paperwork. I understood that, and I wished there was an alternative solution. The way the society was set up, however, if they wanted to snatch decent jobs they needed to do well on their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. The best way to do that was to secure a firm foundation of the basics ASAP.

I had come to genuinely care for all my snakes and I wanted the best future for them. The three of them had no ambition or desire. To be frank, I really didn't know why they were put into Slytherin.

Until they had that drive I was going to push them. One day they'd find their passion, they just needed time. Meanwhile, I wanted to give them the best chance I could.

Which meant lots of group studying.

"Come on," Daphne said with a sigh. "Only charms is left. No one needs help with potions, right?"

Everyone shook their heads. Professor Snape made damn sure none of the Slytherins had any issues with potions. If he so much as thought a single one was dragging in lessons, he'd pull them aside after dinner and inflict such a scathing lecture it'd bring them to near tears. The Slytherin prefects were always offering to help tutor anyone lagging in potions.

"Y-Your majesty, your twin is outside again—"

"Oh my God if it's another dragon, I swear to—"

"Dragon?" echoed more than a few confused children.

I waved them off. "Another time for that story."

It, thankfully, was not a dragon. Harry wanted to borrow my notes—I had shown him how to read shorthand, so he knew—and use them to study. I obliged because I was a good sister and I wanted him to succeed. Not like I needed them when I had such a big study group.

One way or another, we'd get through those damn exams.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

Bonus scene:

It was a rare opportunity. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to act.

There, in the hallway ahead of me, Harry was chatting with Fred and George. There were no books in any of their hands, and no class was expecting them for a while.

I shoved my textbooks into Draco's arms, the poor boy sputtering in surprise. I turned on my heel to Harry and sprinted. I whipped out my wand and cast a quick spell to tie Fred's shoelaces together. Just as Fred noticed what I had done, I had jumped onto Harry's back. I swung out my legs as Harry reflexively began to piggy-back carry me.

"TWIN RACE: GO GO GO!"

Without really thinking, Harry began to run with me on him. I turned around to see the looks of the flabbergasted twins. I stuck out my tongue and taunted them, "Suckers!"

They gasped. George then picked up Fred, tossed him over his shoulder and started running to catch up.

"NOT TODAY, SNAKE!"

"FASTER HARRY, FASTER!"

"WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GO, ROSIE?!"

"JUST RUN, BROTHER, RUN!"

ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

See you next week!

Answer: Hermione and the twins would be fun.

Question: Which professor would you actually bond with the most? Which one would you wish bonded with you the most? All past/present/future professors are acceptable.

Reviews are love!