??????? ??? ??? ????? ???? | James Potter

After class, the gang slowly filtered out of Transfiguration, still chuckling over the mess they’d caused.

"You're so lucky she didn't make us redo the entire lesson," Sirius teased, throwing an arm over James' shoulder. "You know, considering the whole exploding teacup thing."

James rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Padfoot."

Celeste was still grumbling under her breath as she picked up the last of the broken teacup pieces from her desk. "I swear, one of these days, I’ll turn you into a toad, Potter."

Lily chuckled from across the room. "I think the class is better when you’re trying to blow things up, Celeste."

"Right, so maybe next time I'll just transfigure my textbooks into something more fun," Celeste said, giving her a cheeky grin.

Mary, who was packing up her things, shook her head. "You two are ridiculous."

James leaned toward Celeste, grinning. "I’m not ridiculous, am I?"

Celeste glanced up at him, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, you’re very ridiculous, but that’s why I like you."

"Thank Merlin for that," James said dramatically. "Because after this detention, I think I’ll need some good company."

McGonagall had told them to meet at 7:00 PM in the classroom. By the time evening rolled around, the entire group had gathered outside the door of the Transfiguration classroom.

Sirius flopped dramatically against the wall. "I can’t believe we’re here. Detention, with the head of house. This is not what I imagined my sixth year would be like."

"Well, you did get caught pranking with an exploding teacup," Remus replied, trying to stifle a grin.

Sirius shot him a look. "I’m a Marauder. It’s what I do." He turned to Celeste. "So, what are you going to do if we’re stuck cleaning up the entire classroom? No explosions this time, okay?"

Celeste smiled sweetly. "I’ll make sure the only thing that gets exploded is James’ ego."

"Oi!" James yelped, but before he could say anything else, the door to the classroom swung open.

McGonagall stood there, her glasses perched on her nose and her arms crossed. "Late, all of you. Inside, now."

The Marauders walked in, with Celeste and Lily bringing up the rear.

The classroom was eerily quiet, save for the scratching of quills on parchment. A long table had been set up, full of scrolls, books, and what appeared to be piles of dust. McGonagall didn’t waste any time.

"You’re here for disrupting my class. Therefore, you’ll spend the next two hours cleaning my classroom and sorting the stacks of books in the back." She pointed toward the shelves at the far end of the room, which were stacked with dusty, ancient-looking books. "They’ve been there for years. Do your best not to ruin anything."

The Marauders groaned in unison, but McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "I will be checking your progress at the end of the night. Do not think for one second you can slack off."

James, feeling bold, gave a cheeky grin. "Two hours of cleaning? That’s easy. We could finish in half that time."

McGonagall didn’t smile. "We’ll see, Mr. Potter. We’ll see."

She turned and left, and the Marauders were left standing in the classroom, staring at the dusty shelves. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Well, this is going to be fun.”

Celeste glanced at the piles of books. "You really think that’s all she’ll have us do? I’m betting she’ll have us cleaning her office next."

"She’s probably setting us up for something," James said, already rolling up his sleeves. "What do you think, Sirius? Are we really gonna clean this place up in record time?"

Sirius grinned mischievously. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

They started in on their task, shuffling piles of books and wiping down dusty shelves.

Celeste was carefully cleaning a pile of very old books when a mischievous voice interrupted her.

"Need a hand?" Sirius asked, flashing her a grin.

"I’m good," Celeste shot back, her smile a little too sweet. "Just focusing on not blowing anything up this time."

"Right," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Guess I’ll leave the explosions to James then."

James, who had been pretending to organize books with very little success, suddenly stood up straight. “I think we need to seriously organize these. I mean, look at these piles. They’re all out of order.”

"Not everything has to be perfect, James," Celeste said. "You’re being too James Potter about this."

"Hey!" James said indignantly. "I’ll have you know I’m a very organized person."

"I’d believe you if you stopped trying to organize everything into categories like ‘Books I Love’ and ‘Books I Can Throw at People,'" Celeste teased.

James rolled his eyes, but it was clear he was trying not to laugh.

The night wore on, and despite their initial protests, the Marauders slowly managed to clean and organize the room. By the time McGonagall returned, they were just finishing up.

"Well," she said, inspecting the room, "you’re all done rather quickly. I’m impressed. But I must admit, I expected a little more…mischief."

Sirius grinned and shrugged. "Sometimes, Professor, the Marauders need to act like model students."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical, but gave a small nod of approval. "I’ll take your word for it. You’re free to go, but remember, this room better stay clean for the next few weeks."

As they left the classroom, James nudged Celeste. "Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?"

Celeste grinned. "No explosions, no chaos. I’m impressed."

Sirius leaned in, looking mock-serious. "That’s because I didn’t start anything this time."

James shook his head. "Oh, we’ll see. You’ll find some way to break something eventually."

Celeste just chuckled as the group made their way back to the common room, ready to relax after their eventful night.

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