Sleepless

Sleepless

*

"Emm... Miss Granger-Lovegood?"

The girl's giggles lessened a bit. "Yes, professor?" she asked, trying to pull a straight face but failing miserably. She broke in helpless giggles again.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Professor Chang asked suspiciously.

"Not at all," the addressed student replied with a cheerful grin.

"Oh?" The professor raised her eyebrows. "May I ask exactly how much proper sleep did you get last night?"

"I don't think you got it right, Professor," the girl chirped joyfully. "When I said, 'not at all,' I didn't mean the state of my sleep. I meant I did not sleep at all last night." Then she again broke into giggles.

"Oh, well," the professor sighed, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't expect anything else. With the experiment of five years as your mother's housemate and another five years teaching you, I'm surprised that you are yet to streak in a Quidditch match. And this was not a suggestion," she then added sharply.

"I understand, Professor," the girl replied, flashing her a beaming smile.

"I will not take off points if you stay awake and pay attention," the professor sighed. "And please? Try not to giggle. Really."

"Okay," she smiled sweetly, and then bursted into giggles again.

Her friends sighed in unison, exchanged desperate glances, and roller their eyes towards the ceiling before returning their attention to the class.

As they were dismissed, a group of girls gathered together.

"You are hopeless, July," one of them sighed at her still giggling friend. "Couldn't you at least try to sleep sometimes?"

"I can't help it," the other girl replied. She shook her curly head and giggled again. "I just couldn't stop reading that story, and then I had to stop anyway as we had to go to the classes!"

"Muggle Studies should be forbidden," one of the girls muttered, fiddling with her glasses.

"Don't try that, Margaret," the first one chuckled. "You're just as bad with those stories as she is. We all are!"

"Alas, so true," the giggling one with mock seriousness. "And half of the student body - as well as several faculty members."

"July, calm down," sighed the one called Margaret. "And you have to admit it's getting out of hands. Yesterday one first year Hufflepuff came over and asked me if Dad really had an affair with Draco Malfoy!"

"And Snape. And both of July's mothers. And every one of the Weasleys, and both of my fathers," the first girl said with an amused tone. "And that's only the most decent part of the stories!"

"Last week I send my mother a copy of a story where she and Snape got married and had three kids," July snickered. "Needless to say, she was horrified!"

"You dared!" Margaret exclaimed. "July, you truly are nuts!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," the other girl grinned. "I'm a half Lovegood, after all!"

"Figures," the third girl sighed, rolling her amber eyes towards the ceiling. "But at least far more students are behaving civilly towards us after this fondness began."

"That's because we've shamelessly converted people to slash and male pregnancy as well as femmeslash," July grinned. "And they've converted even more people. You at most, Sarah - you're the only one this far who's got an entire class affected to slash!"

Sarah snorted. "Second year lions, a sweet fluff of Dad and Father, and some initials engraved on the wall, and they were sold."

"Not to mention several pairs of puppy eyes from everyone's favourite canine girl," July giggled.

Sarah glared at her. "You know, July," she said with a mock threat voice, "if you weren't younger and currently irresponsible of your doings, I'd skin you alive."

"Nice to see you care!" the fairest of the girls chuckled. Then she was head over heels in mad laughter again.

"Ah, Miss Granger-Lovegood," they heard a silky voice behind them. "And her ever-present friends. You'd better hurry to your next lesson. You're already late."

"We aren't, Professor Snape," Sarah said, shaking her head. "We have a free period. We were just on our way to the library."

"Whatever you say, Miss Lupin-Black," Snape replied, menace flicking in his eyes. "May I ask what's wrong with your friend?"

"Lack of sleep, Sir," Margaret replied. "She -- was long awake doing our Potions assignment. Sir," she added hastily as Snape pointed another glare at her.

"I'd say it's this fanfiction thing that kept her awake rather than your homework, miss Potter-Longbottom," Snape snapped. "I have to admit that Miss Granger-Lovegood doesn't need hours for her essays." He snorted. "I trust her not to fall asleep during Potions. Although... I also trust you to go through one single lesson without blowing up something - and every time you fail my trust."

"I'm trying hard not to, Sir." The girl grinned at him.

"Oh, yes, indeed," Snape snorted. "Try to behave yourselves now. I have to go to meet Hagrid." Then he slid on his way like an overgrown bat, just as another giggling fit hit July.

"What now, July?" Sarah sighed. "Or do I even want to know?"

"The -- the fic I read last night," the fairer girl giggled. "The one that kept me awake -- it was Snape/Hagrid male pregnancy..."

"Iuh!" Sarah exclaimed. "Eww, that's sick!"

"So it was," July laughed. "I'll never live it down..."

"Better not tell that to Snape," Margaret said. "He needs just an excuse to put us on the 'black list.'"

Their relationship with Professor Snape was very complicated. The Potions Master didn't really know if he should hate them or not. He had hated all of their parents, true enough -- if you didn't believe in certain pieces of fanfiction -- they weren't in Slytherin, Margaret was a natural mess in Potions, and Sarah wasn't much better. This all spoke for hatred.

But, as Ravenclaws, they weren't Gryffindors, wither. July was the best student in Potions. Not to mention that they'd immediately befriended Sam, Snape's only son, and treated him like a dear younger brother. So, Snape just kept neutral with them.

"Oh, let's go," Sarah sighed. "We have to do our Transfiguration essays."

July made a weird face. "Essay for Transfiguration, Margaret's dad and Snape," she said and then cracked up again.

The two other girls sighed, glanced at each other, and continued their way to the library. July followed then, her constant giggles echoing in the halls.

None of the students dared to complain about her endless laughter, though. That was very understandable. Considering the Marauders' reputation, everybody was glad being able to avoid them - excluding a group of third year Slytherins, led by Sam Snape, who soon approached them begging for chocolate.