Professor, I Think He's Possessed

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The Marauders were just coming from a late breakfast one January morning. Remus was racing through the halls, while James and Sirius were walking at a leisurely pace. They were headed toward the Potions dungeon.

"C'mon James, Sirius!" Remus yelled at his friends. "We need to get to Professor Pryor's class!"

"Relax Remy! It's not like we even learn anything in the first half of Pryor's class, anyway," James reasoned.

"Yeah, Moony. She's always going on about her visions from God. I wonder what she'll say today?" Sirius put in.

"Well if we get there soon we'll hear what she has to say," said Remus.

"You're right! Let's go! I could use a laugh."

"Sirius, you have had too many laughs today," James told his friend.

"James! I am appalled! You can NEVER have enough laughs."

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"Good morning, class!" Professor Pryor greeted her students. Professor Pryor was an elderly woman with her silver hair pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. "Now, before we begin making our Shrinking Solutions, I must tell you all about the disturbing vision I had last night." She paused dramatically. "I regret to say this."

"The Lord told you that if you didn't - OW!" Sirius yelled as Remus elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't mock the teacher, Sirius," he hissed.

"As I was saying, there is a student in this class who is . . . possessed by Satan," she finished.

Sirius' face started to crack into a grin. As the grin got wider, James understood what his best friend was going to do. His face also broke into a smile.

Remus put his head in his hands, wondering what he did to deserve friends like this.

Professor Pryor turned to write the ingredients to the Shrinking Solution on the blackboard. Sirius chose then to fall out of his seat. He hit the floor with a resounding thud.

All eyes turned toward the source of the sound. They all saw Sirius on the floor. He was writhing, twisting, and convoluting on the ground. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head.

"Please! Cleanse my soul of this evil!" Sirius screamed.

"Professor!" James yelled. "I think Sirius is the one that's possessed by Satan!"

All the students were fighting back laughter. The professor was racing to the door.

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Professor Pryor ran straight past Professor Dumbledore, who immediately went to the Potions room to find what had made the woman run so fast.

The class laughing and Sirius Black cracking up on the floor greeted him.

"And what, pray tell, is so humorous?" the aged Headmaster asked Remus, who was the only student in the class that wasn't laughing.

"Sirius made Professor Pryor think that he was possessed by Satan, Sir."

"Ah."

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"Hey, Pete!" James said to his friend who had just returned from the Hospital Wing. They were now at dinner, and the whole school was talking about what had happened in the Potions room that morning.

"Hey guys. What'd I miss?"

Just then Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement. He cleared his throat. "As I'm sure you've all heard, Professor Pryor doesn't wish to return to teaching. A certain mishap this morning has made her decide it is time for her to retire. There will be no more Potions lessons until further notice. That is all."

"What happened guys?" Peter asked.

"Ask Sirius," was Remus' reply.

Sirius told Peter the whole story with vigor. It ended with Peter cracking up into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"I can't believe I missed that!" he whined after he was done laughing. A few chuckles still escaped from him every now and then.

"I'm sure you'll get to see me make other teachers quit Pete," Sirius promised.

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