Cool air stirred around the lone figure. She stood on the road which lead to Hogsmead, simply standing still and enjoying the scenery. Her dark indigo cloak was pulled tightly around her, a hood raised to keep the wind from bothering her hair. Inhaling the damp air deeply, she let out a gusting sigh.
"S'at you there, little Missus Malfoy?"
Darkened gray eyes turned as she smiled at the half giant approaching. "It is indeed, Professor Hagrid."
"Ah, goodness sakes." Hagrid murmured stopping in front of her. He was still as formidable as she remembered, though distinctly more grizzled and gray. "No need t'call me 'Professor' and wot'not. We're peers after all!"
She beamed up at him gleefully. "So we are. And as such you must desist from calling me Little Missus Malfoy. I have not been little for ever so long." She said with a light giggle.
"Ah, but everyone's a bit on the little side s'far as I'm concerned."
A quiet trilling laugh was his answer. "I'm sure. But could you not call me Cygnus?"
Hagrid grinned a bit. "I suppose... but only if yer willin' t'call me Rubeus."
"It seems a fair trade, Rubeus." She said with a smile. Her eyes soon wondered to the rolling hills and the town beyond. "I had forgotten how dear this place was to me." She murmured, her soft smile just reaching her eyes.
"Aye. No place like it."
"Indeed there isn't." She looked back to Hagrid. "You've no idea how grateful I am to be allowed to teach here. I felt so much was unfinished during my time here as a child..."
"We're all glad t'have you back. You were one of the most delightful of your class! Even fer a- er..." Hagrid halted not sure how to cover the blunder he was about to make.
She chuckled. "A Malfoy?"
He let out a huff. "S'nothing personal, hon, but..."
"We do have reputations for being rigid high-noses, don't we?" she asked with a conspiratory wag of her nearly invisible eyebrows.
Hagrid barked out a chuckle of relief. "Not to mention crafty trouble makers."
She smiled. "I'm glad my time here proved me to be the exception to the rule." She looked back over her shoulder towards the castle, glad she had tied her platinum blond hair back tightly. The wind was now whipping about them fiercely. "As unfulfilled as my time here was, this is where my life truly began." She said, smiling wistfully back at the castle..
"Aye, but if yer wantin' that life to continue, I suggest we move in doors. A powerful storms brewin'. And yer such a tiny thing... I'd hate to see you get blown away afore you got 'round to teachin'."
She smiled and followed his lead as means of agreement. Passing back into the castle grounds brought on new waves of nostalgia. Had it really been so long ago? She could remember her first time entering this castle like it was only yesterday.