Disclaimers: We do not own anything from the books of Harry Potter and we are certainly not making any money from this story. Everything you might recognise belongs to J K Rowling, her editor and Warner Bros. (Though as far as we know, the plot is ours.)
Summary: There's one place at Hogwarts where hardly any students ever set their feet and that's the staffroom. So what does the teachers do when they are alone, what are they discussing behind closed doors?
Author's notes: Have you ever wondered what the teachers of Hogwarts are like in private? Well, we have. We are two authors (Sweetnelli and Calliope – Muse of Epic Poetry) writing this story together and we'll be writing our version (trying to make it as close to canon as possible) of the Hogwarts staff. We will be writing different scenes, some longer and some shorter, from the staffroom, not necessarily in chronological order, but always based on the characters and the books.
We have quite a few ideas, but you are all welcome to tell us if you have an idea of your own or if you think something's missing. We deeply appreciate reviews and comments of all kinds, but please take in consideration that neither one of us is a native speaker.
Behind Closed Doors
First Day Back
A swishing sound was heard through the corridor on the third floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly, a very small man with a very large suitcase appeared from behind the corner. He whistled happily and didn't seem too bothered by his heavy burden; in fact it almost seemed to be hovering behind him.
A bit further down the corridor he stopped in front of two ugly, stone gargoyles. "Chocolate frogs." he squeaked.
"Welcome back, Professor Flitwick! Had a nice holiday?" one of them said as the door opened.
"Very pleasant, thank you!" he answered as he stepped inside the room.
"Ah, Filius, back at last. Have you had a nice vacation?" a tartan clad woman said when he had entered.
"Oh, yes, France is lovely this time of the year." The answer came from somewhere of the level of the stern looking woman's hip.
"The staff room has been too empty without you the last week." said a plump woman with earth and dirt on her hat.
"Thank you, Pomona." said Flitwick to the woman known by her students as Professor Sprout.
"Has everyone arrived, Minerva?"
"No, Albus, the new one…"
"Professor Quirrell." Professor Dumbledore told his Deputy Headmistress.
"Professor Quirrell, has not arrived yet." The woman in tartan, Professor Minerva McGonagall, continued as she sat down in one of the armchairs by the fire.
Walking between the mismatched armchairs in search of an empty one, Filius Flitwick finally found one close to the darkest corner, beside the bookcase. As he climbed into the armchair, which seemed very large compared to himself, he saw a pale face in the shadowy corner. "Oh… Severus," he squealed, "I didn't see you there…"
"That might have been the point by this seating arrangement."
"Ah, glad to have the students back I see."
"You have no idea." the large nosed Professor Snape answered from behind a curtain of black hair.
"Well, anyway, I fancy a cup of tea, would you like some?"
A raised eyebrow was Snape's only answer before he sunk back into his chair. Flitwick pushed himself down from the, for him, way too large armchair and headed towards the sideboard on top of which stood a wide assortment of teacups in all sizes and designs. Standing on tip toes, he managed to reach a quite small, blue mug with the Ravenclaw crest on it. He smiled fondly at the mug, a gift from his colleagues when he had been made Head of Ravenclaw House, before he filled it with steaming cherry tea, milk and sugar.
The chattering room silenced as the door opened again. All the teachers turned around to face the man who now entered.
"Ah, Professor Quirrell, at last, welcome!"
The young man looked nervously around, his purple turban wiggled on his head.
"It's an ho- ho- honour to m- meet you, S- S- Sir." he stuttered.
"Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher? He seems frightened by his own shadow." Madam Hooch whispered to Professor Vector, her yellow cat eyes glittering with amusement.
"Please, sit down." the headmaster Albus Dumbledore said as he motioned towards the empty armchair beside his own.
"And what's that smell?" the Arithmancy teacher whispered back to the flying instructor. "I certainly hope that he is given an office on another floor than mine."
"As we now all are gathered, I would like to welcome you all back to a new year. I hope everyone had a good summer. If not, I can certainly recommend Hawaii." Quite a few smiles were seen at this comment, though one face remained impassive. "Good, good. In front of you" he flicked his wand, "you will find the list with the new first-years."
A quiet murmur filled the room as everybody eyed through their lists. "Susan Bones, her aunt Amelia Bones is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." someone told his neighbour.
"Longbottom, Neville… Such a tragedy with his parents." Professor McGonagall said, shaking her head, a sad look on her face.
"It seems you've got a clear bunch of Slytherins as usual, Severus. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and quite a few more." said the Head of Hufflepuff, Professor Sprout, to her fellow Head of House colleague.
"Though you never know until the Sorting Hat has had its say, do you?" Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eyes.
Then the room suddenly got completely quiet until someone finally said, almost in a whisper, "Harry Potter? The Harry Potter? The Boy Who Lived?"
As McGonagall asked Dumbledore whether that really could be right, the silent room all of a sudden wasn't that silent anymore. In his corner, Professor Snape had frozen I shock, but just as fast as this had happened, he sprung to action again as Flitwick spilled his tea and with a wave of his wand, the tea disappeared from the small professor's lap.
"Calm down, he's just a child and should be treated as such. He himself didn't know he was the Harry Potter until a few weeks ago." and for once the old headmaster sounded quite stern, leaving no room for arguments. "Well, I think that was all for today. You will receive your schedules at breakfast tomorrow morning. Well, off you go. You've better be well rested tomorrow when the students arrive." he said kindly. As he rose, he addressed Professor Snape, "Severus, a word in my office before you go to bed, if you please." and the two men walked out of the Hogwarts staffroom, the younger professor's black cloak billowing behind him.
Author's notes: Look out for more teacups and the tea the professors are drinking, they are all carefully planned.
We are aware that it's common though that Professor Quirrell has been teaching at Hogwarts before, but according to tHBP no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has managed to stay for longer than a year for a very long time, hence he must be new (or rather old, in which case, you'll have to pretend that Dumbledore hasn't informed his staff about who's coming back).
