September

Negan was a Slytherin through and through.

From the first moment the Sorting Hat had touched his head he had known what he had wanted, and that was everything that Slytherin had to offer. People from there were cunning and powerful, and knew what they need to do to get what they wanted. And although some had called that type of play ruthless, Negan had called it winning.

And Negan had carried that same aspiration with him throughout his long years.

He had been head of the Slytherin Quidditch team. One of the best beaters Hogwarts had even seen, and soon after leaving school had quickly been headhunted by some of the best teams in the United States.

There he had found fame, women, and money. But that Slytherin badge had never left him, and not-happy with just working hard to make his way to the top, Negan had made bad choices, fallen in with the wrong crowd. And it was because of these damn stupid decisions that Negan found himself at the bottom, washed out and penniless, his good name tarnished.

But his life experience was what Dumbledore had known would make him a good fit among the teachers here. Negan was not by any means stupid and was a damn good wizard, and hopefully this was his chance for a fresh start.

Hushed whispers had floated around the Great Hall almost the moment Dumbledore had introduced Professor Negan as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts and Quidditch coach, amongst students and teachers alike.

Of course everyone knew his name, but he hoped they would see him as something more now than a washed up ex-beater.

Negan was now sat at the end of the long table beside Professor Flitwick, who was currently deep in conversation with the glittering Professor Trelawney about this morning's front page article in the Daily Prophet about rumours and fabled sightings of He Who Must Not Be Named.

The dark-haired man took a long sip from his golden goblet, feeling slightly bored. He had long finished with his plate of food and was half tempted to make a quick exit, not really liking these big gatherings, when suddenly a small green door to his right was pushed open, a heavenly-looking figure appearing around it.

Negan blinked a couple of times, to see a tall, blonde woman make her way up to the teacher's table. Her golden hair was pinned back from her pretty face, and she wore a set of smart red robes that cinched her in neatly at the waist.

And to his surprise and offering him a gentle smile as she did so, she stopped beside him and pointed to the free chair to his right.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked politely.

And Negan, sitting up in his chair a little, gave a shake of his dark head.

"Be my guest," he muttered with a wave of his hand, as the woman sidled into the seat at his side.

She tucked her chair into the table before helping herself to some of the delicious food set out before them, before finally turning back to him and offering out her hand.

"I'm Madam Blake," she said with a smile. "I work up in the Hospital Wing."

Negan took her hand giving it a firm shake, from here he noticed she smelled like strawberries and peaches making his mouth almost water at the scent.

"Negan," he said, before correcting himself with a cough. "Professor Negan."

Blake nodded gently. "Ah, Professor Dumbledore said you'd be starting today," she murmured. "Well hopefully you'll get used to the place after a while. It can be a bit of a a maze at first."

But Negan gave a smug grin at this.

"Well…" And without another word he lifted the sleeve of his robes to reveal a large tattoo of the Slytherin coat of arms on his upper arm. "...let's just say it's kind of a home-from-home for me."

Blake's green eyes lingered on the tattoo and Negan noticed a sudden gulp that travelled quickly down her throat.

"Oh, I just presumed-" she shook her head, flushing slightly. "T-The accent-"

But the dark-haired man gave a chuckle at this. "Yeah I get that a lot. Well I moved to the States when I was eighteen and the accent kinda just stuck," he explained, as Blake nodded.

There was a moment of silence before-

"A Slytherin then…" she murmured, carrying on the nod, her eyes drifting back to her plate as she picked up her fork, but her words trailed off slightly.

Negan's chocolate eyes travelled over her face and elegant features, as an arrogant smile flickered its way onto his lips.

"And you're, let me guess..." he smirked, sounding a little mocking. " ...a Hufflepuff..."

Everything about her certainly screamed of Hufflepuff. She was nice, sweet, but certainly did not seem like your typical Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and there was no way someone like her would ever have been a Slytherin. For Negan could smell another of his house from a mile off.

But something about the way he had said the name of the blonde's house, caused her to glare at him angrily, her face turning, at once, from gentle, to irritable.

"And what's so bad with being a Hufflepuff?" she said heatedly, scowling at him now. "Some of the greatest witches and wizards of all time were Hufflepuffs, Professor."

But Negan raised both his hands aloft apologetically, letting out a small bemused laugh.

"I didn' mean'ta offend you, Darlin'-" Negan began, but Blake cut across him quickly.

"Well just so we're clear, your Slytherin prejudices aren't welcome here," she snapped. "And if all you want is to muster up stupid rivalries and ridicule because of where someone belongs, then maybe you should go back to being a Beater, Professor."

And with that, Blake picked up her plate and got to her feet making to move seats.

But with a hard, lump forming in his throat, Negan stood too, cocking his head to the side, staring back at Blake apologetically.

He reached for her wrist, grasping ahold of it gently, causing her to stop in her tracks, as that gorgeous fruity perfume of hers danced into his nostrils.

"Peaches," he uttered out in a quiet voice, causing her eyes to meet with his. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean that to come out like it did. Sit, stay...please."

And Blake seemed to hover for a long moment, before she finally gave a nod of her blond head, sitting back down as Negan did the same.

The pair were quiet for a long moment, Negan letting her get in most of her meal in peace, still feeling guilty for what he had said to her.

Maybe Blake was right, maybe he needed to tone down the playful banter. Maybe this was not the time, nor the place for it.

"So..." he said after ten long minutes had passed, wanting to try again with her. "...you're a nurse?"

And at his words Blake's smile returned as she wiped the edges of her lips neatly of the edge of a napkin and nodded.

"Yhhmm," she said, her green eyes flickering up to his. "I took over from Poppy, Poppy Pomfrey, when she retired last December."

"So you've only been here-"

"Nine months, yeah," she nodded again. "I always loved this place, so it was a dream to hear Poppy had recommended me for the position."

"And you like it?" asked Negan with interest, taking another sip from his goblet before placing the cup back down steadily.

"I love it, the students are great, and Hogwarts is just so beautiful," she mused sounding happy.

Negan took her in. Her beauty really couldn't be rivalled, and despite how far Negan had travelled in all his career and how many witches he had met, he had never seen anyone like her before. For it wasn't just her looks, but the kindness and warmth she seemed to exude from every pore.

But Negan shook himself. He was here to teach, not to fall for some pretty Hufflepuff, despite how much he had longed all his life to find someone like her.

Negan almost laughed at his own thoughts now, glancing at the blonde again.

He almost wanted to ask whether or not she was half-Veela for making him think these things a mere twenty minutes after he had first laid eyes on her, but thought better of it.

The last thing he wanted to do was offend her again.

So he kept quiet, as Dumbledore stood and dismissed the students, sending them all up to bed.

The students filled out of the room in a flurry of excitement, just as Blake beside him got to her feet too, placing down her napkin neatly and smoothing down her dress.

"I should get going too," she said in a warm voice, a gentle smile upon her lips as Negan pushed back his own chair getting to his feet as well. "It was good to meet you, Professor."

And Negan couldn't help but give a smile of his own.

"Likewise, Darlin'," he uttered, as with one last look, Blake turned on her heel and headed away from him, instantly falling deep into conversation with Professor McGonagall as she walked.

But Negan gave a wide grin, noticing her glance back over her shoulder at him, smiling sweetly, before she disappeared away within the crowd.

Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad year after all.