Author's Note: I don't own the world of Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Teaching

The Marauders are all dead now, and Minerva doesn't think she can bear it.

Her eyes swimming with tears, she looks up towards the window and sighs. Hogwarts has felt like a prison to her ever since the day of that final battle. She can still recall the blood, the terror, the high-pitched voice emanating through the hallways of the sanctuary she used to love so much. It takes only a two-second close of the eyes, and then she remembers, and has to stop herself from crumbling. Albus wouldn't want her to crumble. She misses him. He was one of her oldest, dearest friends.

But it is the Marauders that make her whimper now, the Marauders that make her think, not for the first time, about retiring.

The first to go had been James. James was the clever one of the group, the one who could make a joke out of everything, and even though he spent many nights in detention, Minerva thinks he was one of the best students to ever grace the many floors of this school. He was a good friend, and saw the goodness in everyone, or so she thought. She had been very disappointed when she'd found out how he had bullied Severus, but as he grew and matured, she couldn't have been more proud. She'd been to his wedding and cried as he and Lily were eternally bonded. The wise old teacher had seen it coming all along. Then, on a Halloween night, they'd been slaughtered evilly. Two of her students are gone from the world.

Then Sirius. He had been her favorite, secretly, out of the four. Loyal as a dog (and perhaps that was what inspired his Animagus form), he would never betray his friends. He was intelligent, too, but hindered by his recklessness. Ever the risk-taker, his actions could do evil or good, whatever his motives. Minerva, though she told no one, had never really believed that Sirius had been the one to betray the Potters. The Sirius she knew would sooner die than give his best friend and his family up to evil. She was both heartbroken and relieved when she found out that it had been Peter. Sirius Black had never dealt well with being chained up in the house while the rest of the Order went out to save the world, but, aside from that foolhardy mishap at King's Cross, he had never gone against the others' will. He had remained inside, until the event at the Ministry. That was when his life had been claimed as he tried to save his godson, his best friend's child. Loyal to the end, as she had always known him to be.

Peter was next, and she had to confess that she had never particularly liked him. The boy was never quite as skilled at magic as the others, and Minerva tended to be fonder of those naturally bright. Over time, though, she began to admire how he worked so hard to try to keep up with the talents of his best friends. He wasn't quite as trouble-making as Sirius or James, and not as much of a rule-follower as Remus. She grew to like him. She had mourned him when he 'died', even if she couldn't believe Sirius had killed him. But then – oh, but then! – when the truth was finally uncovered, she could dig up nothing but pity. No resentment, no reproach. Minerva remembers him as a coward and this only proved it. She feels bad for him, because she knew that he only made his horrible choices because of fear.

Remus was the last to die. Remus and his wife, Tonks, had deceased in the Battle of Hogwarts. She remembers seeing their lifeless faces after the first battle, in the Great Hall, and barely avoiding bursting into tears. Remus had a condition that was hard to deal with, but he dealt with it pretty well. She always thought that it was his friends who helped him with that, because without them, he would have been a lonely werewolf. Remus was a smart student, and kept his friends in line - most of the time. He could be a great asset in a plot to make havoc. He grew up to be a great man, teacher, and husband, and she knows he would have been a fantastic father, if only he could have lived through more than a couple months of young Teddy's life.

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. She remembers seeing the Marauders' Map, and being very impressed with that. When she found out that they were all Animagus, save Remus, she was prouder than she ever thought imaginable. She has always admired the fact that they discovered how to do that as students, and she wishes Sirius or James had outlived her; they would have been great Transfiguration teachers.

She wheezes and brushes a tear off of her cheek, trying not to cry any more. But then she thinks of all the students she knows, she loves, that she's seen dead. Fred, lying on that cold floor of the Great Hall, still almost smiling; Colin Creevey, the eccentric photographer, cut down in his prime; and Severus Snape, the man who she thought was a heartless murderer, and instead turned out to be one of the greatest heroes of them all.

Minerva sobs now, for only a minute, before dabbing at her eyes, blowing her nose, and trying to gain control of herself. Today is the first day of term. Today she'll meet new students, and welcome back old ones. It's no longer likely that they'll die, now that the war is over, but she knows there's always danger. What if… what if…

None of that, she tells herself firmly. She has to look on the bright side now. The students can't see her broken like this. She has to think. Harry survived, didn't he? He saved everyone, or at least, the ones that could still be saved. Now he has three kids, she hears. James, Albus, and Lily. It will be hard to teach them, she knows, and wishes that Harry and Ginny hadn't named their kids after those who had died in the war. Ron and Hermione had survived, right? They have Hugo and Rose, and she can't wait to teach them; she's sure that Rose will be every bit as intelligent as Hermione. Teddy lived, and she's teaching him now. He reminds her in so many ways of Remus, and so many more of Tonks. So many students lived through the years, and have happy, wonderful lives now.

Teaching isn't all memories and sadness, she thinks slowly, a smile creeping across her still damp face. There are so many more minds to educate, and so many more people to watch grow up. Death is just part of the cycle of life, and she has to learn to live with it.

She dries the last of her tears and stands, smiling. She can't resign. Teaching isn't all bad. Sometimes great, unexpected things happen to her students, and she wants to be around to watch them. Minerva approaches a tall, grown man with a nervous expression on his face, grins at him, prouder than she could ever say. Then she speaks.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, Professor Longbottom."

Author's Note: I hope you liked it. Please review! Constructive criticism would be amazing.