Down

Summary: In attempt to recover from the shock of the war, Ron ends up having an affair with the new professor. Harry and Ginny are determined to figure out what's going on, while Hermione keeps it all a secret. Angst. Drama. Slash. And all the other good stuff.

Disclaimer: My plot, not my characters.

(Ron)

I am mature for being only fifteen. I know this is no excuse for falling in love with a man almost twice my age. But I am mature for my age. I've encountered more death than an Auror and I know more spells than a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I killed more people than a mass murderer and charmed more people than a stripper.

Now I still don't use this an excuse for doing what I did.

I end up in Juvenile Wizardry Detention and he ends up in Azkaban. And I still will never understand why I did it.

It all starts a few months after the war, when McGonagall gets Hogwarts up and running again. Because she has a new post she hired a new Transfiguration teacher.

Professor Jared McKinley. 6'8", young, married, a kid on the way, brunette, and handsome.

it never once occurred to me that he was 31. He seemed younger, maybe a few years older than me. When I entered his class for the first time he greeted me, handed me a piece of paper, and pointed to a desk in the back row. He placed Seamus next to me and Harry across the aisle. He didn't give Harry a second glance, but he eyed me twice, I'm sure of it.

Once all the seats were filled, he walked to the front of the classroom, leaned against the desk, and scanned the room. I yawned and pulled out a quill and ink. Seamus nudged me and asked if I had another quill, I vaguely remembered Crabbe tossing Seamus's bag into the girls lavatory.

"Good afternoon," Professor McKinley greeted us, the room hushed, "I am Jared McKinley. I used to work at the Ministry. I know you've had a bad experience recently. Obviously." He scanned the room again with a grim expression. "I know some of you have suffered loss. Shock. Depression. And the last thing I want to do is bog you down with tons of homework. I want you to relax into the school system again. Are all of you Gryffindor?"

We nodded.

"Well I am your new Gryffindor Head of House. And I just want to get to know you," he reached behind him and picked up a piece of paper, "I handed you all a quick quiz. It's all questions about yourselves. Before you start I'll tell you a bit about me, if you want you can completely ignore me and start, if not, go ahead and listen." He smiled. "Like I said, I used to work for the Ministry. I worked in several departments, mostly working on charms and perfecting new spells. I have been married since I was eighteen. I own a dog, a Terrier. I used to go to Hogwarts and met my wife here. She was a Ravenclaw. I used to play quidditch," I began listening, "But I got kicked off the team by the captain...and Dumbledore."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," he grinned, "I got in a fight with the Slytherin team captain."

"Did you win?" Seamus asked, grinning.

"Oh yes," Professor McKinley replied, "Anyways. My wife is pregnant with our second child, though our first was a stillborn." A few girls made sad noises at this point. "And that's about it. Go ahead and fill out the quiz."

I answered the questions. Most were basic. What were my future goals, what was my future career of choice, and etc. Once we all handed in the quizzes he had us stand while he used a spell to move all our desks against the wall and arranged our chairs in a circle. He sat across from me.

"This year for you is going to be different," he said, sitting in a relaxed position in his chair, "Each Friday we will have a class discussion. Anyone can choose the topics we discuss, or if you want me to I can. It doesn't have to be about the Wizarding World or the war, we can talk about anything. We can even have a class debate, each class member can choose a side and we can arrange a formal debate. Friday is your day."

"It's not Friday," I said.

"Yes, but starting next week each one will be held on Friday." He smiled at me, I felt my face turn bright red and I stared at the floor. "So what do you all want to discuss?"

There was a murmur across the room. Professor McKinley looked around, then he said,

"Come on. Someone should speak up."

"I think..." Hermione said, the class quieted, "We want to talk about the war, but if we bring it up...no one is going to say anything. We're not quite comfortable with it yet...but we feel like you want us to talk about it."

A few people nodded, everyone else looked at the floor.

"Well I don't," Professor McKinley said firmly, "I want you to talk about whatever...unicorns, giant squids..."

"How come you got married so young?" Lavender asked, "A lot of marriages that happen at that age never really work."

"Well," Professor McKinley said, "We dated since our third year. She was the Ravenclaw Seeker. I was the Keeper of the Gryffindor team. When we got out of school we just decided to get married. it was nothing formal. And...we've just been happy, I suppose."

The "discussion" continued about young marriages. I stayed out of it. This class was making me nervous and I didn't know why. I was even more nervous when Jared McKinley asked me to stay after class. But all he had to ask was why I had been so quiet, I shrugged, and left the room, feeling distressed.

"Why didn't you join the discussion?" Harry asked at dinner.

"I didn't have anything to put in," I replied, pushing my food around on the plate.

"So when are you going to start tryouts, Captain?" Harry joked.

"I have to get signed permission from McKinley to turn into McGonagall," I responded, "I'll start posting flyers today in the common room, then get permission tomorrow. I'll hold tryouts on Sunday morning."

"Morning?" Harry asked.

"Yep," I replied, "It'll be cooler in the morning."

Later that evening after I posted fliers, the portrait opened and McKinley walked in. He went to see what I was posting. I froze.

"Tryouts?" he asked, clamping a hand on my shoulder, "I heard you were captain. What position are you?"

"K-keeper," I muttered, then hurried away.

I could not put my finger on it. I had no idea why I froze up around this guy. There was something odd about him, unless it was just me being weird. Whatever it was, I couldn't quite tell if I liked it or if I didn't.

Reviews are nice. I promise the story will speed up in the next chapter. Those of you who are good Harry Potter fans know why McKinley owns a Terrier.