twi·light
n.
Dim or diffused illumination.
A state of ambiguity or obscurity.
The twilight sky illuminated the grounds of the school subtlety, as if the sky was defying the darkness of night by mocking it with rays of stubborn, glittering daytime. The school was silent; it's students and faculty all down at the Great Hall enjoying a peaceful dinner, laughing and conversing. Normally I would drag myself down to dinner, take my place at the teachers table, eat nothing and speak to no one. Tonight, however, I couldn't. The war between the Death Eaters and the Order was coming closer and closer each day. And there I was, painfully in the middle, a key player for both sides. The faculty of Hogwarts, all knowing how close we were to the battle, had to keep up appearances to the students. Nothing was wrong-they were safe. But reality was that everything was wrong-and no one was safe.
Not desiring to grade papers or retire for the night I begin the methodical climb up the Astronomy tower, putting one foot in front of the other like a machine. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory. I've seen many murdered, been at both ends of an Unforgivable Curse and schemed plans of destruction and betrayal. I bottled it all up, store it inside myself and lock it away. I continue to teach, scaring students out of their wits and keeping up my act as the Potions Master from Hell. This evening wasn't allowing it. With the weight of either side winning the war on my shoulders, I can't bring myself to sit down in the Great Hall when my demons of the past are resurfacing.
Opening up the door to the Astronomy Tower, a cool gush of November wind welcomes and re-energizes me as I walk over to the railing. Looking out and onto the grounds, I scan my eyes over the lake which surface is as black and still as the heart of the Dark Lord. As I scan the shores of the lake, my sharp eyes catch the outline of something sitting near a large oak tree. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed the outline of a figure that wasn't a part of nature on the grounds, but my eyes were keen and conditioned from the years of watching over students handle potentially dangerous potion ingredients. And my eyes were telling me that the outline was a student. Immediately the anger erupted inside me. Don't they realise that we're living in dangerous times where no one should wander about alone; especially a student and especially so close to nightfall? An icy growl escapes my lips and I turn on my heels, leaving the Astronomy Tower. Briskly walking past the Great Hall, I reach the large double front doors of the school and open them with a flick of my wand.
Using my spy abilities, I quietly walk to the Lake Shore, not wanting my footsteps to be heard. I didn't want to give the idiotic student who actually had the gall to dare and leave the castle the ability to run before I caught them. Reaching the oak tree that the student was sitting against, I mentally illuminate my wand so I can clearly see the offender. Before I can make my presence known and invoke hell I hear a whimper and a loud sniff, which gives me two realizations. One: I can tell it's a female and Two: she's crying. I mentally prepare myself to really giver her something to cry about.
"So," I begin, with a voice that would even make a demon cringe, "what do we have here?" My voice lingers on the last syllable, extending and rolling it with my tongue making it into velvety ice.
With a surprised intake of air, she turned towards me and my wand illuminated her chocolate brown curls and blotchy, red, tear stained eyes.
Hermione Granger. And she was crying.
She was clearly surprised to see me there and she was probably expecting me to be at the Great Hall eating dinner. I let out a mental scoff-as if I could take part of the jubilation when we were on the brink of war. I see her eyes being to calculate something to say, to make up anything to explain herself. I give her no chance.
"Miss Granger," I sneer harshly, "Crying I see. Has Ronald Weasley finally told you he has no interest and broken your little heart?"
She lets out a snort of laughter, apparently finding humour in my sentence, though it was intended to make her cry more. Inwardly, I'm shocked, but my outward demeanour stays hard and icy.
"What has made you feel as if you have the right to skip dinner and walk about the grounds as if they were your own personal playground?"
She purses her lips together and turns her back toward me. Her eyes scan the surface of the lake and she frowns slightly.
Breathing slowly out she looks at the ground, "Well," she starts, unsure of herself, "I couldn't bring myself to go to dinner and smile and laugh as if nothing is wrong..."she pauses and looks up at me.
Again I am surprised but I allow only my eyebrow to quirk up slightly. Her eyes look me over curiously and I know she's wondering why I'm not eating either. Done with her surveying of me, she turns back to look at the lake.
I, however, am not done, "50 Points for Gryffindor and two weeks of detention for wandering around alone so close to night in such dangerous times."
She remains quite and continues to look at the lake. Clearly my words haven't sunk into her skull that she's just caused her house to lose quite a number of points. Anger swelling at her lack of response, I walk over in front of her, blocking her view from the lake.
"Did you not hear me, Miss Granger?" I ask, my voice thick with venom and practically breaking with anger.
Looking up at me, she sighs, "You're right, Professor." She sniffs as the tears well and she rolls back to the verge of crying. Clearly, now she understands the gravity of her decision to come out here and the loss of the points.
She lets out a sobbing hiccup and continues, her voice nearly cracking with emotion, "We are in dangerous times. We may very well all die and no one cares to think about it at all. They live about their days and go to dinner at night and laugh and joke like nothing is wrong. They act like nothing is wrong and everyone is safe."
She stops and her anger and sadness erupts causing her to practically scream, "NO ONE IS SAFE!" Unable to contain herself anymore, she bursts into tears, her body shaking with emotion.
For the first time in many years I'm speechless. Letting out a small sigh, I gather my robes around me and sit down next to her. Uncharacteristically unsure of myself and what type of response this situation calls for, I place my hand on her shoulder while I wait for her sobbing to be controlled. It takes a few moments, but soon her crying is reduced to small sniffles and she wipes her face with the sleeves of her robes and looks down hard at her feet allowing her hair to cover her face.
"Hermione," I start and my voice shows my unsure feelings about using her first name, "it's during times like these where we have to face many conflicting emotions. People are scared and some just don't know how to cope in ways other than ignoring what fears them." She looks up at me and a stubborn hair falls into her eyes. I stare into her eyes hoping that mine will reflect the words I'm saying and reassure her, but the stubborn hair of hers is in the way. I tuck it behind her ear with my other hand before placing it on her other shoulder.
"You are brave, Hermione! And in the end, that bravery will be your weapon against all the cowardly servants of the dark lord. Use it against them and they will fall."
The final rays of twilight fall on her, illuminating her with a halo of light.
"You weren't at dinner either, were you?" she asks, and I know she's figured out that I felt the same way she did.
My brain threw into overdrive, trying to calculate an answer...an excuse...a reason for my being there. I came up with nothing. Then, she brought her lips to mine.
My mind went into a haze and I felt nothing, saw nothing and knew nothing...except for her. I deepen the kiss and allow my tongue to explore hers. She lets out a small moan and brings her hands behind my neck, digging her nails into my skin and hair. I move my hands from her shoulders down to her buttocks and lift her up into my lap allowing her to curve her body close to mine. My hands explore her body and I pushing her skirt up to feel her bare thighs. I run my hands up and down them as goose-bumps emerge. She lets out a small chuckle and begins to kiss my neck as her hands run down my body to my throbbing erection. I close my eyes in pleasure and as I feel her tugging at my pants' zipper I'm sure her mind is a foggy as mine.
I've never needed anyone before for anything. But right here and right now...I need her.
As the twilight leaves and the darkness follows, we make love under the obscure tree by the lake. The sound of her climax is music to my ears and I begin to ready for mine, bucking my hips widely into her. Soon, my seed explodes into her body and I lean back against the tree, trying to catch my breath. She is as equally spent and places her head on my shoulder, breathing heavily. It takes a few minutes but soon our bodies begin to calm.
She mutters a cleaning charm on our clothes before getting up and grabbing her books and standing.
"Well Professor," she smiles and looks at me before leaning down and kissing me lightly on the lips and then whispers in my ear, "you sure know how to comfort someone." She giggles, and then jogs off towards the castle, leaving me alone in the dark.