Hermione entered the room as her dark blue robes swished about her. She looked regal, with a straight-backed posture and a determined look in her ash brown eyes. Students turned in their seats to see the Headmistress walk in with a curt nod to Scorpius. He acknowledged her politely, and carried on with his lecture. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the students, who were throwing her interested glances.
Scorpius tapped impatiently on his wooden desk. "You can't know the future." Some of the girls (this was a third-year class), sniggered and whispered something about Divination. Scorpius and Hermione both glared at them. Hermione was slightly surprised; it would seem Scorpius had a thing against Divination as well. Actually, she shouldn't have been surprised to find anyone disliking the subject, she thought with a wry grin.
"You never know where you might find yourselves. A dip in the Great Lake could turn into a confrontation with Grindylows. A spin on your broom might find you facing an Occamy." His voice grew low and quiet. "A walk in the Forbidden Forests might introduce you to a Grim… and possibly death along the way." Scorpius now had the attention of everyone in the room. His mouth was set in a foreboding line, and he looked solemn enough to preside at a funeral. Someone sniffled, and Scorpius suddenly broke into a wide grin.
"But luckily, you lot have a secret weapon… a devilishly handsome, somewhat mysterious, incredibly powerful blond haired fellow." The boys grudgingly laughed, crossing their arms, obviously not happy with the pink blushes and feather light giggles of the girls. Scorpius waggled his eyebrow at one young brunette sitting in the front row, her eyes wide and adoring. She practically fell out of her chair.
"In the next few weeks, we will be learning the basics of defense against potentially harmful creatures." Scorpius began circling the room, passing out strangely colored glass tubes. Hermione strained to see what was inside them. Many of the students eyed the tubes warily.
"Inside these tubes, you will all find a miniature boggart. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?"
A young Slytherin in the back rolled his eyes and raised his hand. Scorpius called on him, and for a moment Hermione was lost in thoughts of Professor Lupin and her own experiences as a third year…Hermione realized Scorpius was again talking.
"…is exactly right. I would like you all to write an essay for next week." The class groaned in unison. "Tell me about boggarts. Pretend you are describing the creature to a Muggle. I want to know their habitat, lifestyle, and magical abilities, as well any other relevant facts you may come across in your research. After you have written the essays, but before class next week, I would like you to find an isolated place to open your tubes. The mini-boggarts inside of them will transform into your worst fear. This transformation can only be sustained for about ten seconds, and then the boggart will dissipate into a cloud of smoke. This is to prepare all of you for what you will have to face next week; although the transformation will last far longer than ten seconds when you're dealing with a fully-developed boggart. Alright, all of you, any questions?"
The noise of the classroom faded to a background murmur as Hermione's palms began to sweat. She glanced at the clock. Any second now, and the students would leave, and she would be left alone in this big empty room… well not quite alone. Hermione glanced at Scorpius, and when she saw him regarding her seriously, she quickly looked down at the floor. She pretended to be absorbed in a large green rug, with an intricate design of silver phoenixes, flipping it back and forth with her shoe. She stared at the tiny silver wings as the students rushed past, eager to go to lunch. Somehow, she knew when the last one was out, and only then did she find the courage to look up at Scorpius. He was busy putting leftover mini-boggarts into a large dark box.
Hermione tried to shake herself. She had no idea what was making her so nervous all of a sudden! For goodness' sake, she was one of the most famous witches in the world! She was Headmistress of Hogwarts! The determined look returned to her eyes, and she walked over to the young "devilishly handsome" young man. He had definitely inherited the Black family looks. His jaw was strong and firm. It made her feel safe, for some reason. He had a small, slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, and the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. He moved with an easy grace, and she admired the way he seemed to carry himself effortlessly as he finished tucking the box away and turned to her.
"Headmistress. A pleasure, as always." He dusted his hands off on his robe, and Hermione suddenly felt tongue-tied. His hands looked awfully strong. "What can I do for you?"
She came back to her senses. "Oh, um, I was hoping we could have a little discussion about how your classes are going. It seemed like you certainly had their attention today." She gave him a warm smile, and Scorpius suddenly felt hot.
"They are going rather well, Headmistress. Don't tell the kids I said this, but those third-years are really a bright lot. Sometimes I feel almost inadequate, as if they should be the ones teaching me!" Scorpius suddenly seemed to realize that it sounded like he was saying the job was too much for him.
Backtracking, he walked to a large cupboard on the left side of the green rug. "Perhaps you would like to see what I have planned for next week?"
"I have a better idea." Hermione eyes him shrewdly. "Let's get that boggart out and see what happens!" Scorpius smiled.
"Alright Headmistress, but you'll have to go first. I would love to see such an accomplished witch in action, even if she is a little competitive, apparently."
Hermione sputtered. "Competitive? No, I just haven't had a go at a boggart in years, and besides, it will be good for me to see if the new professor can handle taking his own lessons!"
Scorpius leaned in slightly closer and his eyes held an intent look. "I would love to be your…student." Leaving Hermione slightly shell-shocked behind him, he swished away, opening the cupboard without warning.
Hermione screamed. Her daughter Rose lay on the ground, bleeding from a gash in her head. Pulling herself together, she waved her wand with a cry of "Riddikulus!" Instead of disappearing, the boggart turned into something else. Hermione had no idea what it was, but a cold chill shot down her spine, and she was instantly terrified and frozen to the spot.
"Are those… stars?" Scorpius whispered in awe, as the boggart began advancing. It had changed into a large letter H, with a cluster of stars growing brightly around it, closing in on the H ever tighter, seeming to almost choke it. Scorpius saw Hermione's terror and instantly stepped in front of her, but she came back to her senses with a bang, and shouted the spell angrily at the boggart, which Scorpius instantly ran to and stuffed back inside the cupboard. Neither said a thing, as Hermione stood staring at the spot her wand was still trained upon. Scorpius went over and tentatively laid a hand on her arm.
"Hermione?" The use of her first name brought her slightly out of her trance-like state. She grabbed onto his hand, her eyes still filled with fear.
"I never was good at that spell," she whispered, clutching his hand tighter. Her eyes welled with tears.
Scorpius did not quite know what to do. Oh, he knew what he wanted to do; kiss that trembling bottom lip and stroke the tears away. But something stopped him. He stood awkwardly for a second, his normal devil-may-care attitude temporarily gone, and at length offered her a green handkerchief. Hermione blew her nose rather loudly and solved the problem for him by laying her head against his chest. He put his strong arms around her to keep her steady. She closed her eyes, and all she could see were stars, sparkling, ready to consume her. She opened them again instantly, and her heart caught in her throat at the look Scorpius was giving her, at the way his face was tilted so tenderly down towards hers.
It scared her almost as much as the strange boggart, and she abruptly fell away. Scorpius couldn't quite prevent a slight frown at the sudden absence of Hermione's warmth.
"I-I have to get going. Minerva, she-she really needed my help on something…"
Scorpius watched her hurry out the door, and all he wanted was to reach out and tell her to come back. But once again, something held him back.
Hermione ran along the corridors at a blinding rate, anxious to get back to the safety, the aloneness, of her office. As soon as the door shut behind her, she clenched the handkerchief to her face, letting sobs rack her body.
It was not until quite some time later that Hermione went down to see Professor McGonagall about a problem between two of the Gryffindor students. She didn't notice that the green handkerchief, which lay discarded and drenched by the door, was intricately laced with soaring silver phoenixes.
