Chapter 4: DADA

Hermione woke the next morning feeling both excited and anxious, as she did on so many days. But today she had her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she heard giggling. Lavender and Parvati were dressing and gossiping about a Ravenclaw boy who was dating a girl from Hufflepuff. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't they ever get tired of gossip?" she thought. She pulled the covers back and climbed out of bed.

"Oh, good morning Hermione," Lavender said.

"Good morning Lavender, Parvati," she said somewhat stiffly. She really hoped they wouldn't drag her into their conversation.

"Did you hear that Greg Winters was caught trying to sneak into the Hufflepuff common room?" Parvati asked.

Hermione sighed. "No," she said resignedly.

Lavender and Parvati shrieked in excitement and began to tell her all about it while she tried to get dressed.

"Hermione!" Ginny called as she ran to her side and matched her pace. "I'm so excited!" she said breathlessly. "Lupin was the best DADA teacher we ever had." Hermione smiled and nodded.

Slytherins and Gryffindors were making their way into the DADA classroom as they arrived. She could hear whispers of "Lupin" among the chatter of the other students. They appeared to be as excited as she felt. Well, except for the Slytherins, most of them had a scowl on their face.

As she walked through the doorway she saw him, he was the sole focus of her attention as she made her way to the front. Professor Lupin sat with his head bowed while the students finished filing in. Hermione's heart beat faster when he raised his head. She took in his beautiful, scarred face, and her heart ached. He had been through so much. She often wondered what his life would have been like if he hadn't been cursed. She was sure he would have much less scars and worry lines. He also wouldn't have a reason to block people out like he did because of his 'furry little problem.' She sighed and then snapped out of it. She had a lecture to listen to.

"Good morning everyone," he began. He scanned the room smiling at the familiar faces. When his eyes met her, he stopped; an odd look came over his face. But he quickly came to and continued the lecture.

Hermione wondered what that strange look could mean. After a while she was distracted by the lesson. It went by smoothly, but she found her thoughts often wandered back to Lupin. And not all the thoughts were innocent. "This crush is stronger than I thought," she said to herself. "I shouldn't be thinking of my professor this way. Why can't I like boys my age like everyone else? Because they're immature gits, that's why," her brain provided.

She was reminded of her relationship with Ron. She thought they could have a life together. She thought they could be happy. She thought wrong. She had been attracted to him, despite the fact that he had the emotional range of a teaspoon and wasn't the sharpest tool in the toolshed. But attraction wasn't enough. They almost never saw eye to eye and were constantly bickering or not speaking to each other at all. After six months she decided to end it. She knew he would need time to move on, but she hoped they could be friends again. She rarely saw him anymore and when she did things were still a bit awkward. The end of class came, and she was pulled from her reverie.

Lupin sat down next to Hagrid at dinner. He was pleased with how well the first day was going. He loved teaching and was thankful to have the opportunity to do it again.

Hagrid started telling him about a strange, obscure creature. Lupin was vaguely interested but his thoughts soon began to wander. He looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione. She and Ginny were talking. He caught himself staring at a certain part of her anatomy for too long and scolded himself. There was no denying that she was a woman, a very beautiful woman. He remembered the moment in class when their eyes had met. He had seen something in her eyes that looked like longing. He quickly dismissed the idea. "I must have imagined it," he told himself.

He turned his attention back to Hagrid. They talked about various creatures for the rest of the meal.