Chapter 9: First Day

This chapter is dedicated to Lola, who was there for me since I started this chapter not knowing what to write about. She was my stand-in beta and my cheerleader, and without her, there wouldn't be this chapter, so…THANK YOU!!!

And thanks to Jenea Cappoen for continuing to review; you're still my favorite :)

I just realized that I said there would be a Quiddich match this weekend; I lied. It's next weekend. I'm sorry, but I will put it in.

Alas, I do not own the characters or things associated with Harry Potter. I'm just using them for my own fun, and I promise to return them…more or less in the same condition :)

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Sunday passed fairly uneventfully; Remus wouldn't answer when I wrote except for once: Hang out with your sisters, your friends. So I did. We talked and laughed, discussing the best and worst teachers, the cutest guys and how badly Gryffindor would beat Slytherin the coming weekend. The thought that I would start teaching the next day didn't register with me until I was lying in bed that night, wondering how I could teach children scarcely younger than me. I laid there, allowing myself to freak our for a little while before I forced myself to sleep; it wouldn't do any good to try to teach without any.

I awoke the next morning to an unpleasant clawing at my shoulders and head. I almost swatted away the offending creature before I realized that it was an owl. And it had multiple notes. Afraid that I had somehow overslept, I frantically glanced around the room. Alexa, the morning person, was up and gone, but every other bed was full, so I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned my attentions to the impatient owl, taking the note that it offered. It apparently didn't have orders to stay for a reply and had to deliver the others because it immediately flew away and out the window. Confused, I unfolded the piece of paper with Albus's handwriting.

Professors,

I realize that I probably should have introduced Miss Spitts to the staff before the rest of the school; it was a mistake not to. So I would like all of you to be in my office at 7:40 to meet the new professor I have taken on for Astrology.

-Albus Dumbledore

I glanced at the time; it was 7:05. I decided to go ahead and take a shower, since few people were awake to create a line. I stood under the relaxing spray for a while, before more girls showed up. I grudgingly turned off the water, wrapping myself in a towel and padding up to my dorm. I quickly dried my hair, pulling it back into a quick ponytail. I spelled the midnight blue robes on and left the Gryffindor Tower to few stares, as most of my classmates were just waking up. I was one of the first professors in front of the gargoyle, along with Minerva and Remus. I smiled at them both, a bit more promise behind one.

Minerva was the first to speak, saying the password, "Cockroach clusters," and stepping onto the moving staircase.

I wondered if the Headmaster had finally changed his password, but I didn't have any time to speak because we had reached the top.

Albus invited us in, smiling, gesturing to one of the many chairs that now filled his office. "The others should be here soon." He happily chatted with us as the others trickled in, some looking more awake than others. Finally, a new face showed up at 7:39, just on time. I gasped in surprise; I knew this man, and so did everyone else in the room. I smiled, waiting my turn to greet the new arrival, sizing him up in the process. The man had changed little since his graduation two years ago. He now had slight stubble on his cheeks and a very handsome, rugged look as he comfortably greeted all of his former teachers. Finally, it was my turn.

"Well, well, could Mr. Bill Weasley possibly be the new Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts?"

He blinked, recognition clearly showing in his eyes. "Andrea Spitts?"

"You remember me?"

"Of course I remember you! Percy was always going on about you, even after I graduated. Though, now, I certainly see why." He smiled, looking right in my eyes. That's when I noticed that he hadn't released my hand yet. I quickly straightened up, not daring to look at Remus to gauge his reaction. I took my place by him, and Dumbledore went through one of his quick speeches. He dismissed us soon, mentioning that breakfast would be formally served in a few minutes.

When we arrived in the Great Hall, I realized that, since Bill and I would be taking our respective seats, we'd be right next to each other, with me in between him and Remus. We laughed and chatted until it was almost time for class to start. I swallowed my fear and marched to the practice Quiddich field.

I stepped onto the pitch with what was a probably horrified expression, and I immediately knew that it was a mistake because I saw two or three Slytherin boys smirking at my it. I kept a wary eye on them as I had the class show me all that they had learned. One of the Hufflepuff girls was having trouble with hovering steadily, so I turned away from the rest of the class. That's when the inevitable happened. I was just demonstrating a good technique to the Hufflepuff when, suddenly, I heard a yell and the sound of two bodies colliding, followed by more yells and two "oomph"s. I quickly pivoted, afraid of what I'd see. But all I saw were a bunch of first years looking down with horrified expressions and two brooms free floating. Following my students' gazes, I looked down, finding the source of the commotion. There were two boys on the ground, howling in pain as each grabbed various body parts. One, I reluctantly noted, was a Gryffindor, and one was a Slytherin.

"Everyone touch down!" I yelled to the class, though half of them were already moving to do so. I followed my own order, marching over to the two struggling boys. "What happened?" I fiercely asked, and the boys stopped screaming in pain for a minute to tell their own side of the story…at the same time. "Hold on! One at a time."

The Slytherin boy, Bailey, spoke up more quickly than the other. "I was just--ow!--practicing hovering and gliding when, out of no where, I was--ah!--attacked!"

"Is this true?" I turned to the Gryffindor, Adam.

"No! He was--oh!--trying to do something to you! I had to--unh!--stop him!"

I didn't know who to believe, though I was more inclined to Adam, but I had to call Poppy Pomfrey, seeing how much pain these two were in. She came down quickly, assessing the boys. They each had a broken wrist or ankle, respectively, and were pretty badly bruised, but would be fine. She quickly spelled the worst of their injuries, then turned to me. "Wow, your first day on the job and boys are already fighting. Well, you handled it well. How many points did they lose?"

I started in surprise. "Points? But only one of them is guilty…given, I don't know which one, but I can't just take away points if I don't know whose fault it is."

Poppy looked at me strangely. "I guess you're right. I didn't think about it that way. Most of the time, professors just take points immediately and ask questions later. You're certainly a breath of fresh air to the faculty. So are you going to send them to the Headmaster for him to decide the guilty party?"

"Yeah, I think so. If you're not busy, could you escort them there; I probably shouldn't leave the rest of the class unattended." She nodded, dragging the boys off. I realized quickly, though, that the rest of the class was too excited by what happened to concentrate. I went ahead and excused them early, changing into my student robes and heading to Care of Magical Creatures.

At lunch, I mentioned the fight to Bill and Remus. They, not surprisingly, already knew about it and assured me that these things happen all of the time; it wasn't my fault.

I got my two students back the next day, with Slytherin having lost points for trying to pour a form of Itching Powder on me. It was, given, a childish prank, but I knew I'd have to keep an eye on him from then on.

The rest of the week passed in much the same fashion, without the fights. I taught, learned, did my homework, and snuck down to Remus's room nearly every night, where, as an attribute to the full moon rapidly approaching, we certainly didn't do schoolwork.

Soon enough, it was Saturday morning, and I was getting ready for the Quiddich match.

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Oh, so since no one (except for Lola) talked to me about the name change, I'll mention it here. What do you think about me changing the name to "Do you really mean it?" "Call Me" doesn't apply any more the way I imagined it would. What do you think about that name? Do you have any other ideas?