Chapter Thirteen: Introductions

"Ah! Mr. Potter. I see you've arrived," McGonagall said, standing up from her own seat at the lunch table. Several pairs of eyes—both familiar and strange—looked up at Harry from the staff table. Harry tried to ignore them. It was strange being looked at with such…respect; especially from those who had taught him. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"Hullo Profe—err…Minerva." This was even stranger than calling Mrs. Weasley Molly. She pulled a piece of paper out of her robe and handed it to him.

"You're classes are all set," she said handing it to him. "Some of them are slightly larger than usual, but this way you have fewer classes and can take care of your godson. And Madam Pomfrey said she'd be more than willing to watch him for you while you're in class."

"Thanks," Harry said. "Teddy will be here tonight. Mrs. Weasley said it'd probably be a good idea if I got situated first, and that she'd bring him."

"And indeed it is. So, Mr. Potter, you sit—"

"Err, excuse me Minerva. But if I'm going to be calling you by your first name, don't you think you should call me Harry?" She looked only slightly taken aback.

"Yes!" Neville put in. "And you should call me Neville," he said firmly.

McGonagall smiled. "Very well then. Harry, if you'd take the seat between Neville and Filius." Harry and Neville grinned, and obediently took their seats.

"Hello Prof—"

"Filius, Harry, please," Flitwick squeaked. "You're my colleague now, aren't you?"

"Err." Was he going to have to call all Hogwarts staff by their first names? This was going to be very strange indeed.

"It takes some getting used to," Neville told him. "I've been here for a couple days already, so I'm pretty adjusted. It's going to be an interesting year, though."

The man on Flitwick's other side cleared his throat pointedly. Flitwick took the cue. "Harry," he said, "may I introduce Emris Aldage, the new Transfiguration teacher. And on his other side is Seron Burves, teacher of Muggle Studies." He indicated the woman sitting next to Emris.

Harry nodded his greeting to both. "Harry Potter," he said needlessly.

"It's such a pleasure to be working with you!" Seron said.

"You're quite the celebrity now, aren't you Mr. Potter?" Emris said with a smile of his own.

"Harry, please," Harry corrected. He then busied himself with eating the food that had just appeared on his plate.

"So Neville, who's the Head of Hufflepuff now that Sprout's gone?" Harry asked after a few minutes, turning his attention to his friend again. "And is McGon—Minerva still head of Gryffindor?"

Neville frowned. "I don't know about Gryffindor," he confessed. "Minerva's probably still the head. There are so many changes going around, I don't think anyone would object to having a headmistress who's still head of a house. And Aurora—Sinistra, the astronomy teacher—is head of Hufflepuff now." (A/N: I don't remember any other Hufflepuff teachers except for Sprout. I don't think it ever said what Sinistra was from, so I just decided it would be her. Please correct me if I'm wrong or if you have a better suggestion.)

"Harry!" a voice boomed from behind him and a giant hand landed on his shoulder, squashing him down into his seat. "How ya been?" The next instant Harry felt himself pulled out of his chair and into a bone-crushing hug. Finally, Hagrid let him go and sat down on Neville's other side. "A teacher! Blimey. Always knew ya'd make a good teacher, though. Always knew."

"Hullo Hagrid," Harry greeted, slightly out of breath. At least there was one name that didn't have to change. "How's Grawp?"

"Doin' fine, doin' fine," he answered, and began wolfing down his own food.

Harry took the moment of silence to unfold his schedule and look it over. His first year classes were normal sized, one class of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor first years, one of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. His second year class had all four houses. But then again, that would be a smaller group anyways, as that was the group that started last year during the war.

The next day was all four houses of third years, then a fourth year class of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Wednesday was the rest of the fourth years and then all of the fifth. The next day was two splits of sixth years, Gryfindor/Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff/Slytherin. Then Friday two groups of seventh years, divided the same way.

Each day he only had morning classes, Harry realized. By lunch his classes were over. That would be good.

-

The fireplace in Harry's office burst into emerald flames and Mrs. Weasley stepped out, holding baby Teddy in her arms.

"Harry dear!" she exclaimed cheerfully, as though she hadn't just seen him that morning, and instead it had been several months since their last conversation. "I brought Teddy here, just like we planned." Her eyes welled up with tears for a moment. "I will miss having a baby in the house," she admitted. "But I suppose I'll get on all right."

Harry took the baby into his arms. "Thanks Molly, for everything," he told her.

"Oh yes! And I almost forgot." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a very miniature crib. "Where would you like his crib?" she asked. Harry led her through a door into his sleeping quarters, and indicated a corner. She placed the mini-crib down, and with a wave of her wand it enlarged to it's normal size. "That shrink spell was the handiest thing I ever learned, I'll tell you that."

Harry gently placed Teddy in the crib, where he looked at them curiously, as usual. He was caught off guard when a sudden tight pair of arms pulled him into another bone-crushing hug.

"You've just grown up so fast!" she exclaimed with another small sob. "It seems like just yesterday you were asking me how to get onto platform nine and three quarters!" Harry thought it best to not point out they'd already had this conversation.

"I'll be just fine," he assured her, when at last she let him go again and he could breathe.

"Come home for the holidays?" she asked hopefully. "Like you used to?"

Harry couldn't have said no if he had wanted to, which admittedly he didn't.

-

Harry cleared his throat when he entered the hospital wing to announce his presence. "Madam Pomfrey?" he called.

"Mr. Potter! Come in, come in. And this must be Remus Lupin's son?" Pomfrey asked.

Harry nodded. "His name's Ted, or Teddy. Err, so Minerva told me you'd watch him for me while I have classes?"

"Yes, yes, I'd be more than happy to," she told him. "May I?" she asked, and took the baby from Harry's arms. Teddy seemed to like her well enough. "How old is he?"

"About three months," Harry answered. "And he's a metamorphmagus, like his mother. Err, is there anything you need to know about him?"

"Any allergies?" she asked.

"Err, not that I know of."

She nodded. "All right then. So how do you want to do this, Mr. Potter?"

Harry blinked. She was asking him? "Err, well. I. How do you want this to work?" he asked at last.

"Well you could bring him to me in the mornings, and then come get him after class. Or you could just leave him here and come up and visit him in your free time." Her voice suggested she didn't think much of this second plan, and almost dared Harry to take it.

"Err, no, that's all right. I'll take care of him after classes." She beamed at him.

"Very well," and she gently handed Ted back to Harry. "So I'm assuming I'll see you tomorrow evening? Before the feast?"

Harry nodded. "Thanks for this," he told her, feeling slightly awkward. "For helping me out with Teddy and all."

"Not a problem, Mr. Potter. I do just love children." Harry fought the urge to argue. Over the years, coming in and out of this hospital wing with injuries, she had never seemed to think much of the students at all. She must mean young children, Harry thought.

Well, younger at least.

A/N: There you go! Same deal as usual. Next chapter will be up as soon as it's written. Please R&R! I will be eternally grateful.