Although the sun was still bright and high in the sky, the temperature had noticeably dipped in recent days and the lush green foliage of the Forbidden Forest transformed into a sea of red and gold. Liv was already regretting wearing her hair down today as the blustery wind whipped her long, fair hair into the air and across her face. Pausing to check her appearance as she passed a shop window, she tried in vain to brush it down but quickly realised that her efforts were in vain and gave up trying to maintain a tidy appearance. Looking down the busy high street full of students, she found that she wasn't the only one fighting a losing battle with the wind. People had thick scarves wrapped around their faces, heads bowed as they faced off against the treacherous gale. One witch squealed as a particularly strong gust of wind blew her pointed hat off of her head and sent it careening down the street.

Despite the weather, Liv always loved visiting Hogsmeade. Having grown up in a secluded Muggle seaside town, she had always anxiously looked forward to the school day trips to the only all-wizarding village in Britain, relishing the opportunity to immerse herself in the magical world and its culture, which still felt relatively foreign to her then. The chance to spend time in the village again was one of the benefits of taking up the teaching post at Hogwarts and she was relieved to find that even after all of these years, Hogsmeade had remained relatively unchanged; Honeydukes was still packed with excitable, sweet-toothed students, Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was still open for business, and the Hog's Head Inn remained the homestead to a host of shady and interesting characters. It was just as magical as she remembered.

Liv peered into the window of Gladrags Wizardwear and was pleased to see that it was packed full of students looking for costumes for the upcoming Halloween party. While her suggestion to perform Romeo and Juliet had been met with mixed responses from students and staff members alike, the costume party had been received with universal enthusiasm. Liv pulled her cloak more tightly around her neck and continued down the high street. Ah well, at least one of her ideas was popular.

In the few weeks since term had started, Liv had quickly fallen into a routine: she would get up early on Saturday morning but instead of having breakfast in the Great Hall with everyone else, she would go to Madam Puddifoot's for tea and crumpets. Sometimes, Professor Slughorn would accompany her when the weather was fair, but he had declined her invitation today when he had looked out of the window of his living quarters and saw how windy it was. She would then pop over to the post office and send a letter to Andromeda, asking how Teddy was keeping and sometimes sending him little gifts like children's books and clothing. She would then head to her favourite shop in the whole village, Tomes and Scrolls, to find new books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Liv pushed open the door to the cramped bookshop and quickly closed it behind her, cutting off the blustering wind. She let out a small sigh of relief, enjoying the warmth within and the sweet, musky smell of thousands of old books. Not surprisingly, it was much quieter here than it was in Honeydukes or Dervish and Banges. A few of the older students milled about the maze of bookcases, stacked from floor to ceiling with ancient tomes and magical manuscripts. Liv smiled politely to the old shopkeeper as she weaved her way between the shelves, pretending to take interest in random books as she ventured deeper into the heart of the shop, occasionally pulling one off of the shelf and turning it over in her hand before placing it back without reading the title. Slowly, she made her way to the farthest corner of the shop. She was careful not to be seen hanging around in this particular section of the shop—the last thing she needed was for a student to catch sight of the books she was perusing and spread gossip about her at the school.

Liv hid behind one of the bookshelves as Hermione Granger came into view, but the studious Gryffindor was nose deep in a book and didn't notice her Muggle Studies professor as she walked past and disappeared out of sight. Once Liv was sure that the coast was clear, she stepped out from her hiding place and hurried towards the nearby shelf that had a small sign above it reading Relationships and Dating, looking for one book in particular. Pulling a copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches off of the shelf, she opened it at the section detailing how to ask the object of your affections out on a date:

Worried about taking that next big step? Fear not! Here are twelve fail-safe methods that are sure to succeed when asking out the witch of your dreams!

Hire a frog choir to serenade her.

Buy her a crup, but beforehand, train the crup to ask her out.

Throw a rock at her with a love note attached.

Bribe her—

Liv snapped the book shut and groaned. She might be rusty at this dating malarky but even she knew those suggestions were terrible. She had been smitten with Hestia Jones the moment that she had first laid eyes on her at the Welcoming Feast. While the two had become fast friends, sharing a passion for reading and chair spinning, as the weeks passed, Liv's feelings for the pretty witch had only grown in intensity. A few days prior, she had finally mustered up the courage to ask her out on a date, but as she had approached Hestia, Liv's nerves got the better of her. She had intended to invite the Defence Master out on Halloween for dinner but she had stuttered and stumbled over her words so profusely that Hestia mistook her proposal as a suggestion to arrange a party for the students. Rather than correct her friend and face the potential humiliation of rejection, Liv had nodded meekly and the two had set to work planning the party together. At least she would get to spend the evening with Hestia, even if it was only in a professional capacity.

Liv's plan might have been a failure but she wasn't going to give up so easily. With nobody else to turn to, in her desperation, she had resorted to consulting books on relationships and dating for ideas. Too embarrassed at the prospect of being caught purchasing one of the self-help guides, she had taken to visiting the bookshop every weekend, perusing love guides for sound advice. So far, her search had been a fruitless one.

"I should have known that I'd find you in here," said a cheerful voice.

Liv squeaked in surprise and spun on her heel to find Hestia smiling warmly at her. She had a thick sheep wool scarf wrapped around her neck and her cheeks were rosy red from the cold. The first thought that popped into Liv's head was how beautiful Hestia looked, only to become painfully aware of how bedraggled her own appearance was in comparison with her fly-away hair and faded cloak. Remembering then that she was still clutching the dating advice book in her hand, she quickly hid the offending item behind her back.

"Hestia!" she said breathlessly, trying to lean casually on the shelf to her left then immediately straightened when the bookcase wobbled dangerously. "What are you doing here?"

"Just picking up a bit of light bedtime reading," she joked, holding up a book entitled Psychic Self-Defence by Dion Fortune. "A useful guide on how to protect oneself from paranormal attacks, just what every Defence professor needs, especially around exam time."

"Oh. That sounds...alarming," said Liv uncertainly. Hestia laughed.

"I'm only joking, it's not for me—I can take care of myself—it's just a bit of supplementary reading for my seventh year students."

"Ah. Well, that's a relief."

"What about you?" asked Hestia interestedly. "Have you found what you're looking for?"

"Oh, I'm not looking for anything in particular," Liv lied, casting a silent Vanishing Spell on the book. "I'm just browsing today. You know me, always on the lookout for another book."

"Hmm, anything in particular from the Dating Section that caught your eye?" Hestia asked lightly. Liv felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"Oh. Is that where I've wandered into?" she replied, mentally kicking herself for sounding so stupid.

Liv's heartbeat quickened as Hestia took a step closer to her, reached over her shoulder and pulled a book from the shelf behind her. Her heart sank when she saw the front cover of the book Hestia had picked up—another copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. A wry smile spread across Hestia's face as she flicked through the book and opened it at a random page. She cleared her throat and began to read aloud.

"As the old saying goes, a woman's tongue wags like a Crup's tail. So on your date, be sure to let her do all of the talking, always look like you're paying attention and agree with everything that she says." Hestia snapped the book shut and slipped it back onto the shelf. "Hmm. Interesting advice."

"Indeed," Liv laughed nervously. "Who would be desperate enough to consult these books for advice, eh?"

Hestia's expression grew soft. "I wouldn't put too much stock in what these books have to say. If someone's caught your eye, you should just try asking them out. I'm sure they'd say yes."

"Nobody's caught my eye," she replied, a little too quickly. An amused grin spread across Hestia's face but she simply gave a careless shrug.

"If you say so," she said, not sounding at all convinced by Liv's protests. "Well, if you're not looking for anything in particular, fancy getting out of here and grabbing a pint?"

Leaping at the chance to change the subject and awkward location of their discussion, Liv hurried for the exit, leaving four Galleons on the counter as she left in recompense for the book that she had Vanished.

The Three Broomsticks was always packed on a Saturday afternoon but they managed to find a small table in the corner of the pub to themselves. After Hestia shed her heavy cloak and scarf, she made her way to the bar to get the first round of drinks while Liv patiently guarded their table and seats. A couple of the students caught her eye and waved and she smiled politely in return. Her smile widened as Hestia quickly returned clutching two foaming tankards of Butterbeer.

"This'll heat you up," said Hestia brightly, plonking the tankard in front of Liv. Slipping into the empty chair across the small, round table, she raised her own cup. "Cheers."

They clinked their metal tankards together and Liv took a deep swig of her drink, relishing the hot, sickly sweet liquid coating her tongue before flowing down her throat, heating her belly. Wrapping her hands around the mug, she enjoyed the warmth flowing through her fingers, banishing the wintery chill. Hestia snorted out a laugh and Liv frowned.

"What?" she asked. Hestia bit her lip, leant over the table, and lightly brushed her thumb over Liv's top lip.

"You have a moustache," she chuckled before proceeding to suck the cream off of her thumb. "Mmm, tasty!"

Liv thought that she might keel over right there and then.

"How's the play coming along?" Hestia asked conversationally, taking a sip from her own drink.

Still a little flustered by Hestia's seemingly innocuous actions, she blinked. "The what now?"

"The play," Hestia repeated patiently. "How are rehearsals coming along?"

"Oh! Um, fine, I suppose," Liv stammered. Needing a moment to collect herself, she took a protracted drink before speaking again. "No mutinies yet, thankfully. If anything, most of the students seem to be enjoying taking part."

Hestia nodded. "That's good to hear. Mind you, I'm pretty gutted that I wasn't able to pop by and check out rehearsals this week."

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Liv curiously. Hestia gave a careless shrug, a mischievous smile playing across her lips.

"I overheard a couple of people chatting about it in the staffroom. Apparently, I missed quite the performance."

"Ah, you mean Messers Potter and Malfoy?"

"Mmhmm."

Liv cleared her throat and took another sip of her hot drink. "Yes, that was a very...convincing performance they put on."

Hestia's smile widened. "Indeed. I hear that they're quite good together."

Liv nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, they perform very well together. All the students do."

"Hmm." Hestia looked thoughtful for a moment. "You don't think that they…"

"Potter and Malfoy?"

Hestia shrugged. Yes, after watching Draco and Harry's kissing scene, the possibility had crossed Liv's mind that there may have been less acting going on than either boy was willing to let on. But as far as she was concerned, what her students did in their own time is their own business. And she wasn't going to begrudge two people from finding a little happiness in each other's company. Merlin knows, Harry had earned it more than most.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she replied noncommittally. "So long as they turn up on time for class and memorise their lines, it's no skin off my teeth. Another drink?"

Rather than venture into the dangerous territory of her student's love lives, Liv downed her drink and hurried to the bar to get them another pint. The rest of the afternoon passed in a pleasant blur as she and Hestia chatted about everything and anything; they had an in-depth discussion about Tolkien's work, namely whether or not Bilbo Baggins was a reliable narrator ("Given his propensity to embellish events, I think most of the events were greatly exaggerated," Liv argued). They also discussed the curious similarities between the power of The One Ring and that of Horcruxes ("I'm still convinced Tolkien was a wizard!" declared Hestia after their third pint).

After their fourth drink (or was it their fifth?), Liv was beginning to feel pleasantly tipsy and Hestia's cheeks had an appealing rosy glow to them. The conversation had moved on from books and classwork and they proceeded to commiserate on their lacklustre love lives. Normally, Liv would have shied away from discussing that particular topic, but drinking copious amounts of mulled Butterbeer would loosen anyone's tongue.

"I've noticed that Hogwarts hasn't changed much over the years: it's still full of hormonal teenagers falling in and out of love every week," Hestia mused. "It reminds me of my school days."

Liv laughed and rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. I've lost count the number of times I've stumbled across students in the supply cupboard on the third floor. It's a depressing state of affairs when the students have more active love lives than we do."

"It really is unfair! We're both single, attractive women—where are we going wrong?" Hestia lamented.

Liv shrugged. "Merlin only knows. It's been so long since I've had a girlfriend, I've almost forgotten what it's like."

"Surely it hasn't been that long?" Hestia exclaimed.

"I'm serious!" Liv argued. She sighed and shook her head. "Maybe I should just accept my fate: I'm destined to be a spinster all my life. I'll die a recluse and get eaten by my Kneazles."

When Hestia let out a raucous laugh, Liv felt quite pleased with herself to have amused her friend so much. Liv loved hearing Hestia laugh; she thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world, and it was all the more pleasant when she was the one to have caused it. Hestia wiped tears from her eyes and looked fondly at Liv.

"You're hilarious," she chuckled.

Liv smiled and shrugged. "I try my best. So, we've clarified that both of our love lives leave a lot to be desired. How long has it been since you were last in a relationship?"

Hestia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I had a few girlfriends when I was at school, but I've only had a couple of serious relationships since I graduated. Nothing really worth mentioning, if I'm honest." She threw back her head and groaned, "Merlin, it's been so long since I've been with anyone!"

Liv's ears pricked up when she heard that. "Really? I find that hard to believe."

Hestia smiled at Liv over the top of her drink. "Oh? Why's that?"

"Well, because you're so…" Liv gesticulated at Hestia as though it were obvious. Hestia snorted and took a swig from her drink, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Well, whatever I am, it hasn't made finding a girlfriend any easier," she joked. "Mind you, with everything that's been going on the last couple of years, I haven't had much time to look for anyone."

Liv nodded solemnly. "Yes, war and love don't mix very well."

"What about you?" asked Hestia. "Any great loves?"

"Ah, you know," Liv replied noncommittally. Hestia quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't. That's why I'm asking," she quipped.

Liv let out a long sigh and settled back into her chair. "Well, there was one girl…" Hestia leant forward in her seat with rapt attention and Liv continued, "We worked together at MACUSA."

"What was her name?"

"Mal."

"Mal," Hestia repeated thoughtfully. "That's a nice name."

"She was a nice person," said Liv. "We met at one of the office Christmas parties. She turned up in the most hideous Christmas jumper I'd ever seen so, naturally, I had to know more about her."

Hestia chuckled but said nothing, so Liv continued, "We went out on a few dates, things got serious pretty quickly and we moved in together soon after. We got a Crup, started saving up for a house, things were going pretty well for us…"

Liv paused and Hestia looked expectantly at her. "I'm expecting there's a 'but' coming up."

"Isn't there always?" said Liv wryly. She lowered her gaze and swirled the contents of her tankard as she spoke. "But then my dad got sick. I know I've told you a little about it already."

"Lung cancer, right?"

Liv nodded. "He'd been pretty poorly when I last visited him. He had a chesty cough but we thought it was just a bug going around. But after I went home to the States, his cough only got worse. But my dad was stubborn, he didn't want to pester the doctor just because of a chest infection. Then he started getting pain in his back, and was losing a lot of weight and...well, by the time he finally went to the doctor, there wasn't much that they could do for him."

Liv downed the rest of her drink which had long since gone cold and continued, "So, he called me and told me what his situation was. I took leave from work and came back here to take care of him. Ted and Andromeda helped out a lot, cooking meals and keeping my dad company so that we could have a bit of a break from each other. I loved my dad; he had always been such an independent person, but now here I was spending every minute of the day and night with him, helping him do things that he couldn't do for himself anymore. It was really frustrating for him."

"It's understandable," Hestia offered gently.

"I suppose the only saving grace is that it wasn't a long, drawn-out illness," Liv continued matter-of-factly, her gaze focused intently on the empty tankard as she spoke. "Mal came over for the funeral, of course. She'd only met my dad once but she still flew halfway across the world because she wanted to be there for me. After the funeral, she headed back to the States and I stayed behind to sort through dad's things—his belongings, his paperwork, all the legal stuff—that's when I found out he'd left the cottage to me. I had to consider what to do with the property—either sell it or let it out to someone else—but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I didn't want anyone else to live in my home. I'd grown up in that cottage, all my memories of my parents were tied to that place. I knew that I needed to go back to the States; I'd put my life on hold for months and I had everything waiting for me…"

"But you couldn't go," Hestia finished. Liv nodded glumly.

"Dirk helped me find work at the Ministry in the same department I'd worked at MACUSA, so the transition was easy enough. It was difficult explaining to Mal why I needed to stay. I even asked if she would consider moving over here, but all of her family and friends were in New York, and her career was on the rise, so it didn't make sense for her to drop everything and move here. To her credit, she was really understanding about the whole thing—more understanding than I deserved, really. She should have been angrier at me for uprooting both of our lives like that, but Mal wasn't like that. She was always thoughtful and understanding—the heart of a Hufflepuff, through and through. We tried to make things work, have a long-distance relationship, but we were only able to see each other a couple of times a year. It wasn't fair on her to drag things out."

"Are you still in touch with Mal?" asked Hestia.

"No," said Liv quietly. "I did see her again a few years ago. She'd come over on Ministry business—she was the American liaison during the English Quidditch World Cup and had a few meetings with Ludo Bagman. I had a pleasant but brief conversation with her; she's married now, got a couple more Crups...she seemed happy, which is the best I could have asked for."

A sombre silence followed as Liv reminisced about the many lost loves in her life. She hadn't intended for the evening to take such a woeful turn, but Hestia was always such an attentive listener and, despite the subject matter, it still felt good to open up to her and reveal a little more about herself.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad that you came back," Hestia offered. "Otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here enjoying each other's company now."

Liv gave Hestia a small smile. "Very true. I'm glad to be here with you, too."

Hestia raised her tankard in the air. "Cheers to that."

Liv clinked her cup against Hestia's and downed the last dregs at the bottom of the tankard before placing it carefully on the table again. Checking her watch, she was surprised to see that it was so late in the evening.

"I think I'll just head back up to the castle," she said, pushing her chair away from the table. "I'm feeling quite tired now. And drunk."

"Yeah, me too." Hestia downed the last of her drink and rose to her feet, swaying slightly on the spot. "Let's make tracks before Rosmerta kicks us out."

The wind had died down and the high street was much quieter now, all of the students having returned to the castle and most of the shops now closed for the evening. They walked up the dark dirt path towards Hogwarts in amiable silence for a few moments before Hestia playfully nudged Liv with her shoulder.

"So, are you finally going to tell me who you fancy?" she queried. Liv let out a nervous laugh.

"What are you on about?"

"Don't play coy with me," Hestia teased. "You weren't checking out those dating books for academic purposes. Someone's caught your eye, haven't they?"

"Maybe…" said Liv evasively. "But it's not like they would be interested in me, so it's all rather pointless even talking about it."

Hestia frowned. "Why wouldn't they be interested?"

Liv hesitated a moment before answering, "I suppose it's because this person that I like, they're funny, and smart, and brave...I'm not any of those things." Hestia opened her mouth to argue but Liv pressed on, "Don't say that I'm not. I know that I'm clumsy and awkward. And boring."

"Boring?" Hestia laughed. "How on earth are you boring?"

"Of all the places in the world I could be, you knew that you'd find me in a bookshop," Liv pointed out. "I spend all of my free time reading musty old books and reciting Shakespeare and Tolkien. There are probably flobberworms out there with more exciting lives than mine."

"I like reading books," Hestia reminded her. "Do you think I'm boring?"

"No!" Liv replied quickly. "No, of course not. You're funny and smart and...an interesting person."

Hestia sighed and hooked her arm through Liv's pulling her closer as they walked up the stone steps towards the castle's entrance. "You don't give yourself enough credit. I think you're very interesting. Why else would I spend so much of my time in your company?"

"Boredom?" Liv quipped. Hestia rolled her eyes.

"Okay, this person that you like—how likely is it that you'll ask them out on a date?"

"I might," said Liv unconvincingly. "Well, maybe...I don't know."

"What's stopping you?"

Liv shrugged. "I've been trying to figure out how to ask them...I'm just not very good at that sort of thing."

"Well, I don't think you're going to find the solution between the pages of any of those rubbish dating books you were eyeing up," Hestia mused. When they reached Liv's living quarters, Hestia relinquished her grip on Liv's arm and turned to face her.

"I assure you, asking someone out on a date is quite easy. You just need to have a little confidence in yourself," she said gently. "You just need to look the person that you like dead in the eye and say, 'Liv, I really like you. Would you like to go out with me for dinner?'"

Liv sighed in resignation. "Damn, you made that look so easy! I just know if I tried that I'd still mess it up somehow—what's so funny?"

Hestia was trying to suppress a laugh and was failing miserably. She took Liv's hand into her own and said, "Liv, I need you to listen to me carefully. I really like you. I would like to take you out for dinner."

Hestia waited patiently for Liv to reply but Liv merely stared back at her with a confused expression.

Then the Galleon dropped.

"Oh...OH!" Liv gasped and stammered. "I—really? You'd like to take me out for dinner?"

Hestia's smile widened. "Yes."

"Like...as in a date?"

"Yes," Hestia laughed. "So what do you say?"

Liv still looked uncertain. "Are you sure?"

"Oh for Godric's sake," Hestia muttered. She leant down and pressed a wet kiss to Liv's lips. When she pulled away, her expression was serious. "I'm sure."

Liv stared at Hestia, momentarily stunned at what was happening before grinning broadly and kissing Hestia back. She could feel Hestia smiling against her lips and her hands slid around Liv's waist, pulling her closer. Liv couldn't quite believe that this was happening, sure that she was dreaming but she didn't want to wake up. Breaking the kiss, she was pleased to see the rosy blush had returned to Hestia's cheeks.

"I don't think it would look very professional if students caught two of their professors kissing in the corridor," she said a little breathlessly. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

Hestia's smile broadened. "Yeah, that'd be lovely."

Liv opened the door to her living quarters and ushered Hestia inside. Just when she thought her life at Hogwarts couldn't get any better...well, she was happy to be proven wrong in this instance.