Chapter 32:

Teach

Monday, June 12, 2000

Junie sat at her desk at the head of her classroom, looking at her fourth-year students taking their final examinations, and smiled. The surprise night away their friends had given Sirius and her had been fantastic. She'd catch up on the sixth-year final project grading when these students were done. Her NEWT students would be sitting for their examinations this afternoon, and she wanted to be present for them when they were done.

If her mind wasn't drifting back to the decadence of spending nearly all of Saturday night and all day yesterday naked and in bed with her fiancé, she was thinking about him, and the legislation presented today. James and Remus were impressed with what they'd created, and Junie had done the writing of the document – on her computer no less, so she could edit it and then save without having to start again if they changed a section. When the women were finished, Junie printed it and used magic to change the document from a Muggle paper and toner one to a wizarding parchment and ink. Junie found herself wringing her hands and stopped and slipped them into the pockets of her robes. She wasn't going to make it through the day at this rate.

The first of her students finished his exam and brought it forward. He slapped the blue book and biro down on the desk before sauntering out. The boy wanted to be cool, but instead, he just came off as haughty. She doubted he would have done well on the exam, either, as he rarely put forth anything more than the barest minimum to complete an assignment. Junie didn't think the Ravenclaw would continue into his OWL year in the course, as he was close to failing the year. The funny thing about him, he was a second or third cousin to Sirius, and it showed. He wouldn't accomplish what her fiancé did if he didn't sharpen up his act.

Twenty minutes later, more students began to finish, and Junie thought it was a more appropriate time to complete the exam. When there were just two students left, Rosie came into the room and slipped up to Junie's office. The pair were having a brief chat before she went down to Hogsmeade to meet Fred for lunch. Junie loved facilitating the couple; Fred treated Rosie well, and Rosie realized that it was easy to fall in love with your Heart-Bonded mate. Thankfully, Fred wanted to support Rosie in her education, including seeing her advanced education in Runic Translations. She aspired to work for the Ministry, translating scrolls and books written in other, possibly lost, languages. He already told her he'd take a sabbatical from his job with the Ministry to follow her to Alexandria, Egypt while she studied at the library there.

The last student finally turned in their examination booklet, and Junie wished little Gracie Goode a good summer. While teachers shouldn't treat students differently, there were always favourites, and Gracie was one of hers. Still tiny, even at the end of her fourth year, Gracie was kind and always had a thoughtful word for others. She reminded Junie of Marley, which might be why she was so endearing.

In her office, Rosie was talking with Fred through the Floo. He'd swapped shifts with another reversal office worker who had the evening shift. This way, he could take Rosie out during the day, something James was still insisting on. While he liked Fred well enough, he couldn't get over the age difference just yet. He'd originally wanted to come and chaperone them, but Junie convinced him he was needed in London to present at the Wizengamot. Junie did agree she would take a stroll into Hogsmeade should Rosie need her. The woman stood in the doorway to her office, watching her goddaughter speak happily with her new beau.

"Auntie Junie won't bother us, I promise," Rosie said. "She's way cooler than Mum or Dad. In fact, if I was going to go to anyone for advice, it would be her." Junie cleared her throat, letting her presence be known before she inadvertently learned something Rosie might not be prepared to share just yet. "Oh, she's done with her exams. I'll see you in about twenty minutes at the gate, right?" Junie nodded when Rosie looked back to her to confirm how long it would take for them to make it to the gates. Rosie backed away from the fire, and Junie put the examinations in her desk and locked it with her wand.

"How do you think they did?" Rosie asked, indicating the tests with the tip of her head.

"I hope they've done well," Junie said. "I provided them with every opportunity to learn the materials before the exam. The essays are the only area where I couldn't spoon-feed them the information as it was an opinion question." She removed her outer robes to reveal a blue-green dress with white apple blossoms appliqued on the bodice.

"Aunt Junie, that dress is amazing," Rosie said. "Where do you keep finding these spectacular outfits?"

"Muggle boutiques," Junie answered, "I swear your Uncle Sirius knows more small shop owners. I can't help but think he might have helped finance some of them along the way. This particular owner, a wizard by the name of Terrance, is brilliant with his designs, but he only makes like twenty of the dress, and then it's done. He's making my dress for the rehearsal." While she was explaining the dress, Junie grabbed her handbag, and the pair left the office and walked through the classroom. Junie shut the door and locked it before they set off through the halls.

Rosie marvelled at how the students respected her aunt and how many compliments she garnered over her outfit. She thought back to when Junie had started at Hogwarts that fall and how shy Junie seemed to be. Of course, Rosie had known her aunt was funny and kind, but it seemed very few others did. Rosie loved her Uncle Sirius more suddenly because he made others see what a wonderful woman her favourite auntie was.

When they reached the gates, Fred was already waiting for Rosie with a bouquet of tiny roses no larger than a thumbnail. They were a deep red, and Junie just looked at them, the happy pair, and walked past. She had no doubt that Fred was treating Rosie like a lady and would continue to do so. Waiting for two months had nearly driven Sirius barmy; she wondered how Fred had done it for over five years. The man certainly had patience. Waiting another year would be nothing for him. Junie was confident it would be Rosie wanting to rush things along.

First off, Junie stopped at Dorothy's floral shop to say hello and send both Lily and Marley flowers to thank them for everything they'd been doing to help with the wedding. Then Junie reviewed the floral plans for the wedding and was happy to see that everything was as she'd requested. She bought a large bouquet of yellow daisies and left the shop. She visited Peter's shop and bought Sirius the newest version of the Gryffindor tie they'd created; it was four large colour blocks, divided by thick grey lines. The house crest was in the middle. It would look perfect with one of the new suits Sirius had recently purchased. She bought herself a new beret with the Hogwarts crest on it, as it was lightweight enough to wear on dreary summer days.

Junie spotted Rosie and Fred looking in shop windows, and he didn't even drag her into the joke shop. That alone would earn him points with her. Miles had spent hours in there on Hogsmeade weekends, and Rosie hated it. Junie was sure that Fred still had a considerable supply of joking supplies, he and his brother were legendary, and little Ginny had even done her fair share while at school, but he knew now wasn't the time to pick up more. Junie waved to them before she popped into the chocolate shop for a stock up on bars for students who thought they'd failed and a few things for home. Sirius had a profound sweet tooth.

Heading back towards Hogwarts, Junie smiled when the charmed mirror Sirius had given her began to rattle in her pocket. When she opened it she was surprised not to see her intended but rather his best mate.

"Hello, James. Is there a problem?" she asked.

"What?"

"Sirius, is there an emergency?"

"Oh, no," he answered. "I just wanted to see Rosie." Junie rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"James, I'm not tailing her through Hogsmeade. Fred greeted her with tiny little roses and a smile. I didn't need to chaperone them; he treats her like she's porcelain."

"You can still get handsy with the china, Junie." James rumbled, and she heard Sirius laugh in the background. "I told you she wasn't going to be some old-fashioned maid trailing her charge," Sirius said somewhere behind James, which caused Junie to nod her head.

"James, when Harry and Ginny began courting for real, did you follow him around making sure he was a gentleman?" Junie asked.

"No, I trusted Harry."

"I see, so do you not trust Rosie?"

"I trust Rosie," James blustered. "It's just, they haven't known about each other very long."

"That is absolutely true, which is why they need to have time to do things like walk around Hogsmeade and talk. Sit down and have a meal and maybe hold hands. You either trust your children, or you don't, James. I know you better than you think, remember?"

"I'm not so sure about Fred," he confessed.

"Ah, so you know you did a good job, but you somehow think Arthur hasn't raised his children as well. You never questioned Ginny's upbringing, did he, sweetheart?"

"No, he didn't, Luv," Sirius replied from somewhere she couldn't see. From the wall colour, she suspected they were in Sirius' office.

"Arthur has done a fine job, Juniper," James said, getting aggravated.

"Then you need to trust Fred. I think he's already quite smitten with her, and I know they're feeling the first blushes of the wonder of being Heart-Tied."

"How would you know?"

"James, I'm going to hang up if you don't speak to me kindlier," Junie said with a repressed laugh. She found his bluster amusing. "I know because of all of us, I am the one to most recently have been marked and to have fallen in love. Even Sirius had a two-month-long jump on me."

"She's right, Prongs."

"She's my little girl," James finally admitted, albeit quietly so Sirius couldn't take the mickey out of him.

"I know, but she's an adult," Junie said as softly. "If there was a problem, she knows I have my mirror and will be with her in a flash, but I don't think there will be. Fred was willing to wait for five years for her, which shows a level of commitment that is quite unprecedented. Treat them with the same respect you gave Harry and Ginny."

"When did you get to be so smart?" he asked in a slightly mocking way.

"James, I was always smarter; I simply never felt the need to brag about it," she teased him back. "Can I speak with Sirius, please?" He said nothing else but did hand the mirror over to the owner.

"Hello, Luv," Sirius said with a wide smile.

"Hello, darling. Your dress is a hit," she said. "You're allowed to pick out new clothes for me anytime."

"Good, because I did a fair bit of shopping for our trip," he said with a glint and a grin. "How do you feel about a bikini?" Junie gasped.

"That it belongs on someone who is of the age and has the shape of Rosie, not someone who is on the other side of forty."

"I promise, I will be the only one who will see it," he said provocatively. Junie shook her head.

"Still doubtful. I'll make sure Marlene picks out some one-piece costumes for me." Marlene helped Sirius with the wedding trip shopping since Junie wasn't allowed to know what they were doing on their month-long trip away.

"How did the morning session go?" she asked, sitting down on a bench near the entrance to the school grounds. She planned on enjoying her remaining hour outside and was avoiding the Great Hall for lunch; she had no desire to eat.

"Well, as we predicted, there was push-back from several of the pureblood families due to the insinuation that they couldn't teach their children properly. Thankfully Professor McMichael brought several examples of handwriting from students who had been trained in penmanship pre-Hogwarts and those who did not. It was a remarkable difference. Then he brought out some of the Muggle Studies blue books you've been using, where the kids can write with those Biro-things of yours, and the difference in legibility was astounding. Professor McGonagall is suggesting Hogwarts make the switch for all classes except Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, where the ink and writing surface change equations."

"Please tell me someone brought up the need for children to learn how to do Cleansing, Cleaning, and Body Charms was brought up too?"

"It was, Junie," James said, budging in, so she only saw a half face of each man. "It was Kingsley of all people who talked about how his roommate, what was his name?"

"Giles Adderley," Sirius added. "He was only two years ahead of us, remember, the smell?"

"Well, that's what King was talking about," Sirius said. "How Giles always smelled like onions and garlic, and his roommates had to charm his corner so they could breathe in their dorm. Anyway, once Giles finally learned some Cleansing Charms in our fifth-year sex-ed class that things got better. He didn't use Giles name, of course, but we knew because we lived in the same house."

"Oh, I remember," Junie said. "He wanted to chat up Marley right before you two got together, and Lily and I were just revolted. Marley was ever so thankful we kept coming up with excuses." They all laughed at the memories. "So, are you hopeful?"

"I think it will pass, but it might take a few days to get it there. James and Remus have been very persuasive in advocating for the bill as fathers of children who had a well-rounded, pre-Hogwarts education, and McMichael and Mini are doing great. You wrote an amazing bill, don't doubt it now. I need to eat something before we head in there. I love you, and I'll see you tonight."

"Love you too." The mirror went blank, and Junie sighed. She liked being in love.

It was minutes before midnight when an exhausted Sirius tumbled out of the Floo and climbed the stairs to the rooms he shared with his fiancé. He didn't trust himself to Apparate between floors; he barely trusted himself to walk. He didn't think he'd had a day this tiring since he did the Hit Wizard training right out of school. He'd never signed up for the job as his father had died just before he completed it. James did become Auror, briefly, before he went to work for the legal offices. So much for the two of them ridding the Wizarding world of its scourge.

Making it to the second floor, he smiled at the sight of Junie asleep on the settee in a beautiful dark green silk night dress and pink kimono dressing gown over it. She had been grading papers, although he wondered how much she'd left unfinished. He'd never thought they'd go into a third session today. He would have rather the Wizengamot put the issue onto the docket for tomorrow. Still, the body wanted to finish debating the Wizarding education system's restructuring before the press found out about it. He had faced reporters just before he'd left the Ministry. He and James would do a full press conference tomorrow with Professor McGonagall and Marlene Lupin, as they were using her school as the model for the new primary school.

Sirius gently touched Junie's shoulder while calling her name. She began to come around but then seemed to slip away again. He knelt beside her face and kissed her lips softly. She smiled, and her eyes fluttered open. The smile grew to fill her face.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Midnight, or just past," he answered, standing and offering her his hand.

"Did you finish?"

"We did. You've revolutionized wizarding education, my love."

"What? Really?"

"From now on, parents will either need to send their children to the wizarding primary school, prove they are teaching to the school's standards or that they've hired a proper tutor for their child. Additionally, there will be a two mandatory first-year classes for all witches and wizards, which will teach either about the Muggle world or the wizarding world, depending upon which world you came from. Oh, and Hogwarts will now be using biros, composition books, and leaf paper for assignments, save for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"You did it!" Junie cheered before throwing herself into his arms.

"No, Luv, you did this. You brought this to our attention, and you wrote the legislation. I couldn't be prouder of you," he said in little more than a whisper before capturing her lips in a searing kiss.