Summary: Hermione returns to Hogwarts after five years to fill the yet
again vacant DAtDA position.
Author's Notes: This is my first story with Hermione as the main character. I think I got her pretty much IC, but there may be a few OOC moments.
Rating: PG-13. It may change to R later if I can get my nerve up. :)
Disclaimer: These wonderful characters and this lovely world that I am so thoughtlessly borrowing belong to J. K. Rowling.
Feedback: Flamers will be boiled in oil.
/ /= emphasis
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Returning Home
By OcelotKitten
__________
Hermione Granger sighed quietly as she looked up at the imposing edifice of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had been five years since she had left the school after graduation, and not an inch of it had changed. Fingering the letter in her pocket for reassurance, she started up the path to the school. 'If someone had asked me after graduation if I would want to come back, 'she mused to herself, 'I would have been thrilled beyond belief. And now look at me! Terrified to be coming back to the one place that I most loved to be.'
Although that wasn't entirely true, she reminded herself. If the circumstances were different, there would have been no problem. She was returning to Hogwarts not as a student, or even an alumnus, but as a professor. Faced once again with the perennially vacant Defense Against the Dark Arts position, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had begged Hermione to take it, and Hermione suspected that the kindly Headmaster had asked her to simply because he knew she wouldn't say no to him.
The vast majority of the wizarding community regarded the job to be jinxed. Since Hermione's first year, none of the teachers had lasted longer than a year. It had been a long string of Death Eaters, a werewolf, an insipid twit who ended up losing his memory, and filled out by a pathetic bunch of idiots (at least in Hermione's opinion). It had been getting harder and harder to find worthy wizards and witches to fill the position.
She reached the entry doors, and they swung open at a slight touch.
Waiting for her in the entrance hall, she found Dumbledore, and the rest of the teachers. "Welcome, Hermione," the Headmaster said with a grin and a twinkle in his eye, "It is good to have you back." Pushing down vaguely mutinous feelings toward the old man, ('After all, you /did/ accept the job,' Hermione reminded herself), she shook Dumbledore's hand. The headmaster's sentiment was seconded by most of the assembled faculty, with one notable, but not entirely unexpected exception.
Whereas all of the other teachers were beaming, Professor Severus Snape wore the same forbidding expression that he always did. 'Small surprise there,' Hermione thought sourly, 'I'd probably die of shock if that man was happy to see me.' Still, his implied rejection of her even though they were now equals stung more than Hermione would have admitted, even to herself.
"If you would come with me, Hermione?" Dumbledore said, "We will go to my office, and fill out your paperwork." Hermione nodded and, with one last round of congratulations from the teachers (again excluding Snape), followed Dumbledore. The hallways were conspicuously empty, and Hermione remarked on it to Dumbledore. He chuckled, "Have you really been away so long, Hermione? The students are not here. The school year has not started yet."
Hermione nearly stopped dead at her own stupidity. Of course, the halls were empty! Students didn't arrive until September first, and it was as yet only the middle of August. It was simply strange for her since she had never been at the school during summer before. With a sheepish, "Oh", she resumed the walk down the corridor. On the way to the office, they chatted, and Hermione filled the Headmaster in on what all her old classmates had been doing since they had graduated.
Ron had gone into curse-breaking like his brother Bill, and worked at Gringotts. Harry had gone to work for the Ministry, and was an apprentice Auror. He had also married Ginny Weasley, and they were quite happy. At the entrance to the Headmaster's office, a stone gargoyle blocked their way, but it moved out of the way at the password (Sugar Quills).
Leading Hermione up the moving staircase, Dumbledore said, "I want to say again, Hermione, how glad I am that you agreed to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. I must say that it has become more and more difficult to fill it as time goes on."
"Was it really so hard that you picked me out of desperation, or did you know I wouldn't say no?" Hermione said with a smile.
"I confess that it was a little of both," Dumbledore said with an answering smile as they reached the door, and he ushered her in. Hermione sat in one of the over-stuffed chairs before the desk. Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix, fluttered over, and began singing cheerily at her.
With a smile, Hermione stroked the bird's head. The phoenix shook his magnificent, fiery plumage in pleasure, and increased his singing. Dumbledore seated himself behind the desk, and took a sheaf of papers out of a drawer. Handing the papers and a quill over to Hermione, he said, "If you could fill these out? Then we can see about getting you settled in." As she took the papers, Hermione said, "It was nice to see that so many of the other teachers were glad to see me." Dumbledore said nothing, perhaps sensing that a "but" was imminent. Hermione continued, ". . . but, Professor Snape didn't seem too happy that I was back."
"Are you really all that surprised, Hermione?" Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Well, no, I suppose not," she conceded, "but I did hope that since I'm no longer a student, he would at least see me as an equal. But he seems to see me the same way he always did."
"Severus might surprise you, Hermione," Dumbledore said gently, "You should talk to him."
__________
AN: I hope the first chapter met with everyone's expectations. I'm having a great deal of fun with this story.
Author's Notes: This is my first story with Hermione as the main character. I think I got her pretty much IC, but there may be a few OOC moments.
Rating: PG-13. It may change to R later if I can get my nerve up. :)
Disclaimer: These wonderful characters and this lovely world that I am so thoughtlessly borrowing belong to J. K. Rowling.
Feedback: Flamers will be boiled in oil.
/ /= emphasis
__________
Returning Home
By OcelotKitten
__________
Hermione Granger sighed quietly as she looked up at the imposing edifice of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had been five years since she had left the school after graduation, and not an inch of it had changed. Fingering the letter in her pocket for reassurance, she started up the path to the school. 'If someone had asked me after graduation if I would want to come back, 'she mused to herself, 'I would have been thrilled beyond belief. And now look at me! Terrified to be coming back to the one place that I most loved to be.'
Although that wasn't entirely true, she reminded herself. If the circumstances were different, there would have been no problem. She was returning to Hogwarts not as a student, or even an alumnus, but as a professor. Faced once again with the perennially vacant Defense Against the Dark Arts position, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had begged Hermione to take it, and Hermione suspected that the kindly Headmaster had asked her to simply because he knew she wouldn't say no to him.
The vast majority of the wizarding community regarded the job to be jinxed. Since Hermione's first year, none of the teachers had lasted longer than a year. It had been a long string of Death Eaters, a werewolf, an insipid twit who ended up losing his memory, and filled out by a pathetic bunch of idiots (at least in Hermione's opinion). It had been getting harder and harder to find worthy wizards and witches to fill the position.
She reached the entry doors, and they swung open at a slight touch.
Waiting for her in the entrance hall, she found Dumbledore, and the rest of the teachers. "Welcome, Hermione," the Headmaster said with a grin and a twinkle in his eye, "It is good to have you back." Pushing down vaguely mutinous feelings toward the old man, ('After all, you /did/ accept the job,' Hermione reminded herself), she shook Dumbledore's hand. The headmaster's sentiment was seconded by most of the assembled faculty, with one notable, but not entirely unexpected exception.
Whereas all of the other teachers were beaming, Professor Severus Snape wore the same forbidding expression that he always did. 'Small surprise there,' Hermione thought sourly, 'I'd probably die of shock if that man was happy to see me.' Still, his implied rejection of her even though they were now equals stung more than Hermione would have admitted, even to herself.
"If you would come with me, Hermione?" Dumbledore said, "We will go to my office, and fill out your paperwork." Hermione nodded and, with one last round of congratulations from the teachers (again excluding Snape), followed Dumbledore. The hallways were conspicuously empty, and Hermione remarked on it to Dumbledore. He chuckled, "Have you really been away so long, Hermione? The students are not here. The school year has not started yet."
Hermione nearly stopped dead at her own stupidity. Of course, the halls were empty! Students didn't arrive until September first, and it was as yet only the middle of August. It was simply strange for her since she had never been at the school during summer before. With a sheepish, "Oh", she resumed the walk down the corridor. On the way to the office, they chatted, and Hermione filled the Headmaster in on what all her old classmates had been doing since they had graduated.
Ron had gone into curse-breaking like his brother Bill, and worked at Gringotts. Harry had gone to work for the Ministry, and was an apprentice Auror. He had also married Ginny Weasley, and they were quite happy. At the entrance to the Headmaster's office, a stone gargoyle blocked their way, but it moved out of the way at the password (Sugar Quills).
Leading Hermione up the moving staircase, Dumbledore said, "I want to say again, Hermione, how glad I am that you agreed to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. I must say that it has become more and more difficult to fill it as time goes on."
"Was it really so hard that you picked me out of desperation, or did you know I wouldn't say no?" Hermione said with a smile.
"I confess that it was a little of both," Dumbledore said with an answering smile as they reached the door, and he ushered her in. Hermione sat in one of the over-stuffed chairs before the desk. Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix, fluttered over, and began singing cheerily at her.
With a smile, Hermione stroked the bird's head. The phoenix shook his magnificent, fiery plumage in pleasure, and increased his singing. Dumbledore seated himself behind the desk, and took a sheaf of papers out of a drawer. Handing the papers and a quill over to Hermione, he said, "If you could fill these out? Then we can see about getting you settled in." As she took the papers, Hermione said, "It was nice to see that so many of the other teachers were glad to see me." Dumbledore said nothing, perhaps sensing that a "but" was imminent. Hermione continued, ". . . but, Professor Snape didn't seem too happy that I was back."
"Are you really all that surprised, Hermione?" Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Well, no, I suppose not," she conceded, "but I did hope that since I'm no longer a student, he would at least see me as an equal. But he seems to see me the same way he always did."
"Severus might surprise you, Hermione," Dumbledore said gently, "You should talk to him."
__________
AN: I hope the first chapter met with everyone's expectations. I'm having a great deal of fun with this story.