Chapter 4- Returning to Hogwarts

Remus hesitated outside Leslie's door. He had spent breakfast arguing with Severus about going to see Leslie. Eventually the difficult Potions professor had given in. Severus had quickly jolted Leslie's address down and then stalked away. Remus hadn't had the heart to tell him he didn't need it, of course he remembered her address. Remus rang the doorbell and waited for her to answer.

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Leslie was still in bed when the doorbell rang. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her glasses off her dresser. Once her vision was clear, she looked at the clock. It was only 8. Wondering who in the world would come to her apartment this early in the morning on her first free day in weeks, Leslie grabbed her robe. She ran a hand through her hair and then walked out of her bedroom.



Leslie's apartment was not big but had a living room, bedroom, and kitchen. She walked through the living room to the door. She smiled sleepily as her kitten rubbed against her leg.



"Good morning," she yawned, pushing the new pet out of the doors way. Then she opened it.



Leslie jumped back in surprise and let out a small cry at seeing Remus. Remus blinked. Apparently, Leslie had still been sleeping. Remus blushed.



"I'm sorry to wake you," he said with a smile, "but I needed to talk with you."



Leslie took a deep breath and stared at Remus. He had not changed much in the year they had been apart.

"Of course," she replied, "come in."

Leslie moved aside and let Remus enter. Closing the door and making sure her robe was closed tight, Leslie smiled at Remus.

"Would you like a cup of coffee? Did you eat anything yet?" she asked.

"I already ate but a cup of coffee sounds nice," Remus replied taking a seat. There was a brief silence as Remus sized up the apartment.

"You have a nice place," he said quietly. Leslie blushed.

"Thanks….make yourself at home. I'm just going to get changed and make the coffee." She stifled a yawn as she left the room.

Remus was just deciding on how to inform Leslie of Dumbledore's proposition when a small meow interrupted his thoughts.

"Well who are you?" he said as he picked up a small kitten. The tiny black and white ball of fur meowed in reply. Remus laughed. He didn't know Leslie liked animals.

"I see you met Pippin," Leslie said as she handed Remus a cup of coffee. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a navy blue shirt.

"Yes," Remus replied. He put the kitten down and took the coffee.

Leslie took a sip of the coffee thankfully. She had never liked the taste of the stuff but it woke her up. Remus cleared his throat to get her attention.

"I suppose you know why we came to New York," he started. Leslie shrugged.

"I know Dumbledore has to ask me something. Basically that's it."

"He also wanted Anaka and John to come back to Hogwarts."

"What about Abaron and their search? They have been looking so hard."

"Well, to sum everything up Anaka and John are returning to Hogwarts. Abaron has moved back to England."

Leslie stayed quiet a moment. Abaron had moved back to England? It didn't seem to fit with everything John had told her.

"So what did Dumbledore want to ask me?" she asked.

"He wants you to come back to Hogwarts too. We all do," he answered with a smile.

"I would really like to go back…" Leslie said quietly, "but what about my job here? Why does Dumbledore need me?"

"After what happened last year he wants to start a new class. He wants you to be the Professor of it."

Leslie blinked in surprise.

"Me? A professor? What type of class is this?"

"It's a self defense class. Muggle self defense. Dumbledore thought you would be perfect for it. The American Ministry also approved it. They said they wanted you there anyway since Voldemorts getting stronger."

Remus let Leslie absorb everything before continuing.

"It would be nice to have you there," he said quietly, "and since you won't technically be on a mission you don't have to worry about any of your silly spy rules."

Leslie laughed. She looked into his eyes and saw he was sincere.

"You know you never answered my last letter," she said playfully.

Remus took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"I was writing it when I got word from Dumbledore we were coming here."

"So you decided to deliver it in person," Leslie replied, her smile widening. She took the letter and they both stood.

"I take that as a yes?" Remus asked hopefully. She laughed and pushed him towards the door.

"Yes I accept the job offer. It will be nice to see everyone again."

"I'm so glad you're coming," he said quietly. He bent down and gently kissed her. Then he walked out the door.

Leslie blushed and closed the door behind him. She touched a finger to her lips as if she didn't believe Remus had just kissed her. Then she smiled and walked to her room. Leslie reached under her bed and pulled out a suitcase. A feeling of happiness ran through her. It would be nice being with Remus again.

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Harry was heading to Care of Magical Creatures when he saw a carriage pull up to Hogwarts.

"Who do you think that is?" Harry said nudging Ron.

"I don't know…maybe it's that new professor," he replied. Hermione squinted at the carriage.

"We can find out after class I guess," Hermione said. They walked around the back to where Hagrid was teaching his students about some new creature.

In the middle of class, Hagrid stopped speaking and stared at the back of the room.

"Hagrid?" Hermione said turning to see what was wrong.

The whole class turned to see a girl standing there. She looked to be 16 like the rest of them and something was strangely familiar about her. The girl had long brown hair and brown eyes and wore an Appleby Arrows jersey that seemed to just fit her. She was the same height as the average 16 year old and wore a big smile. In her arms was a medium sized kneazle with yellow fur speckled with orange spots.

"Anaka!" Ron cried jumping to his feet. Harry and Hermione cried out in surprise and followed Ron to the back of the class

"Ron! Harry! Hermione!" Anaka said happily letting Sunfire down on the ground. Her friends hugged her.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, "I thought you were still in New York."

Anaka hesitated, seeing everyone in the class staring at her.

"I'll tell you later," Anaka whispered to them. She said it in such a mysterious way that the trio grew excited. They had a feeling their 7th year fun was about to begin.

"Well. If it isn't the werewolves brat," sneered a voice. Hermione moved aside to let Anaka see who had spoken.

"Draco Malfoy," Anaka spat, "why am I not surprised to hear you voice the first insult towards me."

"You shouldn't be," Draco said narrowing his eyes at her, "You won't last one day here Lupin. I'll make sure of that."

The two glared at each other.

"Shut up Malfoy. No one cares about what you think," Harry snapped.

"Ana! What are ye doing ere?!" Hagrid cried. He crossed the space between them in three strides and scooped Ana in his arms.

"Its nice to see you too Hagrid. I brought Sunfire so you could check him out. I want to make sure he's still healthy."

"I'll be sure to look at him after class," Hagrid said picking up the halfway grown kneazle.

"Great," Anaka replied with a smile, "well I have to go unpack. I'll probably be done unpacking by dinner so I will see you then."

Harry and the others quickly said their goodbyes and took their seats again. Hagrid walked to the front of the room, still stroking the kneazle.

"Why don't we talk about kneazle care the rest of the class?" Hagrid suggested happily. The trio looked at each other and smiled.

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Leslie fumbled with her new robes. Dumbledore had told her to be sure to be unpacked by dinner. He wanted to announce her as the new professor and have her start class tomorrow. Leslie stared at herself in the mirror knowing she had to be in the Great Hall soon. I look ridiculous, she thought as she tried to fix her robes again. Finally, she gave up. With a sigh, Leslie started towards the Great Hall.

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As Anaka entered the Great Hall she was overwhelmed by the sounds of chattering students and old memories. Seeing her old friends sitting at the Gryffindor table, Anaka ran to join them. Harry quickly moved over to make room for her. They bombarded her with questions about New York and her search and Anaka was happy to answer. It'd been a long time since she'd talked to anyone close to her own age besides John.

"What about you guys?" she asked once she was done. The three of them grew grim and Anaka frowned, regretting her question. She had heard something bad had happened in England but she didn't remember what.

"It was…eventful," Hermione replied, "Voldemort made a move on Hogsmeade that killed ten first years, five from Hogwarts. It was horrible."

"And we couldn't even stop him," Harry growled glaring at his plate.

"At least George and Fred helped make everyone a little bit happier last year," Ron added quickly, "they played a wicked prank."

Anaka's face brightened.

"George! How is he? What's he up to nowadays?" she asked.

"He's trying to start a business with Fred," Ron started. In between his explanation, he was interrupted by Dumbledore calling everyone's attention.

"We have a special announcement to be made this evening. As you all know, a new class has been started at Hogwarts where you will be able to learn how to defend yourselves without your wands. Today I am happy to announce your Professor has arrived from America. Please welcome Professor Brand."

The Hall stayed silent as Leslie stood up from her seat at the professor's table. She was seated at the end next to Serverus and only the Slytherins had noticed her presence during dinner. She smiled at the students before her as a few people clapped. Once she sat down desert was served.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Professor," Serverus whispered as they started to eat. Leslie smiled at him. She had a feeling this was going to be an exciting year.