I do not own Harry Potter, in fact I own nothing not even myself. That honor belongs

to my cat who graciously allows me to type between feeding and petting him. And of

course J.K.R. owns Harry Potter.

"When I first saw her walking on trembling legs to the schools sorting hat,

I wasn't terribly impressed. She seemed to be all hair and eager little eyes. I

could tell she was never going to be sorted into my house even if her parentage had

allowed it, so after hearing the hat call out her house, a house I despised I

promptly forgot all about her. At least I forgot about her until her first potions

class. I believe she almost came off her seat in her effort to show me she knew the

answers I was throwing at another member of the class. Of course I didn't call on

her as the whole exercise was intended to humiliate the Potter boy and no-one was

actually supposed to know these answers. At that point I believed that she was

trying to show off how much she knew and didn't see her as having a genuine thirst

for knowledge that came later.

I might have been easier on her, well as easy as I get for those out of my

own house, if she had not joined with those two foolish boys. At the time I was

unaware of why that had upset me but as it was I was harsher than ever to her and

the remainder of the so called "dream team" I watched for two years as those boys

seemed to constantly strive to hide her light and make her more like them. I saw

her beginning to believe them when they treated her as though she was less than they

because of her lust for books and knowledge. I watched as they put themselves in

danger and never acknowledged where her intelligence had saved them.

By the end of her third year I knew I was reluctantly fascinated. Not only

was she the only one to actually realize what I was doing when I assigned the essay

on werewolves she was loyal enough to her friends and trusting enough to keep her

silence. I know without her assistance they would never have been able to free both

that mutt and the birdbrain, not that I was happy about her assistance but I did

admire her resourcefulness. By the end of this year I truly saw no difference in

her outward appearance as I was focused on trying to find the limits of that oh so

impressive brain of hers.

It wasn't until her fourth year that I realized how truly stunning she could

be. I and almost every other male in the castle watched with carefully concealed

wonder for the most part as she appeared in great hall on the arm of that boorish

boy. Her friends were stunned and the girls watched with narrowed eyes as she took

the first turn on the dance floor. I could see the Weasley boy among other

reevaluating her as something other than the school brain. I think it was then I

determined to have her for my own, not that I suddenly changed in my attitude towards

her in anyway. No it was merely a decision and the beginnings of a plan to make her

mine.

When she returned in her fifth year I could see that the beauty she had

shown then the year before had been forgotten and they once again tried to induce

her into fitting the status quo, not realizing that to force her to conform would

be as putting a rare orchid among common weeds. Even surrounded by chaff her true

beauty would shine though. It was not her outward appearance that called so to me

although beneath the hair she deigned to tame she was a beauty, no it was her mind

still shining as bright as the rarest of jewels despite all efforts to dim her glory.

I was enraged when Umbridge dared to hurt her and felt vindicated when she got her

just desserts. Being left to a centaur's tender mercy was nothing I would have

happen to anyone I cared about. But her, I was only disappointed when they brought

her back to us.

It was during that summer that I realized I had to have her in my life more

so than it could be at school. It was truly a shame that the death eaters chose to

attack her family as a lesson while she was away with the Weasley's. I of course was

filled with guilt that I had received no warning and thus could not get them to

safety and offered as the only way to assuage that guilt my guardianship of her

until her schooling was complete. I believe that Dumbledore would not have granted

me that pleasure had he not seen how, truly, wretched I felt. But as it was I had

what I desired, her, in my house and at my table. It took her some time to begin to

fully trust me and look upon me as a friend but I had the time to spare. I offered

to continue her education and she fair leaped at the chance. That first summer I

taught her little more than my chosen subject and began opening her eyes to how our

world really worked. I chose her clothing and dressing her in the finest cloth,

things that not only looked well on her but felt like a lovers touch upon her skin.

Even after school had begun again I made time for her to visit and kept up

out private schooling. Don't think that I ever touched her in a way that was not

appropriate, after all she was very young still and I wanted more than merely her

body. I wanted her heart, mind, and soul as well. I slowly began to enlighten her

on how her friends treated her, ignoring all that bright about her until they needed

her help, which she always gave unselfishly until she began to turn away and find

her comfort in my gentle hugs and soothing tones.

By the end of her last summer of Hogwarts she had turned to me for all

things knowing I would never force her to be less than she was, indeed I would

strive for her to push herself constantly forward in her quest for knowledge. She

had begun to see me as more than her friend, her teacher, but I would allow nothing

between us until she had graduated. She accepted that and strove to please me not

knowing that her mere presence did that. I knew that I could never have her fully

while this war raged so I stopped straddling the fence and helped potter

unreservedly until, finally it was over. They accounted me a hero never knowing

that without her it might have gone the other way.

After her graduation she informed her friends of her decision to stay with

me and while not accepting it or I wholeheartedly, trusted her enough to let her

come to me. After all I was one of the heroes of the last battle. We wed and to this

day she has never stopped learning, just what I'm teaching my lovely wife now

though, really shouldn't be said.

AN: well? What did you think? Its just a one shot but almost tore itself through my

fingers and onto the page. Anything you wish to say about this is welcome.