Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. No characters except Brynn. No nothing. At all. I mean it.
Chapter Two
Brynn dragged herself down to the Great Hall. Students were filing in already, wearing their hats and robes. She passed the Slytherin table, from which some students cat-called and others hissed. Adolescent boys...god.
She took her seat next to Snape and Minerva McGonagoll. Although Snape wasn't a favorite person, Brynn continued to sit next to him because he always seemed to be clear and concise. A pillar of strength was exactly what she needed in her life. Unfortunately, Snape wanted to be her pillar of strength a bit...er...too much.
"Hello, Professor Flatley," he greeted her in his ceaseless monotone. "Looking stunning as usual."
"Thanks Severus," she tried. "You look..."
Greasy!!!!! Her mind yelled.
"Ready for a new year."
"Well, I am rather excited," he droned, in a voice that seemed to make him sound anything but excited.
"Right," she nodded, and turned to Minerva, who gave her a small smile.
Actually, Minerva was more of a pillar than Severus. She had strongly urged for Brynn to accept that Sirius was gone forever, and Brynn could not change that. Life was meant to be lived, she proclaimed. So live it!!!
Students were filing into the Great Hall, their excitement buzzing like an annoying fly in one's ear. Brynn winced as she looked at Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. She especially didn't wish to face Harry. After all, Harry had lost his godfather, just as she had lost her best friend. Sirius had been someone she could easily communicate with, and he was someone in the Order as well. They never had a problem discussing their concerns with one another, and Sirius was just as fearless as Brynn.
But not even Brynn could stop Sirius from being...er, Sirius. Although she had tried relentlessly to prevent him from leaving the house at Grimmauld Place, she hadn't been able to stop him. There were even occasions that Dumbledore hadn't known that he'd gone out: only Brynn had known.
I'm warning you, Sirius. If you go out I'm not defending you to anyone. I won't stick up for you any more.
Don't you see that I don't care, Brynn? I'm dying here, wasting away in this house. I feel like I'm not really living; it's like I'm living to die. You don't understand. This is one thing you don't understand. And then he'd look away, sometimes with tears in his eyes, sad, and other times with hatred, bitterness toward her.
The words still rang in her ears: This is one thing you don't understand.
She didn't understand. She'd wanted to, but she couldn't.
What do I do?! She'd sobbed to her ex-boyfriend, Oliver.
Just be there, he'd said. Just show him how much you care, how much you want to understand.
I do! I can't stop caring, Oliver! I can't!
And she still couldn't.
As fragile as she seemed, she could still recognize truth. And it was true that she and Sirius had had a doomed relationship from the beginning: he was a convict, still on the run, in fact. How would she take someone like that home to her parents? They weren't aware that Sirius was an innocent man. Because he was a felon, he couldn't leave the house, which made for some interesting dates...especially over Christmas when all they'd wanted was to be alone and they had the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione there. Not that they didn't love all of them to death, but they had just begun discovering each other and it was hard to leave once they had let each other in.
Brynn's reverie ended and she gazed around at the students. Her attention drifted toward the cat-calling Slytherins, whom she greatly disliked, and not only because she herself had been a Ravenclaw. The Slytherin boys in her class were terrible: they jinxed other students, put spells on their books that bound them permanently shut, and, until Brynn had learned her lesson, looked up her robes when she was wearing short skirts under them.
Her first year at Hogwarts had been the hardest for her. It wasn't necessarily all the classes: she had one class that had everyone but Slytherins in it, and it was her favorite class of the day. It was also the class in which she'd met her boyfriend, Oliver. Oliver Wood had been the Gryffindor Quidditch captain that year, and he was so gorgeous Brynn fell apart every time he opened his mouth and his light Scottish accent tumbled out. However, she'd never thought of dating a student—the idea was preposterous and very Graduate-esque. But, most surprising of all, she'd never thought a student would want to date a teacher. But Oliver had surprised her.
One day he came up to her as the rest of the class filed out, holding a copy of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in his hands. He had been in her advanced literature class, and one of the brightest students.
"Um, Professor," he began.
"Yes?" Brynn had asked, her back turned as she erased the chalkboard with her wand.
"I was just...wondering...if you could take...er...some extra...care with teaching me..."
Oliver had been getting exemplary grades all semester.
"Pardon me, Mr. Wood?"
"Well, um...I just meant...I just meant this." He leaned over and kissed her; it was a fast, light kiss, and Brynn's knees shook. Oliver was fabulous.
She stared at him for a minute. "No, I think it's more like this," she said, and began kissing him again.
Their relationship had been a healthy one, but they had called it off after Oliver had graduated, as he was going to play Quidditch with a famous team. Brynn was a bit hurt at first, though Oliver had seemed a bit more put out, but they had remained good friends.
Her flashback was broken as she saw Draco Malfoy staring her way. She had no clue what he was looking at: she had the impression that Draco despised her, as he had dropped her class after taking it for one year. He constantly ridiculed her while in session, and she had once given him a tattoo on a very private place of himself when he'd had his back turned. She wondered, absently, if it was still there.
Sadly, Draco wouldn't break the eye contact, and Brynn refused to give in to him. This little staring match continued until Dumbledore stood.
"Welcome," he greeted, "To another year at Hogwarts..."
Chapter Two
Brynn dragged herself down to the Great Hall. Students were filing in already, wearing their hats and robes. She passed the Slytherin table, from which some students cat-called and others hissed. Adolescent boys...god.
She took her seat next to Snape and Minerva McGonagoll. Although Snape wasn't a favorite person, Brynn continued to sit next to him because he always seemed to be clear and concise. A pillar of strength was exactly what she needed in her life. Unfortunately, Snape wanted to be her pillar of strength a bit...er...too much.
"Hello, Professor Flatley," he greeted her in his ceaseless monotone. "Looking stunning as usual."
"Thanks Severus," she tried. "You look..."
Greasy!!!!! Her mind yelled.
"Ready for a new year."
"Well, I am rather excited," he droned, in a voice that seemed to make him sound anything but excited.
"Right," she nodded, and turned to Minerva, who gave her a small smile.
Actually, Minerva was more of a pillar than Severus. She had strongly urged for Brynn to accept that Sirius was gone forever, and Brynn could not change that. Life was meant to be lived, she proclaimed. So live it!!!
Students were filing into the Great Hall, their excitement buzzing like an annoying fly in one's ear. Brynn winced as she looked at Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. She especially didn't wish to face Harry. After all, Harry had lost his godfather, just as she had lost her best friend. Sirius had been someone she could easily communicate with, and he was someone in the Order as well. They never had a problem discussing their concerns with one another, and Sirius was just as fearless as Brynn.
But not even Brynn could stop Sirius from being...er, Sirius. Although she had tried relentlessly to prevent him from leaving the house at Grimmauld Place, she hadn't been able to stop him. There were even occasions that Dumbledore hadn't known that he'd gone out: only Brynn had known.
I'm warning you, Sirius. If you go out I'm not defending you to anyone. I won't stick up for you any more.
Don't you see that I don't care, Brynn? I'm dying here, wasting away in this house. I feel like I'm not really living; it's like I'm living to die. You don't understand. This is one thing you don't understand. And then he'd look away, sometimes with tears in his eyes, sad, and other times with hatred, bitterness toward her.
The words still rang in her ears: This is one thing you don't understand.
She didn't understand. She'd wanted to, but she couldn't.
What do I do?! She'd sobbed to her ex-boyfriend, Oliver.
Just be there, he'd said. Just show him how much you care, how much you want to understand.
I do! I can't stop caring, Oliver! I can't!
And she still couldn't.
As fragile as she seemed, she could still recognize truth. And it was true that she and Sirius had had a doomed relationship from the beginning: he was a convict, still on the run, in fact. How would she take someone like that home to her parents? They weren't aware that Sirius was an innocent man. Because he was a felon, he couldn't leave the house, which made for some interesting dates...especially over Christmas when all they'd wanted was to be alone and they had the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione there. Not that they didn't love all of them to death, but they had just begun discovering each other and it was hard to leave once they had let each other in.
Brynn's reverie ended and she gazed around at the students. Her attention drifted toward the cat-calling Slytherins, whom she greatly disliked, and not only because she herself had been a Ravenclaw. The Slytherin boys in her class were terrible: they jinxed other students, put spells on their books that bound them permanently shut, and, until Brynn had learned her lesson, looked up her robes when she was wearing short skirts under them.
Her first year at Hogwarts had been the hardest for her. It wasn't necessarily all the classes: she had one class that had everyone but Slytherins in it, and it was her favorite class of the day. It was also the class in which she'd met her boyfriend, Oliver. Oliver Wood had been the Gryffindor Quidditch captain that year, and he was so gorgeous Brynn fell apart every time he opened his mouth and his light Scottish accent tumbled out. However, she'd never thought of dating a student—the idea was preposterous and very Graduate-esque. But, most surprising of all, she'd never thought a student would want to date a teacher. But Oliver had surprised her.
One day he came up to her as the rest of the class filed out, holding a copy of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in his hands. He had been in her advanced literature class, and one of the brightest students.
"Um, Professor," he began.
"Yes?" Brynn had asked, her back turned as she erased the chalkboard with her wand.
"I was just...wondering...if you could take...er...some extra...care with teaching me..."
Oliver had been getting exemplary grades all semester.
"Pardon me, Mr. Wood?"
"Well, um...I just meant...I just meant this." He leaned over and kissed her; it was a fast, light kiss, and Brynn's knees shook. Oliver was fabulous.
She stared at him for a minute. "No, I think it's more like this," she said, and began kissing him again.
Their relationship had been a healthy one, but they had called it off after Oliver had graduated, as he was going to play Quidditch with a famous team. Brynn was a bit hurt at first, though Oliver had seemed a bit more put out, but they had remained good friends.
Her flashback was broken as she saw Draco Malfoy staring her way. She had no clue what he was looking at: she had the impression that Draco despised her, as he had dropped her class after taking it for one year. He constantly ridiculed her while in session, and she had once given him a tattoo on a very private place of himself when he'd had his back turned. She wondered, absently, if it was still there.
Sadly, Draco wouldn't break the eye contact, and Brynn refused to give in to him. This little staring match continued until Dumbledore stood.
"Welcome," he greeted, "To another year at Hogwarts..."