Hey everyone, sorry for the longer delay we had a huge running bout of sickness in our house. Two sick babies and me with Pneumonia was not fun. This chapter and next will be a bit shorter as my laptop crashed and have had to rewrite it from memory which was not fun.

I am also writing on my phone so any grammatical errors or punctuation mistakes you find I apologise. So onwards, as always I hope you enjoy and please send me some feedback as I always love to hear from you. Rated M for safety.

Chapter Five

Hermione

It was two weeks after our time at Gringotts, it seems Ron was pissed about his One thousand Galleon restitution he had to pay. Ragnok must have sent him a missive about his debt and the resulting Howler from him was ridiculous and hilarious all at the same time.

He had turned into someone I didn't even recognise, ever since I started telling people I was into women he seemed to be even more on edge and irritating.

It was a perfectly enjoyable morning when a red envelope arrived by owl post, it was practically vibrating already which had terrified Pig who had chosen to drop and fly behind the pantry in fright and exhaustion.

It slashed open and Ron's voice came running out of it, there was so much vitriol and anger in his voice I winced. I could see Harry looked beyond pissed and after all of our years of friendship I can't believe this is what it has boiled down to. He had a cheek to be pissedcat us after what he and Ginny had pulled.

A thousand fucking galleons! A thousand are you for fucking real! This is what I get for being your friend! Watch your back Potter, and that dyke too!

I turned to Harry and in that moment I realised Ron, Harry and I were no longer the Golden trio and we were on our own from now, there was no redeeming Ron it would seem. Another owl flew in afterward and dropped two more letters onto the table on top of the scraps left behind from Ron's idiocy.

One from Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, the other was a letter from Kingsley about the posthumous Order of Merlin for Sirius. Draco invited us both round for lunch at Andromedas. Truth be told I was looking forward to it, which felt strange in and of itself.

"Weird isn't it?" Harry clocked his head to the side and shrugged before I picked up a piece of the parchment Ron's letter was on and flicked it at him.

"Ron is an arse and Draco is having us over to lunch. It's just strange. Come on and get a move on we told Minerva we would be there at ten." Harry had finally wrapped his head around the fact that he had a sister.

Snape was now on his feet in the infirmary at Hogwarts and healing well. He will walk with a cane for a while and always have a limp. One of the wounds from Nagini had hit nerve damage already in his leg from Fluffy on our first year. The venom instantly attacked the muscle in his leg and subsequently some of his muscle had to be extracted.

Needless to say he didn't want to lose his leg which was the only option given to him at the time. He was adament and came up with the solution to hack into his leg like fucking hamburger meat, a muggle style surgery took away all of the dead tissue. He was on the mend and would be leaving Hogwarts soon and we were hoping to catch him before he was discharged.

Downing the last of my coffee we made our way to the living room and threw on our light jackets over jeans and a t shirt. The weather in Scotland was starting to heat up and thankfully we didn't need to dress too bundled up.

Harry took my hand on his after grabbing the letter for Malfoy and accepting lunch. Sending the owl back to him which was a big black brute apparently called Zeus and within seconds we were gone. Landed just about on our feet we stood at the gates of Hogwarts. Minerva stood waiting for us and smiled upon seeing us both.

Considering the gates were now closed the team of Unspeakable must have sourced the ward stone and reactivated the wards of the castle. It had taken them a while it seems because of how much magic the castle had seeped into itself as the years have went past. It was almost sentient with the amount of flux magical energy coursing through it.

Severus explained it to me one day and it was the most fascinating conversation I had had in a long time. No offense to Harry or Ron but I need some intellectual stimulation which doesn't include chess.

"Mr Potter, Miss Granger. Welcome back, if you will place your hand on the gate please so it can read your magical signature."I was confused for a second but did it anyway. Once we did I felt a rush of warmth envelop me, if was like coming home. The castle was accepting us back with warmth and excitement.

" What just happened?" I had never felt anything like it but it cocooned me into the castle and I felt more protected than ever before.

"A ward Narcissa added after I brought her onto the staff, I think it is pretty incredible, I always knew Narcissa was worth more that a trophy wife. Once you come through the wards of the castle it will be able to read your magical signature and sort of track it. If I needed someone or something was wrong the castle can alert me, the staff and head girl and boy wherever it is that the person need us." What in the under hell? Narcissa Malfoy is a genius if she made it herself. I wanted to march downstairs to demand she tell me but I was here for a reason.

"I have compiled some notes about next year's curriculum if your free for ten minutes Minerva." She nodded her head at me and ushered us up the grounds to the castle. We spoke about everything and anything we could think of and I had to say Minerva McGonagall is one of my favourite people in the world.

"I am gonna go and nip to meet Snape." At the entrance hall he headed off to the fourth floor to the Hospital Wing to see Snape whilst Minerva directed me to the Muggle Studies quarters and classroom on first floor.

It was a long skinny rectangular room and had picnic tables for seats. There was bare walls and bookshelves all along the walls around the room, at the bottom of the room a staircase stood and a door in what I assumed were the private Chambers of the Muggle Studies teacher.

"I know you will be coming back to do your remaining NEWTs but since you won't be a student you can utilise this space if you want, this is the private teaching quarters." I nodded my head and knew with my nightmares I had to be close to Harry we would probably chose one and stay in it together.

"OK, let's get started." It took us two hours and seventeen minutes to come up with a curriculum for all five years. Minerva had told me she would sent it all into the examination board and get all of the paperwork squared away.

As I packed up my things and closed the classroom door I couldn't help but be excited for the year ahead. Teaching was not something I ever thought about but maybe after I get my Mastery I can look into it. I have agreed to help Minera out but hopefully she will be able to find someone to take over next year and allow me to further my studies.

My entire future shifted on its axis, Muggle Studies was going to be a Compulsory subject and now that Professor Binns had moved on during the final battle History of Magic was going to be taught by someone different and also be a compulsory subject up until fifth year.

Minerva wanted Muggle studies and History of Magic to coinside with one another and have Muggle Studies be an introduction to the Non Magical world and History to be beneficial for Muggle born or Muggle raised students, an introduction to the magical world.

If something like this was in place when I was a first year, some animosities would not have been present throughout the years. As I packed up all of my parchments I decided to do my lesson plans at home. I had a week to present them to Minerva and she would hopefully have approval by the Ministry by then.

I closed the door and slowly made my way down to the ground floor. Deciding to wait for Harry's Patronus I didn't realise what was happening until I turned the corner into the dungeons.

The closer and closer I got to the Potions classroom the more muttering I could here. A soft voice called me like a siren and the smell of Eucalyptus lured me in, as I came to the open door of the Potions classroom I seen Narcissa Malfoy with her back to me.

Three cauldron were in front of her, she had on a pair of black slacks and a white blouse tucked into it. Six inch high heels and her hair twisted at the back of her head in a bun. From the doorway I could see the muscles in her slender neck tense and soft muttering about castrating Slughorn for letting the ingredients sit there for too long.

"Shit, buggering, fuck!" I was surprised and jumped slightly as the curse words flew from her mouth. Soft classical music could be heard playing in the background and her hand was waving in intricate patterns as things flew all around the room.

From the store room I could see jars with ingredients float toward her and deposit small amount into clean wooden bowls set up beside her. She had no notes in front of her and as she reached over to stir one of the Potions her trousers stretched across her arse and from my vantage point I could tell you could crack a walnut on it.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you actually going to speak to me little witch?" She didn't even turn around and yet she knew who it was. I slowly walked into the room even though every instinct had me screaming to leave.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, something smelled amazing." The last two footsteps got me right next to her and it truly was something to see a Potions Master/Mistress at work. Her hand, eyes and legs worked in conjunction with one another and I had never been more intrigued by a, person than I was by her.

" Is there anything I can do to help?" She looked dead into my eyes for the first time and it lit a fire in me I had never noticed before. Her eyes were the brightest blue I had ever seen and the face was so fucking symmetrical it made me feel bad about myself. What is that feeling? I had never experienced it before and now I am feeling it with her of all people.

"I need the dung beetle shells peeled and powdered if you're free?" I nodded and took my jacket off and placed my bag on top of it. I was surprised the woman in question allowed me to touch anything she was brewing, she seemed like a bit of a control freak to be honest.

A soft chuckle from her brought me back to reality and I saw a small smirk on her face and in that moment she was perfection, I didn't understand when another soft laugh fell from her perfect Ruby red lips.

"Goodness me, has no one ever taught you Occlusion? Your thoughts are very loud little witch, it's quite intrusive. " I gaped at her and the audacity of her this beautiful blonde bombshell had just heard every thought I had.

"If my thoughts are so intrusive, don't bloody read my mind then." Fucking Slytherins and their skills, blood status aside I think I would have enjoyed being in that house.

"I apologise Miss Granger, it is difficult for me not to latch onto a single mind. It's easier with large crowds because I can drone it out. Your thoughts are particularly loud though it might be difficult." This woman was one of many mysteries and I couldn't help but be in awe of her slightly.

The Daily Prophet and Voldemorts followers made her seem like a ditzy, stepford wife and in reality she was a brilliant Potions Mistress. It seems there was many things we didn't know and it seemed even the leader of the light didn't know.

"What makes you think that Albus Dumbledore didn't know about me?" I looked shocked at her for a bit and started grinding the beetle shells into a powder and placing them in vials.

"Well Albus Dumbledore as brilliant as he was he had a tendency to use people for his own personal gain. If he truly knew what you were capable of then he would have manipulated you in some way." She looked contemplative for a moment before smirking slightly and took the small spoon from my hand and as she did so her thumb traced my hand as she pulled away.

"After Harry tried to learn Occlumency he tried to teach us, well me because Ron had no interest. I tried it but realistically without someone to test them I don't know how far I have gotten." She smirked at me and turned off one of the Cauldrons before summoning a box of vials and slowly started piping it in.

"Well I am more than Happy to test them when the new school year begins if you like." I could only nod at her as I finished placing the powdered beetle shells in the vials. Once I had finished she stiffened again and slowly grasped my wrist in hers as I went to leave.

The coolness of her touch was enough for me to shut my mouth fairly quickly. The intensity of her gaze upon my arm and her hand on my wrist was enough to make me melt.

"Didn't I tell you to get that looked at." She slowly pushed the sleeve up to expose my scar to her awaiting fingers. Just shy of touching it she looked up at me with something that looked like concern.

"Curses like this one will not go away on it's own Miss Granger. They will fester and latch onto everything that makes you, you. Does it still burn." Upon my nod she waved her hand and a book came floating toward her outstretched hand.

"Does it still bleed?" I nodded again and she walked over to the cupboard with her Potions ingredients. Returning with what looked like a salve of some sort, it was green in nature and upon opening it I was hit with the smell of flowers.

"This is a salve I made myself, it will contain the bleeding for now but please get in contact with Bill Wesley or even his wife. The darkness in this cannot be left unchecked." I nodded and without warning she scooped up some of the salve and slowly rubbed it over my arm. The pain ebbed away and for the first time since that night with Bellatrix my arm was silent.

"Thanks." She nodded and before I could say anything else Harry's Patronus floated into the room and the stag spoke in Harry's voice.

"Hermione where are you, if you're ready do you wanna go?" I looked to Narcissa again who had her back to me and was placing all of the Potions in vials.

"Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to seeing you in September." I nodded at her and smiled before she touched my shoulder.

"Don't forget to write to Mr Weasley when you arrive home Little Witch." I only nodded my head and grabbed my bag and coat before making my way from the bowels of the castle and so excited for September.

As I said a very short chapter, please leave me a wee review and hopefully I will post next chapter at the weekend. Thanks for reading.