Forgotten Yesterday

Chapter 15: First Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters borrowed for use in this story.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I've been working on getting the first chapter revised and beta-d so I can post it on fictionalley. Hopefully I should be able to submit it to them within the week. J

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Hermione stood nervously before the mirror in her rooms. Over the course of the last two hours she had changer her clothes 5 times. She just couldn't find anything she felt comfortable in for her first day as a professor. The night before she spent most of the night in Harry's rooms going over her lessons. She revised and re-wrote and re-planned until she went through eight different proposed potions for one class alone. She finally stopped when she realized Harry had fallen asleep sitting up.

After she finally decided on her clothing she gathered her books and walked slowly to the teacher's lounge. She stood shock still at the door for a moment.

"Hermione?" Harry approached her slowly, "Are you ok?"

"I'm a professor, Harry," she whispered before looking over at him. "Is this real? Am I dreaming?"

He smiled "Yeah, 'Mione, it's real. You're a professor."

"I used to dream of this day. I used to want this more than anything. Even after… everything that happened I still wanted this. But after my parents. I didn't think it would ever be possible. And now…"

He listened in respectful silence as she basked in her new position.

"So why am I so nervous?"

"Because you know when you walk into that class every eye will be trained on you. There will only be the Hufflepuffs that want to learn. The Ravenclaws will be looking for every chance to show how smart they are, to show they're smarter than you. The Gryffandor's will be planning a prank or seeking to prove just how good they are. Then there's the Slytherins. Since you're a Gryffandor all they want is to make you mess up. They want to see you fail."

She looked at him skeptically. "Who told you that?"

"Take a guess?" he linked his arms with hers and began walking toward the great hall.

"Snape?"

"Yeah, but he's right. The Huffle's are the only ones without ulterior motives. The rest all want something from you."

"What did you want?"

He looked down at her his eyebrows raised. "Why Professor Granger, I would have thought you should have known better. I wanted nothing more than to acquire a through knowledge of the art of potion making."

"And to annoy Malfoy with your very presence." she shot him a look.

His face took a scandalized expression "How could you ever suggest such a thing?"

"Because I remember the antics of our lessons?"

"Oh… That." he grinned as he pushed the door to the great hall.

They were assaulted by the sounds of hundreds of children. They talked as they made their way to the head table. They sat side by side near the center. Hermione looked at her plate and found she had no appetite for the food on it. Slowly as the clock chimed the student began to file out and on to their classes. Suddenly, as silence slowly filled the room, Hermione was hit by a sudden startling realization and the panic that accompanied it. She was about to go teach her first lesson. She was about to really be a professor. All those eyes would be on her. Watching her, judging her, hearing her words. And she was suddenly frozen with the enormity of it all. She didn't even hear the voices calling her.

"Hermione." Harry lightly tapped her forehead.

She shook her head and looked at him. "Huh?"

He looked over her head to the headmaster and nodded. "She needs it."

"I agree." He answered.

"What are you two talking about?"

Snape handed her a goblet. "Hermione, my first day teaching I was scared out of my mind. A wise old professor gave me a concoction similar to this to ease my nerves."

"Did it work?" she met his eyes hesitantly.

"Most certainly."

She looked at the glass.

"All at once." he instructed.

She looked to Harry then to Snape and quickly drank the contents.

"Blehahahah!!" She dropped the cu to the table squeezing her eyes shut in a fierce grimace. "What the bloody hell was that?!?"

"Fire Whisky. It takes off the edge."

"Did it work for you?"

"Yes."

She looked at Snape. "Who gave you whisky before your first lesson?"

"Mcgonnagall. Do you feel any better?"

She closed her eyes a moment. "Yeah, I think so."

Within moments she stood in front of her class and began her first lesson.

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