Chapter Two:

Charlotte sat back in her desk chair. It was extremely late, or rather very early. She had listened to everyone walk a long the halls to their beds and even the screaming of one very angry Filch. She hadn't moved since Bill had dragged her up there to talk. He had a lot to say and that meant she had no room to talk, quite literally. He had said all the things that had been on his mind since she left all those years ago to the time he called her a stupid little girl. To say the least those two had been in her office for some time, trying to figure out what 'they' were. After a few hours the two of them came to the conclusion that they were just friends, even if she wasn't sure she was happy about that. Bill didn't seem too happy about it either. It almost seemed that they had said it because thats what the other believed they wanted.

Anyway, Charlotte sat back further. She would have fallen off if her feet weren't propped against her desk. The shadows that the moon was casting on her office's stone walls, danced across the walls as if trying to find a new place to keep from the light. They crawled with anticipation, for what, Charlotte did not know.

Without reason she jumped out of her seat and left her office. She climbed down the staircase into her new classroom and out of the door. She walked down the dimly lit hall and up more stairs. Before she knew it she was standing at the portrait that guarded the doorway to Bill's room. She looked at the hunter in the painting and sort of smiled, to the best of her ability.

"Grace Feather." Charlotte shook her head. 'Whatever that means,' she thought. The picture kindly moved to the side and let her in. Once she was, she moved past the cough to the small opening to her left. There was no door, but there didn't need to be. All that little spot held was the bed that Bill was more likely sleeping in right now. "Bill!" She whispered. He turned and rubbed his eyes.

"Its late, shouldn't you be like normal people and sleeping right now?" Bill sat up in his bed and looked at her with a half annoyed, half curious expression.

"Well if I were like normal people then yes I would be, but you should know by now I'm not. I have been thinking a lot about what you have said and I was thinking..."

"Yes, love?"

"Never mind, I am just going to let you sleep and talk to you later." She had just about left when Bill had called her back.

"Charlotte!"

"What?"

"You have never once acted like this before, so instead of trying to analyze why you are I am just going to assume it's because you haven't slept more than a few hours in the past few days so come here and lie down."

"I have a room of my own you know."

"That I do know, but knowing you, which I do quite well you wont go there, you will go somewhere else and stay up until you classes start tomorrow and I will not have that. You are not very pleasant to be around in the morning, and that's with sleep. So stop being the stubborn arse I know you are and come lie down." Charlotte stood where she was for a bit before she walked over to his bed and sat down. "You gonna sleep?"

"Yes."

"Good." With that Bill pulled her down and gave her some blanket.

The defense class filled within minutes and soon there was a cloud of voices talking about everything and nothing all at once. "Class if I can take your attention from what cute guy you saw over the summer." Charlotte looked at Lavender. "I have some thing to say. Last year I know was sort of a disaster for most of you, but this year I can assure you, will be different. Not to bring any of you down, but I will giving a type of quiz in a few minutes." As soon as quiz left her lips groans erupted in the classroom. "I know, I know. I am such an evil teacher, but if you all want to do well I have to know where I am to start and fill in, so stop your whining and hear me out." Ron looked at Hermione and she just shook her head.

"I am Professor Charlotte Malfoy as all of you from last night know. You may call me Charlotte or Professor, you mention the Malfoy part around me and you will be in trouble." She cracked out laughing at her students shocked expressions. "I am only joking, but seriously, I don't much like it. Anyway this over here," She motioned to Bill who was sitting at her desk, "Is William Weasley, but he's normally addressed by Bill.

"He will be helping me this year due to the overload of first years this year and for the fact I have a lot to catch you all up on. Any questions?"

"How will this year be different?" Asked a Seamus Finnigan from the back of the room, next to his friend Dean Thomas.

"Well this year I will grade this class as if it were a weighted course. Anyone knows what that means?"

"You are going to baby us." Draco said with a smirk.

"Keep in my Draco you will be the last person on this planet that I will end up babying. No it means that you will be required to pick one of the three top grades one can possibly get and for your grade in this class you can not get lower than it. I have already talked this over with Headmaster Dumbledore so Miss Granger, there is no need to fret."

"Will this year be fun?" Neville asked.

"Mr. Longbottom I know your fear. This will not be anything like Professor Snape's class. We have a few scheduled trips throughout the year and quite a few different types of learning processes. I want this year to be fun, and not for your sake, but for mine."

"You are one honest person." Harry muttered from behind his books.

"Yes anyway, time for the quizzes." Bill stood up and grabbed the stack of papers. He tapped them with his wand and the stack in his hand disappeared, soon each student had a quiz in front of them. All of them grabbed their quills and went to work. Charlotte walked over to the window and stared out, the ground outside was very green and welcoming and it just made her even more annoyed with herself.

Around twenty minutes before class had ended the last quiz was turned in and Bill went ahead on grading them. He didn't have to, but he knew the next twenty minutes was going to be partly uneventful.

"Something else I want this year is to know you all and have you all know me."

"I already know you, there isn't anything worth knowing."

"Draco if you cannot keep your smart arse remarks to yourself I will have to do something about it."

"Like what?" He challenged.

"You know all those things I did when I was your sister and just your sister?"

"Yeah." He said blankly.

"Well I have more authority now so I doubt you really want to know what I am allowed to do, let alone capable." Draco crossed his arms over his chest and sat back. "As I was saying before, if you have anything to ask me go right ahead. I want you all to be comfortable this year."

"How old are you?" Patil had asked.

"I am twenty-three."

"Really?" Ron piped up.

"Yeah." Charlotte answered while stacking papers on her desk.

"I have one. Why did you accept this job, when it has a streak for bad things happening to the teachers?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't really know, but I figured that if I had to live with that thing for eight years." She nodded towards Draco. "I was up for anything." The gryffindors in the class snickered and looked over and the obviously angered Draco Malfoy. "Draco you really need to not let things bother you so much." Charlotte added. "Well you are all dismissed. The students gathered their materials and headed to the door. "Before you go, next class we will be started right away so be prepared." They looked at her and nodded in understanding. Ron was the last to leave, but before he did he walked over to his brother.

"Tell me what I got before next class period please." Ron whispered to his older brother.

"Why?"

"I just want to know what I remembered that's all."

"All right." Ron left the classroom without another word to his brother.

"What was that all about?" Charlotte asked before sitting down in a chair and looking at the quizzes.

"He just wants to know what he remembered, or so he says."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the famous puzzle solver so you tell me." Bill smiled and got up. "I'll be back."

"Right."

"These kids are all really behind." Charlotte ran her hands through her hair before slouching back in the chair at her desk.

"I am here for a reason you know. I can help you so you're not so overwhelmed." Bill was sitting on her desk playing with a black dog stuffed animal.

"Be careful with that! I have had that forever."

"I know, it wouldn't look like it had been torn apart by a rabid blast -end skrewt if it wasn't old."

"I could name plenty of things you have that look the same way."

"Yes, but nothing that I keep out for all to see."

"Look it was my best friend before I met you and Aimee. It means a lot to me." Charlotte sat up and crossed her arms. It was true, that little stuffed animal had been her only friend until she had met, by chance, a challenging young girl and a caring young man on the train to Hogwarts all those years ago.

"Do you even remember where you got it?" Bill played with it's slightly ripped black floppy ear.

"No, I have tried, but every time I do I get a headache."

"You get headaches by just trying to remember something from when you were younger? You act like this thing is part of you, how could you not remember how and when you got it?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of things that I get headaches when I try to remember them."

"Have you had those dreams lately?" Bill asked as he sat the little pup back on her desk.

"About the little girl? Not recently, but the last one really scared me."

"What happened?"

"She was screaming, I don't know why, but she sounded scared. There were arms around her waist and she was kicking and fighting against whoever was holding her back. I have had dreams where she's been upset before, but nothing like that."

"And you haven't dreamt of her since?"

"No." Charlotte shook her head. "Not since."

"When was that last one?"

"I think it was a week before you left."

"Well maybe one day you'll find this girl and realize why you are dreaming about her. Maybe it has something to do with you."

"I don't think so Billy."

"Have you gotten those headaches lately? Not the ones you get when trying to remember things, but those migraines."

"Actually yeah. They started up last night again."

"You should really see a medi-witch about those you know." Bill took a galleon from her desk and flipped it in his hands. He was always such a fiddler.

"Billy they told me a long time ago that having this power I do was going to give me headaches."

"Yeah, but they didn't say they would be brain splitting headaches as you so nicely put it last time you got one. It's not normal."

"Hate to break it to you mate, but I'm not normal." Bill stood up and walked over to her and pulled her up.

"And I wouldn't have you any other way." He kissed her cheek and left the office, but not before yelling back in, "You really should get those headaches checked out. You know what they cause if they get bad enough."

"Stop worrying, it's nothing!" She yelled back at him. He was so much like a big brother, but maybe that's because he had six younger siblings, it was in his job description.