A/N: A big thank you to everyone who has read. Before I begin the next chapter, I'm going to address some questions. Riddle IS the head honcho, and Paul is drifting toward evil, but I think I'm going to kill him, so... yeah. And he is very much an arse. And Indira... here's your hints: it's not pleasant, it had something to do with Grindelwald, and Dippet knows everything. He eventually confronts her about it, and here's a spoiler quote from that scene: "I know what happened to you, Indira. I've known since before I met you. I know why you've cut yourself off from anyone you ever loved, and why you always push people away. I know why you flinch every time someone touches you." Nice, huh? Coming next chapter: Quidditch!
~~~
Chapter Three: In which things start to heat up
-January 21, 1945-
~~~
After classes that day ended, Indira Nay spent a few minutes correcting essays from the second-years, then put her quill away and headed to the weekly staff meeting. On her way, she spotted something that made her stop: a large group of students gathered in a circle around something. She sensed trouble, and walked over to investigate.
In the middle of the circle stood Tom Riddle, next to a blanket that looked like it had a person under it. Alastor Moody was standing off to the side, next to Minerva McGonagall, Arabella Figg, and Kelsie Appanitis. Indira figured the person under the blanket was Paul Garrett. Her suspicions were confirmed when Tom began talking to it. "Okay, Paul," he said, "here's the scenario: you're in the middle of the desert on a summer afternoon, and it's getting pretty hot. It's ninety-five degrees right now. Take off something you don't need."
From underneath the blanket came Paul's robe. A few students chuckled, but most just smiled.
"Thank you, Paul," Tom said. He picked up Paul's robe and handed it to Minerva. "Could you hold this please, Min? Thanks." He smiled at her, then turned his attention back to the blanket. "Paul, the temperature's going up to a hundred degrees, and it's going to get hotter. Take off something you don't need."
There was some shifting and shuffling under the blanket, and Paul's shoes came out, followed by his socks.
"Very good, Paul," Tom said. "Okay, it's getting hotter. It's up to a hundred ten degrees, Paul, a hundred and ten degrees in the desert. Take off something you don't need."
The next items to come out from underneath the blanket were Paul's tie and vest. The chuckling was starting to spread. Indira stole a glance at Minerva. She looked amused, but a little perplexed as well.
"Paul," Tom said, smiling broadly, "it's a hundred and twenty degrees in the desert. Come on, Paul, take off something you don't need."
There was more shuffling, and Paul tossed out his shirt. Tom caught it and asked Minerva to hold that, too. She did, and Tom also picked up Paul's tie and draped it around her neck. Arabella said something about Minerva's potential as a clothes rack, and several students in the immediate vicinity laughed. Indira didn't find it funny at all.
Tom knelt down next to the blanket and said, "Paul, it's a hundred and twenty-five degrees in the desert. It's really hot now, isn't it? Come on, Paul, take off something you don't need."
Paul tossed his pants out. The students roared with laughter. Tom stood, picked up the pants, and said, "I don't know about that boyfriend of yours, Minerva."
Alastor shrugged and said, "I'd say Paul's got Kelsie's boyfriend beat."
"Ooooh," went the crowd.
Tom pointed his finger at Alastor and said, "Watch yourself, Moody." He put Paul's pants on the floor and said, "It's now up to a hundred and thirty degrees, Paul, a hundred and thirty degrees in the desert. Take off something you don't need."
Paul's undershirt came out from underneath the blanket. Tom held it up for everyone to see while the crowd howled with laughter. Minerva's face was turning red, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard.
"Paul!" Tom shouted above the laughter. "Paul, you're in the desert! It's now a hundred and thirty-five degrees! Take off something you don't need when it's a hundred and thirty-five degrees in the desert!"
There was some movement underneath the blanket, and then Paul tossed out his underwear. The students watching were laughing so hard they were in tears. Several could no longer stand by themselves. Minerva had her face buried in Kelsie's shoulder, and both of them were leaning on Arabella for support. All three were shaking from laughing. Indira was disgusted.
"Paul!" Tom yelled. "When it's a hundred and thirty-five degrees in the desert, you don't need this blanket!"
He ripped the blanket off, and the students half laughed, half screamed. However, what they saw was not a naked Paul Garrett, but Paul sitting on the floor, wearing the pants from his Quidditch uniform. A smile stretched from ear to ear on his handsome face. He had been wearing his Quidditch pants the whole time and had put his underwear on over them.
The students cheered. Paul stood up and bowed. The cheering grew louder. One person, however, was not impressed by the joke - Indira Nay. She didn't see this as funny at all, and when the students noticed their stern-faced Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor in their midst, the laughing and cheering quickly died down.
Paul walked over to Minerva, kissed her on the cheek, and began to gather up his clothing. He stopped when he saw Indira, and smiled innocently at her. "Hi, Professor Nay," he said. "Good joke, huh?"
"Garrett," Indira said quietly, "everything you do annoys me."
The joking mood had completely vanished, and the crowd began to break up.
"Sorry, Professor," Paul said, throwing his robe around his shoulders.
"Get dressed," she instructed. "Ten points from Slytherin. If you ever pull a prank like this again, it will be more. You're not as funny as you think you are, Mr. Garrett."
As Indira walked away, Tom leaned in toward Paul and whispered, "When do you think the last time she had a date was?"
Paul snorted, and both boys began laughing.
"It's a waste, if you ask me," Paul said, and resumed picking up his clothes. The only students that still remained were him, Tom, Alastor, Minerva, Arabella, and Kelsie. "Look at her. She's gorgeous. If she wasn't such a bitch, I'd sleep with her in a heartbeat."
"I thought you hated her," Alastor commented.
"I do," Paul replied, "but there's no point in overreacting."
It never occured to him that that probably wasn't the wisest thing to say in front of his girlfriend.
~~~
Taking the time to watch Paul and Tom's prank made Indira a few minutes late for the staff meeting, and the other faculty members were unsuccessful in covering up their surprise. "Wow, Indira," said Jason Rose, the Charms instructor. "When was the last time you were late for anything?"
Indira ignored Rose's comment and took a seat. "I apologize," she said. "I had to take care of something and put a certain individual back in his place."
Armando Dippet studied Indira for a moment, then said, "All right, what happened?"
Indira looked at him. "This is neither the time nor the place."
"It's a staff meeting," Dippet replied. "The purpose of a staff meeting is to discuss what is going on at the school. What happened?"
She didn't answer. The two of them stared each other down for almost a full minute, neither one blinking. Finally, Indira sighed and looked away. "I see you've been developping a steely gaze, Professor Dippet."
"I've been observing the master."
Several teachers stifled laughter, one of them being Albus Dumbledore.
Indira glanced around at her colleagues, rolled her eyes, and said, "I can only assume you meant me."
"Your assumption is correct. Now what happened?"
"Garrett and Riddle again," she answered. "Another one of their idiotic jokes. Need I continue?"
"What did they do?" Dumbledore asked.
Indira briefly outlined what happened.
"That sounds harmless," Dippet said. "A little crude, perhaps, but harmless just the same."
"Nothing Tom Riddle and Paul Garrett do is harmless," Indira retorted.
Dippet resisted the urge to say that she should never have children. The chance of them turning out like her was just too great to risk it. Instead, he moved on to other business. "Well, then, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's discuss what to do regarding the plans for remodelling the Quidditch stands..."
~~~
That night, in the Gryffindor common room, Arabella Figg noticed that Minerva seemed a little under the weather. She was sitting in a large armchair in the corner with an open book in hand, but wasn't reading. She didn't look happy. Arabella watched her for a few minutes, then decided to go see what was up. "Are you all right?" she asked as she approached her friend.
Minerva sighed and tapped her fingers against the pages of her book absentmindedly. "Nothing," she said. "It's... it's stupid."
Arabella sat down on the chair's armrest. "Talk."
Minerva bit her lip, glanced at the floor, and then looked up again. "Paul," she confessed. "Did you hear what he said earlier today? He and Tom were talking about Professor Nay, and-"
"I heard," Arabella said, and nodded. "Come on, Min. You know he wasn't serious."
"He sounded serious to me."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Besides, she's not that pretty."
Minerva just looked at her.
Arabella wrinkled her nose, frowned, and said, "Okay, so she is, but really, I think you're overreacting. Paul's a looker, not a toucher, and besides, Professor Nay? I don't think she'd ever sleep with anyone, much less a student."
Minerva took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, in a quiet voice, she said, "I hate her."
"Nay?"
She nodded. "I hate her," she said again. "She's a cold, heartless bitch, and I hate her. I don't know what she did to ruin her life, but it was obviously enough to make her want to ruin everyone else's, too." She rubbed at her eyes. "You know how I've been doing Animagus training with Professor Dumbledore since the beginning of the year?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Two weeks ago, I had my first successful transformation."
Arabella's face broke into a smile. "That's great!" she said, and gave her friend a quick hug. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Dumbledore didn't want me to tell anyone until I was registered," Minerva explained.
"Understandable," Arabella said. She paused, then added, "But what does this have to do with Nay?"
"After the transformation, Dumbledore and I were so excited we hugged each other," Minerva continued. "And then, right at that moment, who should walk in but Professor Indira 'Evil Incarnate' Nay?"
"Let me guess. She tried to have you expelled."
"Not quite, but according to Dumbledore, she went to Dippet. He's a lot more civil than she is, though, and we went away with a warning. I don't know what she said to Dippet, but when she and Dumbledore were going at it... it was intense."
Arabella nodded and pushed a section of loose hair behind her ear. "Good thing Nay can't make Dumbledore crack."
"Tell me about it," Minerva said. "She hasn't cracked Dippet that I know of, either, but she's gotten every other faculty member. I'm sure it's only a matter of time with Dippet. Dumbledore's the only one that isn't afraid of her."
"He's a great person," Arabella commented.
"Yes, he is," Minerva agreed. "I wish..."
"What?"
A small, embarressed smile crossed Minerva's face. "You're going to think this is stupid, but... but I sometimes wish that he isn't a teacher and I'm not a student, if you take my meaning."
"That's not stupid," Arabella said, "unless, of course, you're just saying that because of what Paul said about Professor Nay."
Minerva shook her head. "I'm not. Never mind. Just forget I ever said anything about that. And please, promise me you won't tell Paul about this conversation."
"I promise."
~~~
Chapter Three: In which things start to heat up
-January 21, 1945-
~~~
After classes that day ended, Indira Nay spent a few minutes correcting essays from the second-years, then put her quill away and headed to the weekly staff meeting. On her way, she spotted something that made her stop: a large group of students gathered in a circle around something. She sensed trouble, and walked over to investigate.
In the middle of the circle stood Tom Riddle, next to a blanket that looked like it had a person under it. Alastor Moody was standing off to the side, next to Minerva McGonagall, Arabella Figg, and Kelsie Appanitis. Indira figured the person under the blanket was Paul Garrett. Her suspicions were confirmed when Tom began talking to it. "Okay, Paul," he said, "here's the scenario: you're in the middle of the desert on a summer afternoon, and it's getting pretty hot. It's ninety-five degrees right now. Take off something you don't need."
From underneath the blanket came Paul's robe. A few students chuckled, but most just smiled.
"Thank you, Paul," Tom said. He picked up Paul's robe and handed it to Minerva. "Could you hold this please, Min? Thanks." He smiled at her, then turned his attention back to the blanket. "Paul, the temperature's going up to a hundred degrees, and it's going to get hotter. Take off something you don't need."
There was some shifting and shuffling under the blanket, and Paul's shoes came out, followed by his socks.
"Very good, Paul," Tom said. "Okay, it's getting hotter. It's up to a hundred ten degrees, Paul, a hundred and ten degrees in the desert. Take off something you don't need."
The next items to come out from underneath the blanket were Paul's tie and vest. The chuckling was starting to spread. Indira stole a glance at Minerva. She looked amused, but a little perplexed as well.
"Paul," Tom said, smiling broadly, "it's a hundred and twenty degrees in the desert. Come on, Paul, take off something you don't need."
There was more shuffling, and Paul tossed out his shirt. Tom caught it and asked Minerva to hold that, too. She did, and Tom also picked up Paul's tie and draped it around her neck. Arabella said something about Minerva's potential as a clothes rack, and several students in the immediate vicinity laughed. Indira didn't find it funny at all.
Tom knelt down next to the blanket and said, "Paul, it's a hundred and twenty-five degrees in the desert. It's really hot now, isn't it? Come on, Paul, take off something you don't need."
Paul tossed his pants out. The students roared with laughter. Tom stood, picked up the pants, and said, "I don't know about that boyfriend of yours, Minerva."
Alastor shrugged and said, "I'd say Paul's got Kelsie's boyfriend beat."
"Ooooh," went the crowd.
Tom pointed his finger at Alastor and said, "Watch yourself, Moody." He put Paul's pants on the floor and said, "It's now up to a hundred and thirty degrees, Paul, a hundred and thirty degrees in the desert. Take off something you don't need."
Paul's undershirt came out from underneath the blanket. Tom held it up for everyone to see while the crowd howled with laughter. Minerva's face was turning red, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard.
"Paul!" Tom shouted above the laughter. "Paul, you're in the desert! It's now a hundred and thirty-five degrees! Take off something you don't need when it's a hundred and thirty-five degrees in the desert!"
There was some movement underneath the blanket, and then Paul tossed out his underwear. The students watching were laughing so hard they were in tears. Several could no longer stand by themselves. Minerva had her face buried in Kelsie's shoulder, and both of them were leaning on Arabella for support. All three were shaking from laughing. Indira was disgusted.
"Paul!" Tom yelled. "When it's a hundred and thirty-five degrees in the desert, you don't need this blanket!"
He ripped the blanket off, and the students half laughed, half screamed. However, what they saw was not a naked Paul Garrett, but Paul sitting on the floor, wearing the pants from his Quidditch uniform. A smile stretched from ear to ear on his handsome face. He had been wearing his Quidditch pants the whole time and had put his underwear on over them.
The students cheered. Paul stood up and bowed. The cheering grew louder. One person, however, was not impressed by the joke - Indira Nay. She didn't see this as funny at all, and when the students noticed their stern-faced Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor in their midst, the laughing and cheering quickly died down.
Paul walked over to Minerva, kissed her on the cheek, and began to gather up his clothing. He stopped when he saw Indira, and smiled innocently at her. "Hi, Professor Nay," he said. "Good joke, huh?"
"Garrett," Indira said quietly, "everything you do annoys me."
The joking mood had completely vanished, and the crowd began to break up.
"Sorry, Professor," Paul said, throwing his robe around his shoulders.
"Get dressed," she instructed. "Ten points from Slytherin. If you ever pull a prank like this again, it will be more. You're not as funny as you think you are, Mr. Garrett."
As Indira walked away, Tom leaned in toward Paul and whispered, "When do you think the last time she had a date was?"
Paul snorted, and both boys began laughing.
"It's a waste, if you ask me," Paul said, and resumed picking up his clothes. The only students that still remained were him, Tom, Alastor, Minerva, Arabella, and Kelsie. "Look at her. She's gorgeous. If she wasn't such a bitch, I'd sleep with her in a heartbeat."
"I thought you hated her," Alastor commented.
"I do," Paul replied, "but there's no point in overreacting."
It never occured to him that that probably wasn't the wisest thing to say in front of his girlfriend.
~~~
Taking the time to watch Paul and Tom's prank made Indira a few minutes late for the staff meeting, and the other faculty members were unsuccessful in covering up their surprise. "Wow, Indira," said Jason Rose, the Charms instructor. "When was the last time you were late for anything?"
Indira ignored Rose's comment and took a seat. "I apologize," she said. "I had to take care of something and put a certain individual back in his place."
Armando Dippet studied Indira for a moment, then said, "All right, what happened?"
Indira looked at him. "This is neither the time nor the place."
"It's a staff meeting," Dippet replied. "The purpose of a staff meeting is to discuss what is going on at the school. What happened?"
She didn't answer. The two of them stared each other down for almost a full minute, neither one blinking. Finally, Indira sighed and looked away. "I see you've been developping a steely gaze, Professor Dippet."
"I've been observing the master."
Several teachers stifled laughter, one of them being Albus Dumbledore.
Indira glanced around at her colleagues, rolled her eyes, and said, "I can only assume you meant me."
"Your assumption is correct. Now what happened?"
"Garrett and Riddle again," she answered. "Another one of their idiotic jokes. Need I continue?"
"What did they do?" Dumbledore asked.
Indira briefly outlined what happened.
"That sounds harmless," Dippet said. "A little crude, perhaps, but harmless just the same."
"Nothing Tom Riddle and Paul Garrett do is harmless," Indira retorted.
Dippet resisted the urge to say that she should never have children. The chance of them turning out like her was just too great to risk it. Instead, he moved on to other business. "Well, then, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's discuss what to do regarding the plans for remodelling the Quidditch stands..."
~~~
That night, in the Gryffindor common room, Arabella Figg noticed that Minerva seemed a little under the weather. She was sitting in a large armchair in the corner with an open book in hand, but wasn't reading. She didn't look happy. Arabella watched her for a few minutes, then decided to go see what was up. "Are you all right?" she asked as she approached her friend.
Minerva sighed and tapped her fingers against the pages of her book absentmindedly. "Nothing," she said. "It's... it's stupid."
Arabella sat down on the chair's armrest. "Talk."
Minerva bit her lip, glanced at the floor, and then looked up again. "Paul," she confessed. "Did you hear what he said earlier today? He and Tom were talking about Professor Nay, and-"
"I heard," Arabella said, and nodded. "Come on, Min. You know he wasn't serious."
"He sounded serious to me."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Besides, she's not that pretty."
Minerva just looked at her.
Arabella wrinkled her nose, frowned, and said, "Okay, so she is, but really, I think you're overreacting. Paul's a looker, not a toucher, and besides, Professor Nay? I don't think she'd ever sleep with anyone, much less a student."
Minerva took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, in a quiet voice, she said, "I hate her."
"Nay?"
She nodded. "I hate her," she said again. "She's a cold, heartless bitch, and I hate her. I don't know what she did to ruin her life, but it was obviously enough to make her want to ruin everyone else's, too." She rubbed at her eyes. "You know how I've been doing Animagus training with Professor Dumbledore since the beginning of the year?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Two weeks ago, I had my first successful transformation."
Arabella's face broke into a smile. "That's great!" she said, and gave her friend a quick hug. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Dumbledore didn't want me to tell anyone until I was registered," Minerva explained.
"Understandable," Arabella said. She paused, then added, "But what does this have to do with Nay?"
"After the transformation, Dumbledore and I were so excited we hugged each other," Minerva continued. "And then, right at that moment, who should walk in but Professor Indira 'Evil Incarnate' Nay?"
"Let me guess. She tried to have you expelled."
"Not quite, but according to Dumbledore, she went to Dippet. He's a lot more civil than she is, though, and we went away with a warning. I don't know what she said to Dippet, but when she and Dumbledore were going at it... it was intense."
Arabella nodded and pushed a section of loose hair behind her ear. "Good thing Nay can't make Dumbledore crack."
"Tell me about it," Minerva said. "She hasn't cracked Dippet that I know of, either, but she's gotten every other faculty member. I'm sure it's only a matter of time with Dippet. Dumbledore's the only one that isn't afraid of her."
"He's a great person," Arabella commented.
"Yes, he is," Minerva agreed. "I wish..."
"What?"
A small, embarressed smile crossed Minerva's face. "You're going to think this is stupid, but... but I sometimes wish that he isn't a teacher and I'm not a student, if you take my meaning."
"That's not stupid," Arabella said, "unless, of course, you're just saying that because of what Paul said about Professor Nay."
Minerva shook her head. "I'm not. Never mind. Just forget I ever said anything about that. And please, promise me you won't tell Paul about this conversation."
"I promise."