Dear Ron,
Rashida has asked me to provide further security for this first year after The Battle. Please keep in touch! How's everyone? When I left, everyone seemed pretty upset. Why haven't you owled me? It's been nearly two months since I went on vacation! I miss you and everyone!
Love,
Hermione
Hermione read over her note to Ron quickly. Satisfied, she called her friend's owl over to her. When the screech owl held out his leg for Hermione, she tied the piece of parchment to it and sent the owl on his way. She turned around and looked at the room she had lived in for the past two months. "I'll have to let Dasha know that I'm leaving," she said to herself as she waved her wand and directed her few scattered belongings into her trunk. "And I'll have to thank her mom for letting me stay in Damien's room…" she continued to talk to herself. Her socks neatly folded themselves and her books piled on top of each other equally neatly. "Oh, and I'll have to…" Hermione's voice drifted off when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, directing the last of the books into her trunk. With a flick of her wand, Hermione shut the lid of her trunk and latched it shut. The plain door opened and in walked a young woman with long golden-brown hair.
"You're leaving so soon?" she asked when she looked at Hermione's bare room. She spoke with a thick Greek accent, but spoke in English. She brushed a lock of her hair aside so that her green eye was no longer covered.
"Yeah, my old school needs my help," Hermione replied. She tried to speak in Greek, but her friend laughed at Hermione's pronunciation. "Hey! I never laugh at your pronunciation!" Hermione protested, falling back into English.
"That's because there is nothing to laugh at!" the girl replied, smiling smugly. Hermione glared at her friend but couldn't stay angry long, so she began to laugh, shaking her head in defeat. "So why do you have to go back? Didn't you graduate?" Hermione's friend teased her.
"No, Dasha Evadne, it's because they want me to help with security," Hermione said. Dasha mockingly glared at Hermione at the use of her middle name. Hermione stuck her tongue out and flicked her wand to levitate her trunk. "Locomotor trunk," Hermione said. Her heavy trunk then floated easily and followed the direction of her wand. She looked at her friend. "I'm sorry I have to cut my visit short…" she mumbled.
"Just promise you'll come back to Greece sometime," Dasha commanded.
"Promise," Hermione replied. She wrapped her friend in a fierce one-armed hug, keeping her wand still. Dasha walked with her friend to the front door of the house.
"How will you go home?" Dasha asked.
"Floo Powder." A woman with hair that matched Dasha's walked out of the deliciously smelling kitchen, bringing some of the scents with her. Hermione sighed and wished she could have stayed for one more meal with the family that had graciously shared their home with her, but the letter from the headmistress said that she wanted to see Hermione as soon as possible. "Mrs. Chakiris, thank you so much for having me these past couple of months!" Hermione said, letting her trunk fall gently to the floor. She went over to the plump woman and wrapped her arms around the woman. Hermione breathed in the smell of the woman's wonderful cooking. Hermione slowly broke apart from the woman and hugged Dasha again. She levitated her trunk once more and directed it purposely to the living room. She lowered her trunk, broke the spell, and then used her wand to create a roaring fire in the large fireplace. She took a pinch of green powder from a small bowl on the mantle and threw it into the fire. The fire immediately roared into a shocking emerald green color.
"Take care of yourself!" the plump woman scolded Hermione as the girl picked up one end of her trunk.
"Owl me and let me know how it's going!" Dasha said, waving goodbye to her owl-pal.
"Bye, I promise I'll write, don't worry," Hermione said. She pulled her trunk into the fire next to her, lifted it up onto its end and cried out, "Howgwarts, Rashida's office."
There was a sickening spinning feeling. Hermione tucked her elbows in as far as she could without letting go of her trunk. She closed her eyes tightly, the flashing images of other rooms made her dizzy. Finally the spinning stopped and Hermione toppled out of a different fireplace. She looked up from her vantage point on the ground at a familiar claw-footed desk. Portraits surrounded her, one of which caught her eye and a lump formed in her throat. The portraits were pretending to sleep. That is, all but one. The brass nameplate underneath read: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Headmaster 1955-1997. The man winked from behind his half moon spectacles. Hermione looked at the portrait, a tear escaping her brown eyes.
"Rashida, I believe you have a visitor," the old man said kindly to the chair. The chair spun around to face Hermione.
"Hermione!" the woman cried happily. "So good of you to come. Dumbledore said that you would be good for the job. You will have lodging at the school. Albus said that you would know where to find it?" The woman had black hair and stood tall. Her gray eyes were sharp and sat behind gold-rimmed glasses. She took the glasses off, folded them, and set them on her desk. Hermione hurried to stand up and brushed her robes off. "Now, have a seat and we'll wait for the others."
"Excuse me Professor, who else is coming?" Hermione asked.
"First thing," the woman said. "Never call me professor. It makes me feel old. Call me Rashida, or you may shorten it however you like, just don't call me Radish. Second, as for the others, they consist of Ronald Weasely, Katie Bell, and Roger Davis." Hermione nodded her head and sat in a plush chair, waiting patiently for the other three to arrive. They all arrived within ten minutes. Rashida conjured up two more plush chairs to accommodate the last two to arrive, Katie and Ron. "Now, I do believe we shall get started. You four were brought here simply to provide extra security for the students over the next year. Hopefully, you will be bored, but no guarantees. Each night, you will patrol the corridors in shifts with the teachers. During the day, you are to walk amongst the students. Feel free to take students from their classes if they are suspicious in any way. My goal in hiring you guys is to minimize fear among the parents. If you have any questions please feel free to come see me here. The current password is "Niffler." Go ahead and make yourselves at home, Hermione, will you show everyone where you'll be staying? Ronald, I believe you know where it is also? Oh, and Hermione, dear, you may leave your trunk here. The house elves will take care of it." Hermione sniffed disapprovingly.
"Really, is it fair-"
"Hermione, I know how you feel on this subject, however, you will not sway my opinion along with the opinion of the entire wizarding world," Rashida said, sighing.
"Thank you, I've been trying to tell her for years!" Ron exclaimed. "Oh, and could you please call me Ron, Professor?"
"Oh! One more rule before you go, and yes, I'm very capable of calling you Ron, there will be no calling me Professor, my name is Rashida and that is what I want you to call me." Rashida nodded her head. "Okay, you can go now." The four young adults walked out of the office. None of them, except for Hermione had noticed Dumbledore's portrait on the wall.
"So where are we going?" Roger Davis asked.
"You'll see," Hermione said, leading everyone to their new home. "Though I will warn you, it's on the seventh floor." Roger groaned.
"That's so far every morning for breakfast!" Roger complained.
"But you'll be in shape for Quidditch," Katie pointed out.
"But it's so far!" Roger repeated.
"Oh be quiet, we're here," Ron said. They stood in front of a door. Behind them a tapestry of Baranabas the Barmy trying to trolls the ballet. Ron opened the door and inside was a cozy room. A fire burned solidly on the far wall. Two couches and a chair were set up around a low coffee table in front of the fire. On the left side of the room were two four-poster beds with a small end table by each one. Trunks sat at the footboards of either bed. On the right side of the room were two more four-poster beds with trunks at the feet of each and end tables by the pillow. Worn rugs covered the floor in patches.
"How…charming," Katie said as she toyed with a rug with her foot.
"It has its perks," Hermione said.
"Do the rooms separate?" Roger asked.
"Of course," Ron said. He waved his wand in the general direction of the beds on the left side. Slowly, a wall emerged from the already existing wall and separated those two beds from the rest of the room.
"Clever," Hermione said.
Ginny stared out of the train window into the bleak fall surroundings. Rain lashed at the windows, matching her mood. Her compartment was empty. No one wanted to sit with a gloomy seventh year old, especially one notorious for her fiery temper. She watched a drop of rain streak down the window.
"I need to move on. He's as good as dead," Ginny said to herself. There was a hoot from the seat across from her. "I know Hedwig. He's not actually dead, but if he doesn't like me anymore…" Ginny let her voice trail off. She stood up and bent down. She reached under the seat and pulled her broom out. It had been Charlie's, and wasn't the best broom out there, but she could make it fly fast and true. She fished around some more and pulled out a broomstick servicing kit. She began to polish the elderly handle. "I have to get a team together," she said absentmindedly. "There's that Robins girl…I suppose it'd just be easier to have tryouts for every spot. Hopefully there's some new people," she muttered to herself as she wiped the fingerprints away. When it could shine no more, she carefully put it away and went back to staring out the window.
After a few minutes, she looked around the empty compartment. It just wasn't the same without Harry and Hermione. Hermione had said that she would be home in time to say goodbye to Ginny, but she was still missing in action. The train rattled to a stop and Ginny stood up and joined the jostling crowd of students. She followed the crowd into the Great Hall.
"Ginny!" The redheaded girl looked up at the familiar voice.
"Hermione!" the girl cried back. There, sitting at her usual place was Hermione Granger. The older girl beckoned Ginny over and she happily obliged. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked when she reached her friend.
"She's here for security, just like me," Ron said, leaning over to the two girls from his spot across the table. Ginny smiled and sat down next to Hermione where she had so many times before.
A group of girls walked up to Ginny. "There you are!" one with brown hair said.
"You going to sit with us?" one with black hair asked. She looked at Ron and Hermione. Hermione saw the girl with black hair flick her eyes between the pair.
"No, we're not students. We're staff this year," Hermione supplied the younger girl. The younger girl nodded her head and smiled at Hermione.
"Go on, I'll catch up with you later. I haven't seen Hermione for two months," Ginny said. The four girls smiled and continued to their seats. Ginny smiled at their retreating backs. All four of them had been really lucky. Only one of them lost an older brother to the war, and she was over him now. They could now continue their lives like nothing had happened. Ginny on the other hand…
"You could have sat with them," Hermione pointed out.
"I know, but I missed you," Ginny said, tearing her eyes away from her friends and to Hermione. "Hey, can you guys dock points?" A mischievous glint went over her eye.
"No, sadly," Ron said, looking over to the Slytherin table.
"Really Ron!" Hermione said. Ginny's smile faded slightly, but came back when she started to laugh at Hermione and Ron as they began fighting…again.
"Ron! You're supposed to be a mature adult staff person! Not a child riveted on old school rivalries!" Hermione chided her best friend.
"Oh come on hermione! Don't you remember Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad? Nearly all of them were Slytherins! Now's our chance to get back at them!" Ron said.
"Except that they all graduated!" Hermione said exasperatedly.
"But it's the concept! Besides, they're Slytherins! Just look at their faces!" Ron said, his voice rising. Ginny shook her head at the pair.
"Who's the new Headmistress? I didn't recognize the name on the letter," Ginny asked, interrupting the argument.
"Rashida," they said together.
"I bet she'd let us dock points!" Ron said triumphantly. "I do believe I'll ask her after supper," he said, smiling smugly.
"You'll do no such thing!" Hermione said, her eyes boring into Ron.
"Excuse me!" a clear voice rang over the crowd. The noise continued, until a loud bang issued from a wand held by the woman who stood at the front of the room. Suddenly silence washed over the crowd. Hermione glared at Ron and he smiled back at her, daring her to stop him from asking Rashida if they could dock points. "Now that I have your attention, as you can tell, I am your new Headmistress. There are several new professors to replace the ones we unfortunately lost this past summer. Another new addition is four previous students who will be here to help with security. I do not expect to need them," she paused and glared at the student body. A few people turned and broke eye contact with the woman, a few stared back, and a few had a glazed look in their eyes. "If those four would please rise," Rashida asked, her eyes roving over the students looking for her security personnel. Hermione and Ron stood up. Not far from them, Katie stood up also.
"Roger!" a loud whisper said. A few people laughed while Roger Davis stood up, glaring at his friend that had woken him up from his daydream.
"Anyways. These four, though you may know them as friends and fellow students, you are to respect them like teachers. If I hear of any student badgering them." She stopped to look pointedly at the Slytherin table. "Then you will deal with me." She finished. "Now, before we begin our wonderful feast, each of the new teachers will introduce themselves," she said as she backed away to her seat in the middle of the Head Table. Ginny ignored the next few speakers and turned to her friends.
"She looks painfully familiar! Who is she?" she hissed.
Ron shrugged his shoulders and attacked the food that was now appearing.
"She used to be the Muggle Studies professor," Hermione said, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Ginny looked back at the new Headmistress before taking a spoonful of green beans.
"What is she like? Is she strict?" Ginny asked as she helped herself to some lasagna.
"You'll have to find out yourself," Hermione said, smiling. "You better behave just in case," she added, smiling innocently at her friend.
"That means no," Ginny interpreted for herself. She smiled and looked across the table. She nearly burst out laughing. Ron was eating like always. His eyes focused on his food, and his teeth barely coming together to chew before he swallowed. His concentration was comical in Ginny's opinion. Her eyes naturally roved over to Harry's normal spot. Her stomach dropped out when she saw the empty seat. Despite the many times she told herself she was moving on, seeing the empty seat hit her hard. He'll be back, she told herself, though in her gut, she could tell she wasn't going to kid herself. Ginny shifted in her seat and tore her eyes away from the empty seat, the one that Harry didn't want to fill, and went back to her dinner. She tried to position herself so that she couldn't see the empty seat, but that was impossible, especially since she kept looking at it. Her dinner was cold and tasted like ash. No matter how many times she told herself she was moving on, maybe she couldn't. Ginny sighed and pushed her plate away.
"Whassamadder?" Ron asked from behind a mouthful of chocolate cake. He followed her gaze with his own. He swallowed. "Oh," he said quietly. He stared at the empty seat next to him. "I thought you were over him. Fred said you had a new boyfriend," Ron said.
"Yeah, yeah, I am…I do," Ginny said, shaking her head slightly. She pushed the image of a smiling Harry from her mind and began eating dessert with a new determination.
"What?" Hermione asked suddenly, a spoonful of pudding halfway to her mouth.
"I met a guy," Ginny said, blushing slightly.
"Well?" Hermione prompted, lowering her spoon.
"His name's Erik, and he's three years older than me…but barely!" Ginny added when Hermione pursed her lips.
"Ginny, three years!" Hermione said exasperatedly. Ginny smiled, trying to look innocent. "Ron, don't tell me you approve!" Hermione demanded, rounded on her friend. Ron looked up from his pie and shrugged.
He swallowed mightily. "Well, Fred seemed okay with it."
Hermione's jaw dropped and she stared at Ron. What had happened with him? "Ha-Harry!" she stuttered. How could Ginny do this to Harry?
"Maybe he'll come back knowing that he might lose her," Ron said, shrugging and helping himself to another piece of fudge.
"Or maybe he was staying away because of me…" Ginny said glumly. Hermione jerked, she had almost forgotten Ginny was right there.
"Oh be quiet, he'll be home before you know it!" Hermione scolded.
"Shut up, Hermione. Maybe just this once, Harry isn't so hot headed. Maybe he made this decision with good rational and he's never coming back," Ron said, putting his fork down for the first time all evening.
"No, he's coming home. I just know it," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
Ron slammed his fist on the table causing a few first years around him to jump and scuttle away in alarm. He shouted a couple of words that caused the faculty to fly down toward him. Then, as he violently stood up, he slapped Hermione right across the face. "DEAL WITH IT! HE'S GONE!" he shouted at her. Hermione stared at him with wide eyes and watched him storm away.
"Miss Granger, are you all right?" Rashida asked concernedly. She was the first of a swarm of teachers to swoop around the table. Hermione looked up to her old professor with blank eyes. She reached her hand up to her cheek, stunned. Her eyes blinked a couple of times. Ginny stood up and pulled her friend up also.
"I'll take her to bed," Ginny told the teachers as she guided her stunned friend away.
"If you see Mr. Weasely, send him to me," Rashida said formidably.
"Yes, ma'am," Ginny said. She pulled her friend out of the silent Great Hall. Hermione's hand still gently touched her smarting cheek. She had never been slapped like that before, let alone by her best friend. Unfortunately for her, the words Ron had said hurt her far more than the sting on her cheek. She stared straight ahead. He wasn't coming home…ever.
Author's Note: Well, thanks for being patient, I'm so sorry it took me son long to update, please don't hate me! My life has been soo busy and I had writer's block like never before. So once again I'm really sorry.
Response to Anon. Reviews: Well, I thought it kind of unfair if I were to take the time to answer questions and respond to reviews of people signed in, and if you were too lazy to log in or do not have a penname yet, then I will answer your questions along with any questions or concerns that I deem important enough, thank you. And everyone, please welcome Heapies926 to the wonderful world of reviewers of Final!
Crystal Butterfly: Thanks for the review, and as you can see, I really don't care if you're logged in or not. But it makes me happy that you reviewed! I'm glad you liked the chapter. I am soo sorry it took so long to update. Usually it won't take two weeks to update, I hope!
Major Concerns: Well, there really weren't any. Other than "Who is in the room with Harry?" Well, I'm sorry that question wasn't answered this chapter, but the answer is coming!
