Everybody screamed
When I kissed the teacher

Hermione thought she had been nervous when she accepted McGonagall's offer to return for a revamped 7th year but those nerves paled in comparison to what she was feeling now. She also had the privilege of being taken on as McGonagall's protegee. This meant Hermione got to spend extra time with her favourite teacher, studying her favourite subject in depth. Throughout the year student and mentor got closer together and the line of propriety began to get a bit blurry.

It was the end of the school year when both women realised that they had gone past the point of teacher and student and even past the point of being friends. Hermione had rocked up for their biweekly tea and let herself into McGonagall's private quarters past the unicorn portrait. She had flopped down in her usual arm chair ready for a night of beautiful intellectual discussion when she realised her mentor wasn't in the room.

"Hello… Min?"

"I'm in the study Hermione. I'll be out in a second," called a distant Scottish brogue.

Hermione pushed herself up out of the armchair and ambled into the kitchen to make tea. Even though she could make tea pretty much appear with a few simple waves of her wand this was one thing she preferred to do the muggle way. McGonagall also preferred to make tea by hand so her kitchenette was decked out with a kettle and all sorts of different flavoured tea bags. Hermione set about filling the kettle and boiling the water. Whilst waiting for it to boil she spun around and grabbed some mugs out of the cupboard. She grabbed Min's favourite family tartan mug and a plain gold and red mug for herself. After adding the tea bags, some hot water and a splash of milk to each cup she carefully carried them over to the coffee table. Setting them down with a coaster underneath Hermione flopped back into the armchair she had vacated earlier.

"Graceful as always Hermione," McGonagall jabbed.

Hermione blushed a little but quickly regained her composure seeing as she was used to Min's very dry and sarcastic humour.

"Well hello to you too," Hermione sniped back.

"Yes, yes… hello Hermione," Min said with a big roll of her eyes.

"Anyway how has your week been? How did your shopping trip go last weekend?"

"Ah about that. I need you to close your eyes and hold out one of your hands."

"What are you doing?"

"Just shhhh and you'll find out. Have some patience Miss Granger."

Hermione pouted but reluctantly closed her mouth and sat there with her hand out. She heard footsteps grew distant and then a few moments later they came back again.

"Do you trust me?" McGonagall asked tentatively.

Not trusting her voice Hermione just nodded.

"Well then, here is your graduation present from me," Minerva said as she deposited something in Hermione's outstretched hands. Slowly Hermione opened her eyes and examined the present.

"Oh... you didn't?"

"Yes I did," smirked the older witch.

"I can't accept this. It must have been so difficult to get and then to make it work."

"It was nothing the mine and Fillius's combined brain power couldn't solve."

"Thank you so much. How did you know I have been wanting an mp3 player? I don't think I've mentioned it to you," Asked Hermione with her Cheshire cat like grin.

"I may have enlisted the help of Ginny to pick out a present that you would like. At first, I thought of a book but you already have lots of them and then I thought about getting you some jewellery but you don't really wear jewellery very often so then I …" Minerva's voice trailed off because Hermione had started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You… you… you sounded like me rambling when I'm nervous," Hermione managed to wheeze between laughs.

"Oh, okay. I'm glad you weren't laughing at the present I got you."

"No Min, I would never."

"I know you wouldn't it's okay."

"How do I put music on it?" Hermione asked with a tilt of her head.

"It was Fillius's idea. He charmed it so all you have to do is day the song you want, tap the top of the mp3 and say addere carmen* followed by the title of the song."

"Wow that's amazing. I can't wait to add lots of music to it," Hermione turned the music player over in her hand and her face lit up with a bright smile. She never thought that she'd be able to experience the advancements in muggle technology.

"I've already added one song to it that I thought you'd like," Min said with a small smile.

"I promise I'll listen to it after we've had our tea tonight."

"I hope you like it. Anyway, how are you feeling about graduating tomorrow?" McGonagall asked gently.

"I'm excited to finally graduate after 8 years here but I definitely know I'm going to miss it. Now I have to figure out what I want to do in the next chapter of my life."

"I'm sure you'll find some career that allows you to follow your passions lass."

The duo drank many cups of tea that night, too immersed in conversation to realise the passage of time. Hermione knew she was going to miss these cosy nights in the company of her favourite person. Only when the bell tower rang out with 12 reverberating dings where they aware of the time.

"Is it really midnight?" Minerva said with an amused smile.

"I suppose I should make my way back to my rooms," Hermione sighed, "Can't have bags under my eyes at the ceremony tomorrow." Reluctantly Hermione pushed herself out of the soft armchair. She winced as her spine popped in several places when she stood up.

"Are you okay Hermione?"

"Yeah I'm fine. This is what being back at school after a year camping on pretty solid ground does to your back."

Minerva slowly rose from her armchair too and pulled Hermione into a tender and gentle hug. "I am really glad you came back to Hogwarts this year. I know teachers aren't supposed to have favourites but you are my favourite student and person and general."

Hermione hugged her mentor back tightly. "You are my favourite teacher too. I'm going to miss you but I promise we'll keep in touch."

"I'm only an owl away whenever you need me."

"Goodnight Min, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Hermione, don't forget to listen to that song tonight"

Hermione turned and left McGonagall's quarters letting the portrait click shut behind her. Her feet took her along the familiar path from Minerva's rooms to her own rooms without much input from her brain. Her thoughts were too caught up in the melancholy and sentimental feelings. It was her final night at Hogwarts and with so many emotions racing around in her mind it was difficult to pick one to focus on. Before her mind could settle on one particular feeling, she found herself outside her rooms.

"Graduating," she said clearly to the fat lady.

Without saying anything in return the portrait swung open and let her in. Slowly Hermione climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the Gryffindor tower.

Pushing open the door she flopped onto her comfy bed. Despite being so tired she dug the mp3 player out of her pocket and slipped the connected earbud into her ears. The excitement of listening to the song Min had picked out gave Hermione a wave of energy. She propped a pillow behind her back and pressed the little power button in the top corner of the device. The little black rectangle showed a logo and then a loading screen. Hermione hit the circle button on the mp3 and it began to play blaringly loud music. She yanked the headphones out of her ears.

"How do I turn this thing down?"

Fiddling with the tiny buttons she finally found the volume controls on the headphone wires. Hermione turned down the music until it was at a reasonable volume before putting the headphone back in.

"Now I have to figure out how to start the song from the beginning."

Again, she pressed all the buttons until she pressed the left side of the circle button. The song began scrubbing backwards.

"Ah that's what those triangles mean."

With the song at a good volume and it back at the start Hermione pressed play again. The gentle guitar introduction started playing followed by the voices of abba singing, "Everybody screamed when I kissed the teacher."

Hermione's face split into a splitting grin and she slid down the headboard. She let the music and lyrics wash over her.

"And they must have thought they dreamed
When I kissed the teacher
All my friends at school
They had never seen the teacher blush
She looked like a fool
Nearly petrified 'cause she was taken by surprise.

When I kissed the teacher
Couldn't quite believe her eyes
When I kissed the teacher
My whole class went wild
As I held my breath
The world stood still but then she just smiled
I was in the seventh heaven
When I kissed the teacher."

Hermione's mind went into overdrive. Was this the only song Minerva had put on the mp3? She pressed the little circle button to pause the music and then tried to skip to the next song. There was nothing but silence after the ABBA song. There must be a reason this was the one song Min wanted to put on it. Hermione pressed play and let the rest of the song filter though her ears and enter her brain. She replayed 4 times before the epiphany hit her. She smiled so wide and giggled so hard her chest hurt. It had to mean what she thought it did. McGonagall was too smart to randomly select this song to the only one the device. This was Minerva's way of telling Hermione that the flirting had been noticed and her feelings reciprocated. She might have screamed if it wasn't one in the morning.

With a big giddy smile Hermione turned off the mp3 and snuggled under the duvet. It didn't take long for her to fall into a peaceful sleep. The emotional high making her grin all night long.

Too soon her little bedside alarm blared interrupting her amazing dreams. Many of the dreams she'd had included the growth and intimacy of her relationship with Minerva. Hermione shoved back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. She saw the little music player on her nightstand smiled brightly. Before she got up and dressed, she put the earphones in her ears and played the song again to double check she hadn't dreamt about that too before she threw caution to the wind and proved why she had been sorted into Gryffindor. When the first few notes of the song entered her brain, she beamed and turned it off convinced she hadn't been dreaming.

Hermione went through the motions of getting ready on autopilot. Her mind was drifting far away imagining what her life was going to be like once she graduated. She'd already received job offers from the ministry and countless other places but she wanted to feel like she earned the job rather than it be handed to her because of the war effort. But now it was finally over and she would get her graduation certificate and she could accept one of her many job offers.

Since the graduation ceremony was after just after breakfast Hermione decided it was quicker to get dressed for the ceremony before she went down to the great hall. She plucked out her nicest dress from her wardrobe. It wasn't as fancy as the dress she wore to the yule ball but it was definitely a flattering dress. It was covered in gold sequins and had an asymmetrical neckline with one long sleeve. Hermione had brought it a few weeks prior when she had gone shopping with Ginny for graduation dresses.

Slipping the dress over her head she then went into the ensuite and did her hair and makeup. Opting to have her hair down she scrunched some styling products though it to help her curls stay frizz free. She then did some light natural looking make up. Lastly Hermione dug her heels out of the wardrobe and before applied a cushioning charm to the soles before putting them on her feet. If she was going to be wearing these heels all day, she was going to be comfortable in them.

After one final inspection in the mirror, she pulled open the door and descended the stairs into the common room. Ginny smiled and waved her over.

"You look stunning Hermione."

"As do you," Hermione complemented, "That colour green really suits you even if it does make you look a little bit like a Slytherin."

"Says you wearing a dress that is the literal embodiment of Gryffindor," Ginny teased.

"Come on let's go get some breakfast. I need to do something normal to steady my nerves."

They swung black robes over their shoulders before Hermione and Ginny followed one another out of the portrait hole. Together the pair skipped down the corridors to the Great Hall linked arm in arm. They slowed their pace as they neared the entrance and stopped just outside the grand doors. It felt so surreal that this was the last time she would walk through into the great hall as a student. She might come back to Hogwarts in the years to come but it would be different as an adult.

Hermione stared up at the doors and a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She could vividly remember standing here on September first all those years ago. Even all these years later one thing that stuck out from these memories was the stern but beautiful witch standing at the top of the stairs telling them about the sorting and their houses.

The duo were jolted out of their memories when an excited first year Ravenclaw rushed past. One of them bumped into Hermione's side which pushed her into Ginny. They stumbled sideways but recovered their footing before they could fall. Hermione watched the young boy jog along the length of the table and squeeze in on the bench with some other first years. It was sweet to watch kids just being able to be kids without a big dark cloud of fear hanging over their heads.

"I suppose we should head in and get something to eat. I'm starving."

"You sound like Ron," Hermione teased as she shoulder bumped ginny.

But nevertheless, they stepped over the threshold and into the great hall. Hermione took her time walking over to the Gryffindor table savouring every last detail and decoration. She would be sad to see this place go but it was exciting to see what the next chapter of life had in store. Hermione was hoping for a peaceful couple of years.

As Ginny and Hermione approached the bench on one side of the Gryffindor table a few other seventh years shuffled closer to make space for them. Hermione smiled brightly as she swung her leg over the bench and sat down.

"This feels so surreal that this is the last time we'll have breakfast in the Great Hall."

"I'll miss the food but I won't miss the unpaid slave labour that makes the food."

Ginny gave Hermione a reproachful look.

"I may have given up on s.p.e.w but I still don't like the fact that house elves aren't compensated for their work."

"We've been over this a million times before Hermione. The elves don't want compensation. Wasn't talking to Kreacher and Winky enough for you to see that."

"I'll put up with it but I am by no means happy about it."

Ginny just rolled her eyes.

The conversation reached a natural lull when mountains of food appeared on the table. Students up and down the Gryffindor table began piling their plates with all sorts of delicious breakfast foods.

Hermione took a slice of toast and a few pieces of fruit for her plate. When Ginny gave her a concerned side glance she just said, "I don't think my stomach can handle much food this morning. I'm oddly nervous about graduation even though I already know my results. I've already had seven letters from different ministry departments telling me how they'd love to have me onboard their team."

"I was pretty lucky the first letter I received was an offer from the holy head harpies. I knew that I wanted to play professional quidditch so I sent an owl back immediately accepting their offer to play as a chaser."

"It's good you knew what you wanted to do Gin. I've got no real idea what I want to do after we walk out of Hogwarts this afternoon."

"You'll figure it out. You're Hermione freaking Granger."

Hermione slumped and rested her head on Ginny's shoulder. "Thanks Gin, I don't know how I would have survived this year without you."

Ginny was about to reply (with a sarcastic one liner no doubt) when a Scottish brogue cut clearly through the chatter.

"I hope you have all had your fill of breakfast. If you could all stand up and move to the sides of the hall so that the tables and benches can be rearranged for our graduation ceremony."

Benches scraped loudly across the floor and students clambered over them. After the majority of students had moved out of the way Professor McGonagall swished her wand in a big sweeping motion. The long house tables were pushed to the back of the hall and the benches formed orderly rows across the room. Another flick of her wand and the house banners changed into Hogwarts crests. The crowd of students oh 'ed and awed at the decorations.

The Headmistress gave a small smile and then gestured for the awestruck students to find a seat. The seventh years that were graduating sat in the front couple of rows and organised themselves into alphabetical order according to their first names. The rest of the students shuffled along the benches clumped mostly in year groups and houses. The heavy doors opened and a flood of students' family and friends entered the hall. Hermione knew that Harry, Ron and most of the Weasley family were there to support her and Ginny.

Once the last few straggling people had taken their seats Professor McGonagall took up her position in front of the lectern. The crowd hushed.

"Welcome students, family and special guests. An especially warm welcome to this years graduating students," She stopped speaking and swept her arm to gesture where they were sitting. "As you all will know this year has been a very unprecedented. I want to firstly thank all of the students for taking it in their strides and adjusting as we found the balance of things this year. I would also like to thank all of our students friends and family who have supported them through a challenging year. My final thank you for this speech although there are many more I could say goes to our senior students for whom this ceremony is all about. You guys showed exceptional leadership this year guiding the younger ones through even though you were just as unsure as they were at times. It has not gone unnoticed and all off the staff members really appreciate it." The headmistress stopped speaking again as a round of applause broke out. Once the clapping had stopped, she continued with her script. "I would now like to invite Deputy headmaster Fililus Flitwick to the podium to hand out students graduation certificates."

Flitwick made his was over next to Minerva. Sensing his height discrepancy may cause some difficulties she conjured him a little stool to stand on. The deputy nodded his head in thanks.

"When your name is called, please come up the steps on your left and collect your folder from Professor Flitwick. Then walk down the steps on the other side as to avoid crashing into other students on their way up. Once you have your folder, please take your seat again."

Professor McGonagall read out the first name and Hermione felt like the butterflies in her stomach were shooting stunning spells. She took a few deep breaths to try and settle them. It worked for a few minutes but as more and more names were being read out, she knew it was getting closer and closer to her turn to walk across the stage.

Hermione was ruptured out of her thoughts when the Scottish witch called out "Ginevra Weasley." The red headed witch in question stood up mumbling something about how she hated when people called her by her full name as she passed Hermione's seat. Hermione shot Ginny an encouraging smile. She watched attentively as Gin climbed the stairs and collected her scroll from Professor Flitwick before walking a few more steps and shaking hands with Professor McGonagall and then descending the stairs on the other side of the stage. Ginny grinned as she passed Hermione again to sit down. A few more people from Ginny's year were called and before they knew it all of the original seventh years had collected their scrolls.

There was a pause and McGonagall addressed the assembly. "A big congratulations to all of the students who have just received their graduation scrolls. The world is now yours and only you can decide where the next chapter of your life will take you. Be kind and always remember the friends you have made along the way. Now there are a few students whose names I have yet to call. I have not forgotten I simply wanted to take an extra minute or two to congratulate these students. Despite being given many incredible opportunities outside of Hogwarts they chose to return to school and complete their final year of education. It has not been easy but you conducted yourselves with an amazing level of … Congratulations on finally graduating. Will Draco Malfoy please come to the front."

Draco rose from his seat and gracefully made his way to collect his scroll. Despite the fact that he was still the splitting image of his father the young Malfoy heir had put in a lot of effort to change his perceptions of the world and change the way that people perceived him. Hermione still preferred to have minimal interaction with him but from the words of others she knew he had changed.

Neville Longbottom was next to be called. He had grown into a strong and dependable young man over the course of this year but underneath he was still the same little boy who forgot his cloak and fell off of his broom in their first year. Hermione was reminded of this as Neville tripped up the stairs. She hoped he would never change.

Too caught up in remembering her first few years Hermione didn't realise that Neville had sat down and that her name was being called until Draco elbowed her in the ribs.

"You're up Granger."

Hermione jerked out of her seat and hurriedly made her way to the front of the hall. Slowly she made her way up the steps. There was only five stairs but it seemed to take forever to reach the top. Once one level ground again she shook hands with Professor Flitwick. As she walked the five or six steps towards Professor McGonagall they locked eyes. Hermione gave her a quizzical look and she gave an almost imperceptible nod. This was is. Hermione walked over to the headmistress and reached out for a handshake. With the older witches hand firmly in her own Hermione pulled her forwards and pressed their lips together. The crowd screamed in disgust or delight but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Everybody screamed when I kissed the teacher!

*Latin translation
addere carmen = add a song