Remus was making his rounds Tuesday morning, observing his class as they practiced deflecting spells nonverbally. At least, this was the task in theory. Many of his students, however, were unable to practice this vital skill because their partners were having a hard time nonverbally jinxing them. Those who had yet to master the ability to do silent spellwork were screwing up their faces in great concentration and tightly pressing their lips together to resist the temptation to utter the incantation aloud. Some in frustration settled for surreptitiously whispering the jinx under their breath.
In other circumstances, Remus might have been entertained by some of the rather comical attempts he witnessed and the funny faces being pulled by his students in their efforts. But right now he was too distracted by a certain distressing matter.
Hermione looked suddenly nervous when he paused beside her to watch her practice, and the spell she cast somehow ended up missing her partner, Ginny, completely and hitting the portrait behind the redhead instead. The portrait wobbled wickedly and flew off the wall, bumping the back of Ginny's head as it crashed to the floor.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, her hands shooting up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Ginny!"
"Are you all right?" Remus asked the Weasley in concern.
"I'm fine, Professor," she replied, rubbing her head but looking surprisingly amused. "What was that?" she asked Hermione.
"I — I don't know," Hermione said, her face pink and her eyes avoiding his. "I just — I'm sorry. Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
With a wave of his wand, Remus returned the portrait to its place and then asked Hermione to try again. "Remember to maintain your focus and keep your wand movement fluid and precise."
She did and performed the spell successfully this time, though a bit tentatively, making it easy for Ginny to repel her jinx with a spoken incantation.
"Nicely done, Ginny, but we're working on nonverbal deflection, you know," Remus reminded her with a faint smile.
She grinned. "Sorry, Professor. I'm working on it."
"That was much better," he added to Hermione, but he knew as well as she did that she was capable of a lot better than that. He'd seen her cast spells nonverbally before, and not just in the classroom but bravely and brilliantly in real battles, in real life-or-death situations. Her only problem right now was her nerves. But why was she so nervous?
As he made his way over to a nearby pair of students, he heard Ginny ask, "What's up with you, Hermione? You were doing great a minute ago."
Remus didn't hear the Head Girl's response but was nevertheless troubled by what he sensed from her.
When he was alone in the room after class, Remus sat at his desk, twirling his wand absentmindedly in his hand as he thought about Hermione and the predicament in which he now found himself. Actually, it was a predicament he himself had foolishly signed up for. He'd known full well before accepting the post that becoming a professor at Hogwarts this particular year would mean putting himself in this position. Even though he'd been aware of the situation for a good while before taking the job, he'd still chosen to return and a small part of him regretted this decision every time he observed Hermione during lessons. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle the problem before him appropriately. He wasn't sure how this yearlong struggle would end: would he fail or succeed at getting his students back on track?
Considering the annual change of teacher — some less qualified than others — and the previous year's drastic dropping of the "defense" part of the class and emphasis on the "Dark Arts" bit, it was unsurprising really that the students at Hogwarts were woefully behind in his subject. To his dismay, even Hermione, the top student, appeared to be having some difficulty. She lacked her normal confidence in class and seemed unsure in her abilities whenever he watched her practice. Which was a direct reflection of him and the job he was doing. Though he'd carefully constructed his lesson plans to get his pupils up to par as well as he could, he worried it wasn't enough for the fifth and seventh years who would be taking their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s this year. He simply did not have the class time necessary to prepare his students properly, or at least not as well as he'd like to.
Remus brought up his concern to McGonagall in the staffroom that afternoon. The Headmistress heaved a tired sigh.
"I realize your subject was the most impacted by the events that took place last year, but it just isn't possible to add another hour of class to the students' schedules," she told him regretfully. "They're overwhelmed as it is."
"What if instead of adding another class session, we form a sort of Defense Against the Dark Arts club?" Remus suggested on a whim of inspiration. "That way attendance wouldn't be mandatory and students could come only when they have the time to get in some extra practice."
"That's an idea," McGonagall said slowly, thoughtfully. "But it would mean more work for you." She gave him an inquiring look. "Are you up for it, Remus? I know you already have your hands full."
He certainly did, but he had to do what was in the best interest of his students — even if it did cut into his already limited leisure time.
A dull thud momentarily disturbed the quiet in the library as Hermione slammed her book shut, unable to find anything that could tell her more than Dumbledore had about the rose Remus had given her (like how exactly its magic worked). She suspected its magic was a form of old magic, but she'd found nothing that could confirm this because she'd found no mention of a rose like hers, or any object of similar nature, in any of the books she'd looked through. All her research so far had been fruitless.
So she pushed the book aside and turned her attention to her essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts instead, giving it one more look to make sure it was absolutely perfect. She wanted to do well in her homework at least to make up for her poor performance in class.
She wished Remus didn't make her so nervous. She now sympathized much more with the way Ginny had felt about Harry a few years back. Ginny had been so intimidated by the older, rather impressive boy and had felt so overwhelmed by the strength of her feelings for him that for the longest time she'd been unable to speak in his presence. Hermione thought about the advice she'd given her friend: try to relax a bit and be yourself, and then maybe he'll take more notice of you.
Hermione knew she should follow her own advice now and act more naturally around Remus. He was probably wondering what happened to the girl he'd once called the cleverest witch of her age he'd ever met, because all he was noticing of her at the moment was how strangely she was acting in class.
But despite her awkward moments around him, Hermione wished for more time with him. Although she was extremely happy that they were both here at Hogwarts, she was also immensely frustrated by the distance created between them due to his being a professor and she his student. It wasn't as if she could just hang out with him in the library or the Gryffindor common room after classes like she used to when they were peers, or even strike up a casual conversation with him if it wasn't school-related.
Well, she supposed she could. She, Harry, and Ron had always been friendly with Hagrid, often visiting him at his hut on the school grounds. But it was different with Remus. She'd never been friends with the adult Remus the way Harry was, the way she'd been friends with the teenage Remus in the past. She wished things could be the way they were then. She wanted to be able to speak to Remus, to spend time alone with him, to be with him, but that seemed impossible under the current circumstances.
Hermione sighed, wishing Remus's memory had never been Obliviated, wishing he could remember the feelings that had developed between them in the past. Everything would be so much easier if only he remembered…
Or maybe it wouldn't.
If Remus were to somehow learn of their relationship in the past, how would he feel about it now? Part of Hermione still feared what she'd feared after they'd shared their first kiss, that he — her reserved, proper, and gentlemanly professor — would disapprove of their romance in his youth, that he'd be embarrassed and ashamed that his younger self had had feelings for her — his much younger student — and be angry that she'd kept him in the dark about the true nature of their situation. She'd never confessed to the younger Remus that she'd time-traveled and that they knew each other in his future, never made sure he was okay with that, and part of her still felt guilty for it.
But her guilt didn't really matter anymore. It was already done, and he didn't remember their past together and never would. So she should focus on the present.
Dumbledore had believed Remus had unacknowledged feelings for her in this time. He hadn't shown any so far, but if she could just find a way (and the nerve) to get closer to her Defense professor, maybe she could figure out whether Dumbledore was right, whether there was indeed a possibility between her and Remus now after all.
"I'm already falling behind in all my classes," Neville said wearily at breakfast Thursday morning. "All the homework we're being assigned this year…how are we supposed to keep up?"
"Tell me about it," Ginny said. She stabbed at a piece of sausage with her fork. "I'll barely have the time to eat or sleep properly now that Quidditch is starting up. I don't know if I'll even have time for Defense Club."
"What Defense Club?" Hermione asked.
"Didn't you see the notice board in the entrance hall? There's a sign-up sheet for a Defense Against the Dark Arts club. It's recommended for fifth and seventh years, you know, because of our O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. I expect it's for us to get more practice."
"Professor Lupin is going to run it," added Luna, who'd wandered over from the Ravenclaw table to sit with them today.
"That's great!" Hermione said — a little too enthusiastically. Her friends stared at her and she tried to tone it down a bit. "It's good that we'll have an opportunity for more practice. We need as much preparation as we can get for our N.E.W.T.s., especially in Defense."
"I'm very excited, too," Luna said. "Maybe it'll be like the D.A."
"First meeting is next Friday," Neville told Hermione. "You need to sign up before then."
Hermione wasted no time. As soon as she finished her toast, she added her name to the list of students interested in the Defense Club, grateful for this unexpected chance for more class time with Remus.
Another surprise awaited her after lessons that day: a note summoning her to the Headmistress's office. Hermione's uplifted mood dampened a bit. She had a feeling this had something to do with her getting into trouble last week. Was McGonagall about to reprimand her for landing herself in detention? Was she going to tell her she was setting a bad example as Head Girl?
By the time Hermione knocked on McGonagall's door, she was convinced the Headmistress was going to strip her of her badge. So, when she entered the office, she was a bit thrown by the pleasant greeting from her ex-Transfiguration teacher and even more so to see Remus sitting across the desk from her.
"You're not in trouble," McGonagall reassured the anxious-looking Hermione, who took a seat next to her D.A.D.A. professor. The older witch then asked Remus, "Why is it that students always think they're in trouble when they're summoned to my office?"
"Well, from my personal experience," Remus said, "it's because I nearly always was."
The corners of McGonagall's mouth twitched up. "With the company you kept, I'm surprised I didn't see you in my office more often. But neither of you is in any trouble this time. I called you in here to discuss a different matter. As I was just telling you, Remus, the Defense Against the Dark Arts club has already garnered a lot more interest than we'd anticipated. Since we put the notice up this morning, the majority of the fifth and seventh years have already signed up. I thought, with that many students, you could do with an assistant."
McGonagall looked at Hermione, who said in surprise, "Me?"
The Headmistress smiled. "Yes, you, Miss Granger. After all, you're best in your class in this subject and you've had plenty of practice fighting the Dark Arts. What do you think, Remus?"
"I could definitely use the assistance," he said, looking thoughtfully at Hermione. "And I think the students would respond really well to being instructed by a fellow classmate, especially one with Hermione's experience."
McGonagall agreed. "A bit reminiscent of Dumbledore's Army, a student-run organization — but this would be minus the rebellious aspect, of course. What do you think, Miss Granger? I know you're probably up to your ears in homework, and you do have all your responsibilities as Head Girl, but—"
"I'll do it," Hermione said at once. She certainly didn't have to be sold on the idea of working alongside Remus.
"You will?"
"Yes, I'd love to. I think this club is a great idea."
"Excellent," McGonagall said, clasping her hands together in satisfaction. "Remus, I'll leave it to you to fill Miss Granger in on your plans for the club and how she can assist you?" He nodded and McGonagall turned her gaze back to Hermione. "Thank you, Miss Granger, for obliging us in this. We need all the help we can get after the tyranny of the Carrows last year."
"It's my pleasure, really," Hermione said honestly.
A quiet chuckle sounded within the room. McGonagall swiveled her chair around, revealing the portrait on the wall that had been half hidden behind her, and twinkling blue eyes met with Hermione's. She blushed under Dumbledore's knowing gaze. He knew exactly why she was so willing to assist Remus. He was the only one who knew about her feelings for her professor, the only one besides herself who knew they had dated in the past.
"What's the jest, Albus?" McGonagall wanted to know.
"No jest, Minerva. I simply remembered a wonderful riddle about a rose," Dumbledore's portrait replied genially. "Miss Granger knows the one. Have you unraveled it yet, may I ask?"
Was he asking her about the status of her relationship with Remus? "No, sir. Not quite," she answered, very aware that Remus and McGonagall were looking between her and the ex-Headmaster curiously.
"All in good time," Dumbledore assured her. "Keep at it and you will see the resolution is worth the wait."
Before anything else could be said, there was a knock at the door.
McGonagall glanced at her watch. "Ah, that must be Filius."
"We'll get out of your way, then," Remus said.
He and Hermione left the office together, passing Professor Flitwick on their way out.
As they started down to the Great Hall for dinner, Remus said to Hermione, "I know you must be very busy already, but this shouldn't take up too much of your time. The club will only meet once a week for an hour, every Friday starting next week."
"What exactly will we be doing at these meetings?" Hermione asked, trying to ignore the familiar butterflies swooping in her stomach as she walked beside her professor, unexpectedly alone with him for the second time this term. "I know the purpose is to prepare us for our O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, but will we only be focusing on mastering the new material we learn in class that week, or will the approach be more cumulative, practicing spells and reviewing theories we've covered in previous years as well?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure exactly. The idea for this club is still very new…" Remus fell into a contemplative silence, and she took advantage of the opportunity to sneak glances at him. "I think it's best to take the cumulative approach," he said after a while. "I think we should focus primarily on preparing for the practical portion of the exams, practicing counter-jinxes and defensive spells… But I suppose we should also devote some time to answering any questions students might have on theories and topics I cover in lecture, because some students struggle more with the written part of the exams..."
"And what can I do for you?" Her choice of words combined with her unintentionally coy tone sounded rather suggestive to Hermione's ears, and she hurriedly rephrased her question. "I mean, how will I be assisting you?"
Remus seemed not to have noticed anything improper. "You can help me do demonstrations, and also help in observing everyone as they practice, tweaking their techniques when need be. Perhaps I'll put you in charge of the fifth years while I work with the seventh years…" He went quiet again for a few moments before saying, "I think you and I should meet up sometime next week, when I have a clearer game plan, and we can discuss what we'll be doing on Friday."
"I have a free period Wednesday afternoon," Hermione suggested.
"Perfect. I do as well." Remus flashed her a smile as they reached the Great Hall. "I'll see you then, Hermione."
"Yes," she said delightedly, watching him stride off toward the staff table. "Looking forward to it."