When Granger entered the room again, I could not look her in the eyes. I was filled with shame over the way I had treated her. Not only during all those potion lesson, but also after she saved my life. She walked inside the room holding a tray containing three cups and a pot. She placed the tray on a working desk before pouring tea in all the cups. She handed McGonagall her cup, before casting a wordless spell to my cup before placing it next to me. "It will pour itself into your mouth whenever you wish for it, "she said before I had a chance to ask her about it. I closed my mouth and nodded before retrieving back to my thoughts. Nobody was saying anything, although I do suspect that McGonagall is silently enjoying it. That old bat is a sucker for romance. She knew more gossip about the whole Weasley and Lavender Brown failure than Professor Trelawney and Hagrid.
We are all just sipping tea for the longest time until Miss Granger suddenly stands up, "I have to get back to the classes now." She starts walking away, but stops at my sudden outburst, "Are there still classes at Hogwarts?" I look at both McGonagall and Miss Granger waiting for either one of them to answer. "Well, yes of course. But Miss Granger isn't taking any more classes. Since you had been unconscious, I offered her the position af Potions Headmaster." McGonagall raises her almost non-existent eyebrow at me, standing on guard. I look at Miss Granger who is looking down at the floor, looking redder than the Weasleys. It takes me a few tries before getting it out, "Well Miss Granger… I don't believe they have found a more competent Potions Headmaster."
Her head flies up so fast, that I almost fear it will fall off her shoulders. She starts blinking like an owl, completely speechless. That must have been a first. "I uh… Thank you, Professor." She continues to blink, not really knowing what to do. I glance at McGonagall whose eyes are laughing their buttocks off. I glance so hard at her, that she should be on fire now. "I mean," I say without taking my eyes of McGonagall, "Of course not counting me in." I take a quick peek at Miss Granger and is surprised to see her smiling like a mad man. "I gotta go now, but I will be back in a few hours professor. You don't need any more potions at the moment, but please call after a house elf if you start feeling ill." And with those words she turned around, making a dramatic exit with her long, flowy hair falling down her back.
I keep staring at the door after she has closed it, feeling like forever before I am able to take my eyes off it. Even though she is a little know-it-all, she somehow always manages to make everyone look at her. Whether it is because of her stunning wit or because her hair looks like it been in a fight with an owl, she always manages to be the star of the room.
McGonagall walks around my bed and sits down in a rocking chair next to the bed. "Well, I think it went very well, don't you? Not as awkward as Molly had foreseen." She removes a non-existent fluff off her arm before returning to her usual pose with her hands neatly folded in her lap. I frown, "Molly? As in Molly Weasley? What does she had to do with it?" I ask. "Oh well, you know how incompetent Potter and Weasley are. She doesn't think they are going to have children any time soon, Ginny is too young and wild, so she is rooting for Miss Granger. When she found out that she had been watching over you like a hawk, she started getting the idea that you two could be together. She is already knitting away as fast as a snitch."
"Children?!" I splutter in rage and aghast. "Who does she think she is to make such rude and foolish assumptions? I will have a word with her." I yell and try to get up from the bed.
"Oh, you old fool," with a fling of her wrist, McGonagall pushed me down on the bed again, almost knocking out all the air left in my lungs. "We just got you alive, don't try to get killed already. "
I rubbed my chest and stared with as much hatred as I could at McGonagall. She looked me right in the eyes without blinking. I have no idea how long we looked like this, but eventually I had to back down. Old bloody woman always wins. She corrected the sleeves on her coat and looked quiet self righteous. "If that is all, I will retrieve back to my chambers. I do have a school to run." She looked at me for a second, probably waiting for me to say anything. I was not going to give her that satisfaction. "Fine," I said.
She raised an eyebrow at me before walking out of the room. "Oh, and by the way, Mister Longbottom will see you later."
I groaned. Bloody Longbottom. I must have dosed off at some point, because suddenly there was a knock on my door. "Professor? It's me, Neville? I got some tea and dinner for you." The handle twisted and his face came into my vision. He pushed the door open with his hip and walked inside looking quite nervous, holding a tray. The scent from the tray found its way to my nostrils and my stomach growled loudly by the smell of it. He smiled a little, only lifting the right side of his mouth.
"I can imagine you must be starving, not being feed anything but potions for months." He sat the tray on the table before walking over to me. He gave me his hand and slowly I came into a sitting position. He looked satisfied for a second before retrieving the tray and sitting it in my lap. "Mainly, you can eat anything liquid, but I got some biscuits as well. It aint a proper meal without biscuits."
I looked down at the tray and were quite delighted by the sight. Tea with a meat soup filled with small pieces of different kinds of vegetables floating peacefully around. I took a spoon and was met with the most heavenly tasted I had ever came across. While I was eating, Longbottom swung a chair around and sat a few feet from me, facing me and leaning his head and arms on the back of the chair. I tried to ignore his stare while I was eating. Did he not know how rude that was? Finally, I had enough and asked him with my icy voice, "Do you have a questing, Mr. Longbottom?" Spitting the t out.
He moved around in his chair a bit before answering, "It's just so good to see you alive, Professor. I was on your side, even though you weren't so nice to me. "
I tried and keep my face still, not moving a muscle. I wasn't sure what to answer to that. I continued eating, but somehow the room wasn't as awkward as before.
