Oh
my god you guys are wonderful! I can't believe how fast you're
reviewing! I can't believe that I'm approaching the 100 reviews
mark as well.
Special thanks to the chapter 11 reviewers:
Kaia: I'm glad you like the email update! Thanks for your
review!
Harrysgal8: thanks a lot for your review!
Book
Lover990: thanks for your review! If you leave your email I can drop
you an update email if you want.
Pia O'Leary: I have to say
you won the "make my day with your review" grand prize for
chapter 11, you simply rock! Thanks a lot for your wonderful review!
And yeah, more fluff is indeed to come :p
scorpio-1983: thanks
for still reading and reviewing each chapter, it's great to have
regular readers and reviewers like you!
Beth5572: thanks a lot
for your review! I'll add you to the email update list.
Star
of dawn: salut! Mon prénom? C'est Bénédicte,
et toi tu es d'où? Merci pour ta review ça me fait
énormément plaisir !
Oh
by the way, I started another Harry Potter fic called « And
it all Started », I might add a new chapter today or
tomorrow, I'd be thrilled if you could read and review it. For
those of you that are Star Wars fans as well, I'm writing a fic
called "Carbonite".
Right, back to the story now!!!
I
love your reviews guys! (I HAD to say it again
:p)
--------------------------------
The wakening
spell worked its magic as it started to slowly rock Hermione back and
forth on her bed. It was settled to rock her even harder if she was
not waking up quick enough. But Hermione did wake up very quickly and
she disabled the spell carefully setting it for the day after. She
stirred and yawned before getting out of her bed. She looked through
the French windows and saw it was going to be a very nice day. She
smiled and gestured towards the muggle radio she had brought with her
to listen to some music and she hummed along. She started to do some
exercises to keep her in good shape and then she headed to her
bathroom to get ready for her first day as a teacher in Hogwarts.
Wait a minute, first day-as a teacher-in Hogwarts. Man, just thinking
about it was enough to make the nervousness she had felt the evening
before to come back full force in her stomach. She took a quick
shower and exited it to wrap herself in one of her huge towels. She
then took care of her hair and got dressed. She needed to eat
breakfast early because she had a prefects meeting to run before her
first class. The prefect meeting wasn't scaring her at all though
because she had been Head Girl so she had leaded numerous prefects
meeting before.
She met Harry at the staff table and she
truly hoped she wasn't going to blush like crazy meeting his
beautiful emerald eyes with her own. Damn Ron for making her to
acknowledge her feeling for Harry! Damn those emerald eyes as well,
why wasn't she able to avoid simply drowning herself in them?
"Hey
Mione, had a good night? Not too nervous I hope?" he gently
enquired.
"Well I must admit I had better nights. And yes
I'm very nervous," she answer thinking that she was even most
nervous around him now that she had this little chat with Ron. Damn
damn DAMN Ron Weasley!
"I need to have a talk with you
tonight, do you have a spare time in your planning for me?" he
asked.
What on earth does he want a moment with me to talk
about wondered Hermione.
"Uh, let see, I have this meeting
with McGonagall to give her my list for the new prefects and she
might ask me my advice about the Head boy and girl. Then I'll have
to review the lessons I'll be giving tomorrow. How about after
dinner?" she offered.
"That's fine with me," answered
Harry.
Hermione was wondering what Harry wanted to tell her.
She really started to freak out about it. She was imagining dozens of
different reasons why he could ask her a talk. Could be anything in
fact. Could be about school, could be about Quidditch, could be about
asking her advices about another girl ... She sighed. Harry was
looking at her, still oblivious about her feelings about him.
She
was acting strange since she had been back in Hogwarts. She still was
very nervous about her teaching skills but Harry knew she would be a
wonderful teacher. He was confident she'll do a great job today,
she just needed to get more confidence and he was sure she'll be in
a better state tonight. He smiled realizing she had not touched her
plate yet. Man was she nervous.
"Uhm, Mione? I thought you
had a prefects meeting first thing this morning." He said.
"Yes
I do, why?" asked Hermione slowly going back to reality.
"Well
you might want to eat your breakfast very quick otherwise you're
going to be late, you at what time it is." Harry answered
amused.
"Oh my," said Hermione quickly drinking her
pumpkin juice and eating a piece of English muffin. "Gotta go, I'll
see you around at lunch," said a very late Hermione walking quickly
towards her office.
As she arrived there she saw four students
with a "p" badge pinned on their robes waiting for her.
"I'm
here, let's get started," Hermione said opening the door leading
to her office. She sat on her chair and summoned enough chairs for
the four students that had already been here.
"Hello to you
all," she started, "As you know I'm the new head of Gryffindor
and I wanted to have a talk with you first thing this morning about
your prefects duties. First of all, I'd like you to introduce
yourselves so that I can know you better since we'll have to work
together during this year."
One of the four prefects
started. "Hello Professor Granger, I'm Emily McCloud and I'm a
seventh year. I've been a prefect since my fifth year and I'm
taking Advanced Charms with you this year."
Hermione smiled
at her and looked at the next student.
"I'm Cassandra
Wagner and I'm a sixth year." said the blond girl. Hermione
smiled at her too and looked at the boy next to Cassandra.
"I'm
Hector Blackburn and I'm a seventh year. I'm not taking Advanced
Charms though," he said looking at Emily that blushed.
"It's
all right," answered an amused Hermione, "It's both ok to take
it or not in fact," she added. She then turned to the last boy "How
about you?" she asked.
"I'm Luke Larsen and I'm a
sixth year." He simply stated.
"All right, now that I know
you better I wanted to ask you if you have any questions about this
year and your prefects duties, and then I also wanted to ask you if
you have any advice about who I should trust enough to make fifth
year prefects." said Hermione.
The four students looked at
her as if she had said something insane.
"Did I say
something wrong?" asked an amused Hermione.
"Well,"
carefully started Emily, "It's the first time we're asked that
in fact, it's pretty strange."
"Well I'll tell you
what, you can have the day to think about it and then you can drop me
a parchment tonight with some names on it or not, it's up to you. I
really think that if you've been appointed prefects, you can be
trusted about this matter. If this can make you feel better though
I'll be the one to take the final decision, I won't tell which
name you gave me either. Now you better head to you classes if you
don't want to be late." said Hermione.
The four students
exited her office and headed towards the class where they belonged.
Hermione took a deep breath, gathered her belongings and head to the
Charms classroom. She entered an empty room for she was very early
and she settled her things on the teacher's desk; HER desk, as a
matter of fact. She sat on the chair and inhaled deeply desperately
trying to make the nervousness to get out of her body. Soon the first
years arrived and settled in the classroom. Hermione had a lot of
curious pairs of eyes looking at her, waiting for her to initiate the
lesson. She took a deep breath and stood up bravely, facing her
students.
"Welcome to your first charm lesson. I am
Professor Granger and I'll be your charm teacher this year. Now I
would like you to take your books and prepare your wands, we're
going to go through one of the basic charm any first year should
know. Please read the first chapter of the book about the Wingardium
Leviosa spell and then ask me questions if you're not sure about
anything about it, then we'll be practising." She firmly but
gently stated.
The students opened their books and began to
read. Soon enough a young boy raised his hand.
"Yes?"
asked Hermione.
"Professor, I've already read that
chapter, do I need to read it again?" asked the young boy.
"Do
you have any questions about it? Anything you did not understand?"
asked Hermione.
"I think I might be able to practice it."
stated the boy very confident.
"Well we shall see that later
then, you're classmates are still reading, maybe you could just
review it a little bit and then you'll be able to assist me in my
demonstration before you can start practising it yourselves."
offered Hermione.
"Yes Professor." Answered the boy,
pleased to know he would assist her for the demonstration.
In
a matter of minutes, all the eyes of her students were back on her
and Hermione took it they had all finished their reading. She stood
up and gestured towards the boy that had agreed in helping her to
come closer to her desk. A feather appeared and she questioned the
boy.
"Now what are exactly the moves I'm supposed to do
to make it levitate?"
The boy showed her and truth been
told, she was pretty impressed about his accurate answer.
"She
then made the correct move and stated 'Wingardium Leviosa'"
pointing her wand to the feather. And as expected, the feather slowly
but surely started to move and it rose in the classroom. The muggle
born were looking at the feather very impressed, the others were not
that impressed. They were eager to try it.
"Any questions?"
asked Hermione to her class."
A girl wearing Slytherin robed
raised her hand. "Yes?" asked Hermione.
"Is it true that
you're a muggle born?" asked the girl.
That took Hermione
aback, it had nothing to do with the lesson she was currently giving
and she was wondering why the girl was asking her such a thing. She
then realized that all of her students were looking at her with a
great expectation over their faces.
"Well, I don't see a
link with my lesson but yes I am. Now any other questions?" she
asked to her class.
As no one seemed to have any questions,
she moved her wands towards the students' desks and feathers
appeared on each of it. The end of the first-years lesson was
dedicated to practice. At the end of the lesson, Hermione asked them
a small essay on the Wingardium Leviosa spell and she especially
asked them to practice it over their parchments. She then settled
back her things waiting for her seventh-years. She was quite happy
about her first class even if she still was wondering about the
question the girl asked her, what did it have to do with anything?
She wondered how Harry was doing right now. She was quite
sure he was having a very good time, giving great lessons. He was a
tremendous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the best she had in
fact. She was very proud of him. She was taken from her reveries when
the seventh-years arrived. The nervousness was back. Teaching basic
spells to first-years was a thing, but teaching advanced charms to
seventh-years was another thing. She saw Emily McCloud and smiled at
her. Soon, all of the seventh-years were sitting at their desk.
Then again she stood up and gave her little speech about
welcoming them in her class and telling them how important advanced
charms were going to be in their N.E.W.T.S. She announced her class
that she had decided to test them on their knowledge about charms and
her decision wasn't that popular amongst the students. Nevertheless
they all participated in the test.
It was not a paper to hand
her back at the end of the period nor was it questions she was asking
expecting the right answer. She instead had created a sort of game
from the end of the class to her desk. Students were supposed to go
from point A to point B using spells they should know. The spells
they needed to use were quite difficult in fact but they were
requisites seventh-year students needed to know if they wanted to
pass they advanced charms N.E.W.T.S. Amongst the spells Hermione was
expecting from her students were the Accio spell, the pushing spell,
and the fire protection spell.
She was wondering if her
students were going to like it and she was surprised to realize they
were having fun. She was in fact quite pleased as she saw that most
of them had no major problem succeeded in her test. As the period
ended Hermione congratulated them and let them go for lunch without
any assignments since she was going to see them again after the lunch
break. She was quite pleased with herself and she began to gather her
belongings when she heard a conversation between two students as the
classroom door had not been closed.
"I swear if my mother
hears that a mudblood is teaching us, she'll transfer me straight
away to Durmstrang." said a girl voice Hermione recognized as the
first-year that asked her a question in her first lesson.
"She
seems to know her stuff though." answered another voice.
"Hey,
are you a real Slytherin or what? She's a mudblood, that's the
point; good or not in teaching, she's not a pure blood and this is
not acceptable." shouted the first voice.
"Hellooooo, get
over your pure blood stuff, Voldemort's years are over!" snapped
the second voice.
"The Dark Lord might be gone but there
still are some pure blood families that are thinking Hogwarts isn't
run as it should!" said the first girl.
"Whatever."
answered the other before she left.
The whole dialogue made
Hermione felt very bad. So, after all these years, even with
Voldemort's death, some people were still debating over the
pure-blood issue. It was the first time someone was putting her
teaching skills in the line because of her legacy. What had the fact
she was muggle-born to do with her having a right to teach in
Hogwarts?
----------------------------
Harry had been
waiting for Hermione for a good couple of minutes when he saw her
entering the Great Hall. He immediately understood something happened
when he saw her face. As Hermione sat next to him he could not help
but question her.
"What happened? Something during your
class went bad?" he gently asked.
"And to think I thought
you were confident in my teaching skills!" she rudely
snapped.
"I've never said I didn't trust your teaching
skills! I was asking you about your day" said Harry looking at her,
she was obviously angry at something. "What's the matter?" he
asked again.
"Nothing's the matter." answered a much
suborned Hermione.
"I know you better than anybody,"
insisted Harry, "I know something happened.
"Now listen to
me Harry Potter, you don't know me that well right?" started an
angry Hermione, "Otherwise you'll know that I ..." she stopped
right there afraid she had said too much.
"Otherwise I'd
know what?" asked Harry whose temper was rising as
well.
"Nothing." answered Hermione. She sighed at the
thought she had just nearly tell him that if he had really known her
that well he would have realized she was in love with him year ago.
She took a bite of the food that had appeared in her plate and then
she looked at him again.
"I'm sorry Harry. Classes were
good. It's just that I've heard two students talking about me.
There were saying things like I shouldn't be teaching here since
I'm a muggle-born." confessed Hermione.
"Total
nonsense." answered Harry. "Now look at me," he said taking her
chin in his right hand, "Whatever they might think about your
origins, it will take a couple of lessons before they realize what a
tremendous teacher you are. Trust me on that".
Hermione was
over the moon. She was not even thinking about that rude comment the
Slytherin girl had made. She smiled at Harry.
"You're the
best of friends, you know that right?" she told him.
"Yeah
I know," he teased.
"I'm sorry I snapped on you," she
apologized.
"No problem, I understand. Oh, remember I need
to talk to you tonight ok?" he said.
"Ok." Hermione
answered.
They finished their lunch and headed back to their
afternoon classes. Hermione realized that she didn't even have
asked Harry about his morning classes. Though she knew how it surely
had been; boys asking him questions about defeating Voldemort and
girls head over heels bout him. Not that she couldn't understand
the Hogwarts girls since she was a victim of the Potter charm as
well.
She wondered why he was that discreet about their meeting
tonight though. He had just asked her some time to talk, not even
telling her why. She was really starting to feel curious about this
meeting.
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Tadam!!! That's
all folks. Please read and review!
