Authors Note - It's been a long time since I added anything to this, crazy busy summer. But the story has still been stewing in my brain and there may be another chapter by the end of this week! I hope you enjoy, please leave a review!
Anna woke early the next day, excited and nervous about her first day teaching the young witches and wizards. She chose a teacher-appropriate Muggle suit to wear, a charcoal grey skirt and matching jacket over a white button down blouse with low heels. She had just stepped out of the portrait when she was greeted by Neville Longbottom.
"Good Morning Professor Jacobs" he smiled at her. "The other professors will be taking turns renewing your protective charms each morning. Someone will meet you here before breakfast every day."
Anna smiled and returned his greeting. She stood still in front of him as she had been instructed by Professor Malfoy (she still couldn't think of that cold, imposing person as Draco) last night and Neville waved his wand and said some words she didn't understand.
"All done" Neville told her, "Ready for breakfast?"
After breakfast, Anna went to her classroom, her hands shaking slightly in anticipation of her first class, a group of fourth year students. She stood at her classroom lectern as the students filed in and took their seats. She had prepared each desk with a pen, pencil, and notebook for the student. She instantly could tell the Muggle born students from the Wizarding family students by their reactions to the supplies she had provided. The Wizarding students seemed confused by these items, turning them this way and that and asking their classmates what they were.
Anna spoke up. "Good morning class. My name is Professor Jacobs and I will be your Muggle Studies teacher. Please get out your Muggle Studies books and turn to page 5."
A black-haired wizard in the front row pointed his wand at his bag and said something that sounded to Anna like "Akio Book". He looked very confused when nothing happened, and he tried again. Anna realized he was trying to use a spell.
"And, class, you should know that no magic can be performed in this classroom. Everything we do in here, we will do the way Muggles do." There were more than a few groans at this announcement. "These items," she held up a pen, a pencil, and notebook, "are what Muggle schoolchildren use to study and do their school work. This is a pen and this is a notebook. You write down your notes in the notebook with the pen or the pencil. I have provided you with both." Anna gave a quick demonstration of how the Muggle school supplies worked then moved into her first lesson.
"Now, how many of you have heard of an airplane?"
Anna soon settled into her routine at Hogwarts. Her aunt had been right; these students were no different from her usual pupils. She had the same challenges; the inattentive ones, the know-it-alls, the ones who genuinely struggled with the material and needed extra help, and the same rewards; that feeling when one who was struggling finally had a breakthrough, when a know-it-all lost their attitude and was happy to help a fellow student, when a student who was trying to sort out a personal issue came to her for advice. Her work kept her busy enough, but by the end of October, she had also managed to finish the Harry Potter books and she was bursting with questions. She wondered if she would ever get to meet Harry, Ron or Hermione. She had gained enormous respect for Neville and Luna after finding out all they had been through at such a young age. She found a new sense of pride in being Minerva McGonagall's niece. She even was beginning to understand Professor Malfoy a little more, although the circumstances that brought him to a teaching position at Hogwarts were still mysterious to her. She tried not to gush like a star struck teenager when she was around the other professors.
She was returning to her chamber one evening, preoccupied with her lesson planning for the next day; trying to decide the best way to explain a computer to her second year students. She gave the toga lady her password and entered her chamber to a horrible smell and something slimy on the floor. She yelled and jumped back out of the portrait. She looked in to her room and saw that the floor was covered in some foul-smelling green slime, about two feet deep! She slammed the portrait closed (much to the shock of the toga lady) and grabbed a passing fifth year student named Amelia Winston.
"Miss Winston, would you please fetch Professor Longbottom for me?"
"Sure Professor Jacobs" the girl replied and went to find Neville.
Who could have done this? she wondered. No magic could be performed in her chambers, so whoever did it had to have put all that gross slime in there by hand. She had no idea what the slime might even be. She paced back and forth in front of her room while the toga lady glared at her for her rudeness in slamming her portrait.
"Hey, Anna – what's wrong?" Neville asked as he approached her.
"There is green slime in my chambers. Foul smelling, green slime!" she told him as she turned and gave the toga lady her password. But the portrait didn't open. Anna repeated her password, but still no luck.
"What is going on!?" she said between gritted teeth. She could see the toga lady on the far side of the unicorn, petting the animal and studiously avoiding Anna's look.
"Did you make her mad?" Neville asked. "The Gryffindor portrait lady used to get upset at the students from time to time and refuse to let anyone in."
"I slammed the portrait when I saw and smelled the slime" Anna admitted. "But she can do that? Just refuse to let me in?"
"Oh sure!" Neville told her. "They have feelings and get in moods just like anyone. More so if that was their personality when they were alive. You should apologize."
"Really? Apologize to a painting?"
Neville nodded, "Yes if you want to get back into your room."
Anna took a deep breath and turned to the portrait. "I am very sorry I slammed you shut. I was shocked by what I had found in my room and I didn't mean anything against you…toga lady."
The toga lady looked up from petting the unicorn. "My name is Athanasia, not that you ever bothered to ask," she said petulantly.
Anna was becoming more frustrated by the toga lady and felt ridiculous kow towing to a dead Greek woman in a painting, but she grit her teeth and tried to sound pleasant.
"I do apologize Athanasia, I should have asked your name earlier and I really sould take more care with your portrait. Can you please forgive me and let me in to my room?"
"Of course I will Anna" Athanasia replied lovingly and the portrait swung open. The smell hit Anna and Neville immediately. Neville covered his nose with his sleeve and moved forward to investigate.
"Yep, you've got green slime alright. Don't know exactly what it is though" he said as he gently closed the portrait again. "Better get Draco down here to check it out. Be right back!"
Neville returned a few minutes later with Professors Malfoy and McGonagall. They opened the portrait and examined the slime again.
"Looks like you have encountered the curse of the first year teacher" Malfoy laughed slightly.
"The what?" asked Anna. She was getting angry about the whole evening and just wanted to get into her room.
"You have been pranked. Obviously harmless, but annoying. Don't let the students know that they got to you" Malfoy advised. He turned to the headmistress. "Minerva, can you please remove your protective wards so Neville and I can clean this up for Professor Jacobs?"
"Of course" Minerva replied. She pointed her wand at Anna's room and removed the wards.
Neville and Draco stood side by side in front of the door and looked at each other. "Scourgify?" Neville asked.
"Might as well try that first" Draco replied. The two wizards pointed their wands at the slime and said "Scourgify!" in unison. Anna watched in disgust as the wands seemed to suck the green slime into them. The slurping sound that accompanied the clean up made her turn away, feeling slightly sick.
"Oh gross!" she exclaimed. That made Neville and Draco laugh hysterically.
Once the mess had been cleaned, Minerva recast the wards and made them a bit stronger. "I think it would be wise if you changeed your password" she suggested.
"I'll take a look at what this slime actually was, but like Draco said, it's probably not more than a harmless prank on a new teacher" Neville told them.
"Thank you professors" Minerva said. "Anna will you be alright?" she asked her niece.
"Yeah, great" Anna mumbled as she went into her room closing the portrait door very gently.