Ch. 4: Teachers
Walking towards the classroom, Hermione noticed that Malfoy was already there with his goons. He saw them and sneered. She felt more than saw Harry tense up and she wished there was a way to avoid what would inevitably happen. Ron clenched his hands into fists.
'Just ignore him,' Hermione whispered. If she expected that, after Voldemort's death, things would change, she was deeply disappointed. Already on the train, Harry managed to bump into Malfoy and get into an insult-throwing competition. Afterwards, when they were on the way to their common room after the welcoming feast, Malfoy managed to cast a tripping spell on Ron and half the corridor laughed when the red-head fell on the floor with no apparent reason.
'Afraid of a little, blond boy?' asked a cold, mocking tone behind them. Hermione didn't turn, knowing who it was. It crossed her head that the voice was making fun of them as much as it was of Malfoy and she filed it away for further investigation. Ron, on the other hand, turned and spit out a vague insult of the speaker's mother, but the cold voice only laughed. There was an edge to that laughter that made the hairs on Hermione's neck stand, an edge that said "one more word and I'll make sure you'll never speak again".
'Why do you always let everybody provoke you?' she hissed to Ron.
'He's obviously making up in empty talk what he doesn't have in his empty pocket,' Malfoy sneered for they were near enough to him to have heard the exchange. He glared briefly at the Phantomhive twins who were behind Hermione as well and she added that observation to her new mystery. Could it be that the Slytherins were not as united as they appeared to be?
'At least I don't have an empty house, without a father,' Ron shot back, ignoring Hermione's steadying hand on his shoulder. The temperature dropped by a couple degrees. The twins, now standing with the rest of the Slytherins, glared at Ron as well and Hermione remembered that their mother was in Azkaban as well.
'No, your house is overflowing with filth,' Malfoy hissed furiously. Somebody behind shouted "show him Ron!" as Pansy Parkinson, whose father was together with the old Malfoy, glared in the general direction of Gryffindors and sneered that they were not worth the dirt under their feet and much less their attention. Ron was ready to charge.
'What is this commotion?' asked a voice behind Hermione and they all looked at Professor Smith, standing rather close to them. 'I have been informed that this particular class is very difficult and I hope that you boys were not about to start a fight.'
'Of course not, Professor,' Malfoy said immediately. Ron lowered his fist a tiny bit too late and the teacher looked at him for a long moment. Hermione could see Malfoy's lips twitching up in what would be a cold smirk if the teacher wasn't there. Oh, how she hated that boy!
'Good,' the teacher said and the door to the classroom opened. 'Then you will not be bothered by sitting in mixed couples for my lessons. I have been told not only that you dislike each other, but that you like to disrupt lessons with whispers and that you enjoy copying each other's work,' he continued speaking as the students filed into the classroom.
'Must have talked with Snape,' Ron muttered to Harry and Hermione.
'Exactly, Mr Weasley,' the teacher said smoothly. 'Furthermore, headmistress McGonagall thinks that the teachers should enforce stricter rules for your sake. I have thus allowed myself to place you randomly at the tables to minimise the disturbances and cheating,' he added and waved his wand lightly. Sparkles shot out from the tip of his wand and descended to all the desks, forming nametags.
'Please find your seats and let us start with the lesson,' he said and walked into the classroom. He didn't pause until he was on his place and he turned to them, waiting for them to find their seats. Not wasting time, Hermione found her name, breathing in relief when she found herself sitting next to Nezumi, rather than Malfoy or one of his goons. In front of her, Nezumi's brother was sitting with Harry. For a moment she couldn't find Ron, but then she realised that he was sitting in the front row with none other than Malfoy. She wondered if the teacher did it on purpose or whether the seats were really random.
She glanced at Nezumi. He was looking at the teacher unwaveringly, seeming to ignore her presence entirely. She wasn't sure if she should be upset or relieved and decided that it was better than mocking sneers she knew Malfoy would treat her to. The teacher started talking, introducing himself and telling them a bit about his history and Hermione focused on him.
He proceeded quickly to tell them what he expected and, as Hermione moved to take notes, she realised with some shock that Nezumi was also writing something down. Could it be that there were other students who were as thorough as her? He caught her looking and smirked mockingly. She looked away, blushing furiously, focusing on her notebook as the teacher went about the main challenges that awaited them that year. Already this year, the teacher said, we will tackle the problems that will be relevant to your final examinations.
He finished the lesson by announcing that the next week he will test the abilities of every student, one by one, to see for himself what needed to be worked on. Hermione looked up at him in surprise, noticing, with the corner of her eye, that Nezumi seemed caught off-guard as well.
'What are you all looking like that for?' Professor Smith asked with a laugh. 'NEWTs test your theoretical knowledge as much as they test the practical skills. I imagine that you all are eager to pass with flying colours and I need to know what to do to help you.'
That is, of course, perfectly reasonable, Hermione thought. She realised that she liked the guy already and, when they were out moments later, she said as much to Harry and Ron. They didn't seem surprised, but neither were they enthusiastic about the one on one practical test that their teacher promised.
'To think that I will need to study already on the first week,' Ron complained before launching into a long tirade about how insufferable Malfoy was to sit next to. When he asked them, Harry only muttered that Ciel Phantomhive ignored him and Hermione shrugged her shoulders. All in all, she was pretty lucky, she thought, remembering that she would have ended with Parkinson or Crabbe or Goyle.
They passed by the sixth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and Hermione waved at Safu and Shion. They waved back at her and Hermione made a mental note to ask them if they would meet up to study on Sunday as usual. She had a feeling that, by the time the first week would end, she would really be in a mood to be away from Harry and Ron and their complaints about the workload.
Her feeling intensified when Professor Cain Kruspe welcomed them, in his classroom, with a test. At least he didn't separate them into random pairs with the Slytherins, Hermione thought, knowing that her luck from Transfiguration might not have held. She looked down at the paper in front of her and smiled slightly. The first question was so easy! Next to her, Ron flipped through all the pages, making disgruntled noises. Harry was doing the same, on her other side, minus the noises. Hermione glanced around the classroom to see most of the students busy with the test.
'It's the first lesson,' Ron protested finally. Hermione looked at him in surprise and then at the teacher. The silence was so deep that she imagined everybody held their breaths. A glare of the blue, cold eyes made Ron shrink back in his seat.
'That is a very deep observation, Mr Weasley,' the teacher said, sarcasm obvious in his voice. In the back of the classroom, Malfoy snickered. The teacher ignored him. 'You see, Mr Weasley, your progress in the Defence against the Dark Arts classes has hardly been recorded at all and thus I am forced to commence by checking just what is in those heads of yours,' he continued calmly, eyes not leaving Ron. 'Headmistress McGonagall was very insistent on the fact that you need to receive suitable education, so that you can pursue your professional goals. I assume you do have ambitions, Mr Weasley?' he asked. Malfoy said something that Hermione couldn't quite understand. 'I assume you also have some ambitions, Mr Malfoy, so get back to writing the test,' the teacher said drily and Hermione smirked, looking down to hide it.
The rest of the lesson passed by in silence and the whole trip to the Great Hall, for lunch, Hermione was gritting her teeth to not say anything mean to Ron. As soon as they arrived, she excused herself and rushed over to the Ravenclaw table. Safu and Shion jumped in surprise when she sat next to them.
'I thought you preferred to eat at your table,' Safu commented with a grin. Hermione rolled her eyes and said that she simply wanted to ask a question. 'Tell me!' Safu exclaimed. 'Who is cuter?'
'What?' Hermione blinked at her. Shion rolled his eyes and Hermione realised, with some shock, that they were bright violet. Was he wearing contact lenses suddenly? And what's with the scarf? She was itching to ask.
'Kruspe or Smith!' Safu exclaimed as though it was an obvious question. Oh, was all Hermione could think for a moment. Shion chuckled.
'She's been at it since yesterday,' he told her. At least his voice didn't change, Hermione thought. 'She asked all the Ravenclaw girls and Elizabeth is supposed to ask all the Hufflepuff girls,' he added, sounding amused.
'And Nezumi's gonna ask all the Slytherin girls?' Hermione asked before she could stop herself. The other two looked at her for a moment and erupted with laughter. She couldn't help a grin that spread across her face when they were nearly crying, they laughed so hard. Some people were looking at them weirdly, but they seemed to be beyond caring.
'Oh, I have to tell him that,' Shion said finally, regaining control over himself and tightening the scarf around his neck. He giggled a bit more. Hermione wondered if Nezumi would be so amused to be compared to a girl. She hoped he will forget that before the next Transfiguration lesson.
'Seriously thought, which one?' Safu insisted when she too calmed down.
'Uh, Smith I guess?' Hermione said uncertainly.
'Yes!' Safu exclaimed. 'I knew I have a better taste than Elizabeth. It's four to two in my count,' she added and jumped a little on her seat before putting some lunch on her plate and telling Shion that he needed to eat as well. 'So what was your question?' she asked, focusing back on Hermione, who was a little bit thrown off balance by the abrupt topic changes. Then again, she has gotten used to those when dealing with Safu. Hermione almost said that she had a ton of questions but the suddenly apprehensive look that crossed Shion's face stopped the words from coming.
'I just wanted to know if you guys are up to some studying on Sunday as usual,' she said instead. 'If the weather is nice we could even go outside and practice Transfiguration of stuff for next week. Did Smith also tell you that he would do a practical test?' she asked. Safu nodded.
'That sounds like a great idea,' Shion said. 'Shall we say after lunch?' he asked her. Hermione nodded with a smile. She was about to say something when the Phantomhive twins arrived and Shion's face lit up in, what Hermione quickly realised, was quite a twisted smile. Not wanting to be present when Shion told Nezumi about her joke, she excused herself and went back to the Gryffindor table.
'Running away from the Slytherins?' Ron asked with a smirk. 'I have no idea why those guys hang out with them,' he added. Hermione shrugged. The little group was perhaps the most noticeable group of friends but, by the time they reached the fifth year, Hermione realised that many students formed friendships that overpassed the House boundaries.
'I just wanted to know if I have somebody to study with on Sunday,' she said, sitting down and starting on her lunch. If possible, she would like to have a moment or two with the Ancient Runes book before the next lesson. Duh, she thought, I have Runes with Shion and Safu, I didn't need to go and ask them now.
'What's wrong with studying with us?' Ron complained. 'Do you have to study with other guys?' he asked. Snapped out of her thoughts that were already circling around Runes, Hermione blinked at him a few times, before the meaning of his words filtered through. He rolled his eyes at her.
'Why this question all of the sudden?' she asked back. 'I've been studying with them since the first year,' she added. Ron looked unhappy. 'I told you guys that you could join countless times, but you always had other stuff to do.'
'It's not that we always had other stuff to do,' Harry corrected her with a grin. 'It's just that there is a limit of how stupid we want to feel in the company and everybody knows that Ravenclaws are the smartest students, except for you of course,' he added, making Hermione roll her eyes, even as a smile twisted her lips.
'You said that,' she replied with a giggle and pulled out a book. Ron muttered something about her lack of friendliness and Hermione frowned at him. What the hell was wrong with that guy suddenly? She looked at Harry for a hint, but her best friend looked away, suddenly fascinated with the food on his plate. She shrugged and opened the book, taking a bite of the toast.
She didn't pay attention to the person sitting next to her, fully expecting it to be Ginny, but, when the person giggled slightly, she realised her mistake and looked up into Safu's brown eyes. She raised an eyebrow in question.
'Just thought that I'd tell you,' Safu said in a conspiratorial whisper. 'Next Sunday is Shion's birthday, so we're planning to make a surprise for him. I thought you might want to know, even though we can meet for studying as normal. I can tell the guys to come later and you're most welcomed to stay,' she explained. Hermione's eyes widened slightly, but then she nodded, wondering what she should buy as a gift. 'I'll make Nezumi promise to not make you pay for that joke. I think Ciel might help because he loved it,' she added.
'Hey, what's with those threats?' Ron, who must have heard part of what Safu said, asked in an irritated voice. Safu and Hermione looked at him in surprised then shared a look together before realisation struck Hermione.
'Go back to eating Ronald,' she said. 'Nobody's threatening anybody.'
'I better go before Shion grows suspicious,' Safu said. 'See you in a while,' she added and left the table. Ron's eyes followed her. Hermione could swear that Harry whispered something along the lines of "she's a girl, so you don't have to be jealous" to Ron. She blinked. Was Ron jealous of people she spent time with?