A/N: Have another chapter darlings!
To Leah - a) make an account so I can actually reply to you properly dude! b) yep, I am a teacher, but I'm working as a TA right now. c) I AM working on the Bill fic and the EE fic with a little bit of a WR fic thrown in as well. But seeing as I still have part of a chapter for this to write (irritatingly not even the last chapter) it might be a while before anything else is ready to be uploaded... *sigh*
x
"Have you heard about Neal and Rosmerta's new barmaid?" Ruby, ever the gossip, asked excitedly. She slid into the seat beside Emma's at the staff table and picked up her goblet. It hovered between the table and her mouth as she looked for any sign of interest from her blonde friend. "Em? Are you listening?"
"Hmm?"
"What's up?"
The Charms Professor shook her head hastily and smiled. "I'm just having one of those days… Paisley Chadwick managed to blow up the feather she was supposed to be practising the Levitation Charm on and set fire to Romona Thwaite. Then Neville Longbottom nearly flooded the classroom while the sixth years were practising the Aguamenti Spell." Emma sighed. "What were you saying?"
"Your gay ex-boyfriend has an admirer." Ruby said with a grin. "The new barmaid in The Three Broomsticks has been asking Killian all about Neal. I think Killian's really pissed off that she showed absolutely no interest in him at all."
Emma paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. "I'm guessing Killian was quick to inform her that she's not exactly Neal's type?"
"Yeah, but apparently Tamara – that's her name – didn't seem particularly bothered."
"Tamara who?"
Ruby shrugged. "No idea. Belle had to go into Hogsmeade to pick up some books Madam Pince ordered from Tomes and Scrolls and she bumped into Killian. He told Belle that he's fed up of Tamara going into The Hog's Head on the off chance that Neal's working."
"Who's Killian annoyed at?" Mary Margaret asked, settling herself into the seat on Ruby's other side. She shook her head as her friend re-told the brief tale. "I thought Killian had his sights set on Rosmerta?"
Ruby arched an eyebrow. "This week."
"Yeah, this is Killian we're talking about." Emma chuckled. "Having his sights set on Rosmerta just means that she's at the top of his, probably extensive, list at the moment."
The conversation continued as the women speculated on how long it would take for this Tamara woman to get the message that Neal wasn't interested. After a while, Emma was distracted by the sight of the female Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor entering the Great Hall and making her way confidently through the crowds of students towards the staff table. Regina stopped several times to talk to students who began conversations with her. Emma was curious to see that many of them were not from the year groups she taught; many of the older students seemed keen to get her attention too. The blonde was amused to see that most of them were boys.
When Regina finally made it to her seat, she primly shook out her napkin and placed it on her lap before taking a small sip of her wine. She glanced sideways along the table, feeling Emma's eyes boring into the side of her head, arching an eyebrow at the unsubtle woman. Realising she'd got Regina's attention, Emma grinned and raised her own goblet as though she was toasting the brunette. The older woman sighed and rolled her eyes, but Emma was smug when she saw Regina's lips curling up in a small smirk.
"How's it going with you and the Queen of Darkness?" Ruby asked, seeing where her friend's attention was focused. "Making any progress?"
"Slowly." Emma agreed with a thoughtful nod. "She's beginning to succumb to my charms."
"Slowly?" The pale brunette burst out laughing. "Em, it's been about twenty years… Any slower and glaciers would be overtaking you."
"Besides, what charms are you referring to?" Mary Margaret teased with a giggle. "Are you hexing her into considering dating you?"
Not dignifying the question with an answer, Emma merely made a disgruntled noise and took a long gulp of her wine.
As Christmas quickly approached, Regina found herself wishing that she and Henry could remain at the school over the festive period. She had not looked forward to the season since she'd been at school herself; she had merely pretended for Henry's sake and tried her best not to let him see how much she hated spending such a prolonged period of time at her mother's home. And this year, with Cora's insistence that Henry spend the holidays away from her and with her sisters, Regina found that she was severely dreading the end of term.
Severus tried to reassure her that Henry would be perfectly fine with Narcissa. He reminded her that asking him to protect Draco and participating in the Unbreakable Vow had been because of her intense love for her son and loyalty to her family. That love and loyalty extended to both Regina and Henry and so the older woman would ensure the young boy's safety while he was in her care. Knowing that he was right and being able to feel happy about it were two very different things, however.
"Hey, Mom." Henry appeared in her classroom as she was tidying away the resources she had used during the lesson with her second years. It was a week before the end of term and Regina could already feel a sense of dread settling over her as she thought about spending the holiday with Cora and without her son. "I was wondering… do we have to go to Grandmother's for Christmas?"
"Actually, Henry, your grandmother has arranged for you to spend Christmas with your aunts and Draco."
He looked at her blankly. "Why?"
"Mother thinks you will enjoy spending time with your cousin."
"Couldn't…" He twisted his hands nervously in front of him. "Couldn't we maybe stay here this year instead? You could tell Grandmother that you're needed here to… supervise or whatever and I'll say that I want to stay with my friends?"
Regina thought for a moment. She couldn't deny that it was a much more pleasing prospect than spending two weeks at the Black Mansion. At the hopeful expression on her son's face she smiled. "I'll see what I can do, dear."
Severus agreed that it was worth a try as they walked back to her chambers a short while later. He was also planning to stay at school over the holidays and, with the plan firmly set in her mind, Regina's mood lightened with every step she took closer to the privacy of her own room.
They rounded a corner and were forced to stop as the corridor was jammed with students making their way to the Great Hall or their Common Rooms. Severus sighed impatiently and Regina laid a hand on his arm soothingly. She withdrew it sharply as a chorus of giggles erupted behind them.
Turning, the witch spotted a group of fourth year girls staring at them and attempting to stifle their laughter and cover their grins with their hands. Following their gazes, Regina realised that she and Severus were standing underneath a large bunch of mistletoe. With a roll of her eyes, the witch pointed her wand upwards. At once the decoration burst into flames, shrivelling and blackening until it vanished completely.
The girls' eyes widened and they scuttled away quickly, their heads bowed so they didn't meet their Professor's gaze. Severus arched an eyebrow at her and Regina merely shrugged and informed him that she'd never liked mistletoe anyway.
Cora was far from impressed when her daughter informed her of the change of plans, via owl. In fact, she was so angry that she sent Regina a howler. The usually strong woman wanted to curl into a ball and die when the envelope rose in the air in the middle of the staff room and began hurling abuse, including incredibly personal comments that she had rather they never heard, at her in front of her colleagues.
When the howler dropped onto the table in front of her and burst into flames, silencing the verbal tirade, all eyes were directed at Regina. She kept her own eyes fixed firmly on the ground, grabbed her things and almost ran out of the room. She was halfway along the corridor, when a gentle hand on her arm made her stop and flinch.
"Are you alright?" Emma asked softly, knowing that Regina was likely to bolt at the first sign of sympathy.
"I'm perfectly fine thank you, Professor Swan." The brunette replied stiffly, refusing to meet the younger woman's eyes, even as Emma turned her carefully so that they were facing each other. "I simply have to prepare for my final lesson of the year."
"Regina… what your mother said–"
She was cut off before she could finish. "I would prefer that you didn't continue."
"But… she was wrong, Gina." Emma ignored the clenching of the older woman's jaw at the use of her nickname. "You are wanted here. You do belong. The kids… well the kids love you. Just yesterday I overheard two Gryffindor second years saying that your lessons are their favourite because you don't talk at them; you treat them with respect and they adore you for that." She sighed and then grinned. "I gotta admit everyone was a bit worried when Dumbledore told us he had asked you to come and teach here. They heard 'Mills' and wondered what was going on in his head. But then you came and everyone realised that they were wrong."
"Everyone? Were you worried, Professor Swan?"
Emma smiled. "Not for a second, Professor Mills."
Regina had no idea how to respond. Her eyes involuntarily filled with tears at Emma's kind words. All she could manage as a reply was a weak, teary smile. It seemed to convey her feelings, however, as the blonde beamed and squeezed her arm again.
"Just… you're not alone, OK?"
With a nod, the brunette composed herself. She pulled herself up to her full height and took a breath. "Thank you, Professor Swan. I'd better…"
"It's Emma!" The Charms teacher shouted after her as the other woman strode away down the corridor.
Despite cursing herself for allowing her emotions to get the better of her, Regina couldn't help the smile that curled the corners of her lips upward at Emma's words.
Before she knew it, it was the last night of term; the night before the students would go home for the holidays. Professor Slughorn's Christmas party was in full swing and, as former members of the Slug Club, Regina and Severus had both been invited. They could hardly refuse and so, with as much enthusiasm as one would attend a funeral, the pair made their way to the Potions Master's office just after eight o'clock.
As Regina stared around the room she let out a deep sigh. Severus had been cornered by Eldred Worple, along with his Vampire friend Sanguini, who was talking animatedly about the time he'd spent with Vampires as research for his book. Regina had read Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires and found it utterly dull. Not that she had told its author that when he had asked whether she had read it.
She could see Henry and Brandon, who had come along as her son's guest, staring up at two members of the Weird Sisters with expressions of complete awe on their faces. The musicians, for their part, looked utterly bored.
Edging towards her son and his best friend, Regina intended to offer to introduce them to Gwennog Jones the Quidditch player, who had been a member of the Slug Club around the same time as she had. Before she could reach them, however, she spotted Slughorn himself heading straight for her with a smile on his face.
Not in the mood to be drawn into a conversation with the Potions Master, Regina pretended to spot someone she knew in the crowd and turned abruptly, vanishing into the midst of the guests milling around the room.
She found herself beside the door and decided to duck out for a couple of moments and have a breather. Walking a little way along the corridor away from the party, but still close enough to hear the music and sound of conversations going on, Regina settled herself in an alcove and leant back against the cold stone pillar. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
"Mingling with all those important people too much for you?" An amused voice asked.
Regina opened her eyes to see Emma Swan looking down at her with a smile on her face. She was dressed in Muggle clothes; tight jeans and a t-shirt that was slightly too small and showed off a strip of pale skin at her stomach. Hurriedly Regina averted her eyes, but not before Emma noticed the faint blush on her cheeks and smirked.
Dropping into the alcove beside the older woman, Emma leant back casually and stretched her legs out in front of her. "So, it's boring, right?"
Regina was about to argue, but it was true. The party was deathly boring. Instead she simply nodded. "Henry seems to be enjoying himself, though, which is what matters. He was staring at Myron Wagtail and Orsino Thruston as though they were his new favourite people in the world when I left."
"Oh, hey, they're from the Weird Sisters, right?" The blonde asked enthusiastically. "Reckon you could get me Myron's autograph? Neal used to have a massive crush on him, not that he would admit it. That would make the best Christmas present ever!" She laughed at the expression on Regina's face. Then she arched an eyebrow. "I never had you down as a Weird Sisters fan."
"There are plenty of things you don't know about me, Professor Swan."
"Why don't you tell me, then?" Emma asked in a soft voice.
Her hand crept slowly across the space between them and found Regina's. Even more slowly she moved her hand over Regina's, feeling ecstatic as the brunette didn't push her away, finding the confidence to tangle their fingers together. Still Regina didn't stop her, so Emma gave her hand a small squeeze.
"What–?"
"I don't–"
The two women started to speak at the same time and both stopped at once, waiting for the other to continue. Emma laughed at the sudden silence and tilted her head slightly, indicating that Regina should finish what she had been about to say.
As the brunette opened her mouth to continue, her eyes caught sight of something above them and she raised her chin, drawing Emma's attention to the mistletoe hanging in the alcove above them. The younger woman grinned and raised an eyebrow, licking her lips. She leant forward slowly, eliminating most of the space between them, but stopped and left the final decision to Regina.
Almost against her will, Regina found herself leaning into Emma and brushing her lips against the blonde's. It was a feeling so unlike any other and yet it felt so familiar at the same time. Emma had just reached up to tangle a hand in the silky brunette locks so that she could pull Regina closer and deepen the kiss, when footsteps further along the corridor forced them to spring apart abruptly.
Straightening her robes nervously, Regina ran a hand through her mussed hair and patted it back into place as two figures came close enough for her to be able to make out who they were. Her mouth dropped open as she saw Filch almost dragging Draco towards them by his arm.
"Draco? What's going on?" She frowned at the caretaker. "Unhand him at once, Filch."
"Professor Mills, I caught the boy lurking in the corridors. He claims he was invited to Professor Slughorn's party. I intend to take him to Professor Slughorn and ascertain whether this is the case or not." The man informed her with a sniff.
Regina sighed and looked at Draco, who stared blankly back at her. She shook her head and shrugged. "Fine, do as you wish."
Filch nodded with an air of triumph and pulled the boy towards the sound of music and laughter spilling into the corridor. The reality of her situation hit the brunette as she watched them go and she realised that she needed to put a stop to whatever was going on between her and Emma before the younger woman was put in danger. When they had gone, Regina turned to Emma and smiled weakly, the expression not meeting her eyes.
"I'm afraid I must go and find out what's happening." She said in an expressionless tone.
"Sure, Regina, I–"
"Goodnight, Professor Swan."
With a swish of her robes Regina swept down the corridor and disappeared through the door to Slughorn's office without a backward glance. Inside she squeezed her eyes closed and clenched her hands into fists, willing away the tears that were threatening to gather in her eyes. Allowing them to do so would be a sign of weakness and Regina was far from weak.
