Standing in the private quarters attached to the Potions Professors office, Narcissa felt a roaring wave of nerves hit her. For the first time, it was just occurring to her what she'd gotten herself into, and she was beginning to doubt she could handle teaching. She'd seen Beth do the job the previous year and her best friend had been a natural at the job, but Narcissa wasn't as sure about her own abilities. Even Lucius had adapted to teaching much better than she'd thought, and she was terrified of letting Severus down if she wasn't as good as her husband and friend.
Of course, Narcissa's nerves weren't helped by the fact she hadn't been asked to join the staff by Severus himself. It had been Voldemort who had first mentioned the possibility of taking over from Beth, and she'd only accepted due to what had happened to Draco. At the time, it had made perfect sense as she wanted to be closer to Draco given recent events, but now she was worried that she was in over her head. Could she really cope with being a Professor when she'd never worked in her life? Narcissa knew she could brew an expert Potion, but would she be able to pass that knowledge onto the students she was going to be teaching?
"Having second thoughts?" Lucius called from behind Narcissa, and when she turned round she found her husband leaning against the doorway from her office.
"Just a few," Narcissa admitted. "What if I'm making a mistake, Lucius? What if I've let what happened to Draco cloud my judgement, and I've stuck Severus with a lame Professor?"
"You're going to be great, Cissa," Lucius said as he walked over to his wife and took her into his arms. "I've always said you would be a natural teacher. Just look at the way you taught Draco when he was younger."
"I didn't do that on my own though," Narcissa argued. "Beth and I worked together to teach all three of the children."
"And you did an excellent job," Lucius reiterated. "Just as you'll do here."
"I hope so," Narcissa said with a sigh, leaning against her husband.
"I know so," Lucius stated as he placed a kiss to the top of his wife's head. "And I bet you're all organised."
Instead of waiting and dropping Draco off at the train station, a job which had been taken by Rosmerta as Beth hadn't been feeling well and Voldemort hadn't wanted to leave his wife, Narcissa had insisted on being up at Hogwarts at the crack of dawn. She'd wanted everything sorted before the students arrived, and with a few hours still to go until the Hogwarts Express arrived, it looked as though she'd achieved her goal.
"I am," Narcissa confirmed. Thanks to Beth she had comprehensive notes, and she'd taken her predecessors advice on which students should carry on with the Potions in their sixth year. "I'm not going to let that old battle-axe, Minerva McGonagall have any reason to complain about me," She added with a slight snarl.
To no-one's surprise, McGonagall had been against Narcissa taking over as Potions Professor. She'd also objected to Hermione and Draco being head students and sharing dorms, but Severus had shot her down. He pointed out that the Headmaster got to choose the head students, and Draco and Hermione were the best students in their year, and he was merely reviving an old tradition in regards to the living arrangements. As for Narcissa, Severus had spoken very eloquently about how talented she was with Potions and how she would be a great teacher.
"Don't you worry about McGonagall," Lucius said to his wife. "I doubt she's going to be around much longer. I can't see her featuring in the plans Hermione has for Hogwarts."
"Neither can I," Narcissa said with a chuckle. "Although I could see you in Hermione's plans. I know you only agreed to take the job for a couple of years, but would you consider staying on?"
"I'd have to talk it over with my lovely wife," Lucius answered, giving Narcissa a smile. "She might not like me being stuck at Hogwarts for most of the year."
"You're hardly stuck up here," Narcissa pointed out. "We still saw each other almost every night last year, and this year we won't even have to spend one night apart."
The couple had already decided that if they needed to stay at Hogwarts overnight they would be using the room assigned to Narcissa. They both felt much more comfortable down in the dungeons, and over the last week, Narcissa had totally revamped the place and it very much felt like an extension of their own home.
"Is that your way of telling me to hang onto the job?" Lucius questioned.
"If you want it, then yes," Narcissa replied. "Let's be honest, you've enjoyed this teaching thing far more than you thought you would."
"True, it has been rather fun," Lucius said with a nod, thinking of how much of a buzz he'd gotten from the previous year. "But let's wait and see what this year brings."
"We can discuss it again next summer," Narcissa agreed. Pecking her husband on the cheek, she went to leave his embrace, but Lucius kept hold of her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To get ready for this evening," Narcissa replied. "The train will be here shortly."
"Not for another three hours," Lucius retorted. "Before that we need to christen our new room."
"I'm not sure," Narcissa whispered, eying the large bed behind her husband.
"Is this about your scars again?" Lucius asked softly.
Since Narcissa's accident the previous year she'd been left with scarring down her left side. Her left shoulder in particular was still badly scarred, and the scarring extended down her arm and onto part of her left side. Since the accident, Narcissa had taken to wearing long sleeves all the time and she'd even been hesitant of letting Lucius see her without her clothes on. Of course, to Lucius it didn't make a difference if Narcissa was a bit scarred, and he'd made sure Narcissa knew that, but even so there was still a hesitancy about her that had never been present before.
"I know they don't bother you," Narcissa said quietly. "But they bother me. All I see when I look at my arm and side is horrid red marks and I don't understand why they don't repulse you."
"They don't repulse me, because they're a part of you," Lucius said. "I don't look at your scars and get turned off, I look at them and I'm so very grateful to still have my wife. I'd rather have you alive with scars, then have you unblemished but dead."
"Really?" Narcissa asked.
"Really," Lucius confirmed, dropping his head and gently placing his lips over his wife's. "I love you, Cissa, scars and all."
"I love you too, Lucius," Narcissa replied. "Saggy bits and all," She added cheekily.
"I do not have saggy bits," Lucius spluttered in outrage. "And I'll prove it."
Before Narcissa could protest, Lucius had swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed where they proceeded to spend the next couple of hours christening the bed while Lucius showed his wife that his bits were anything but saggy.
C.O.T.D.
Sitting in the Great Hall, Hermione cast a nervous look over at her boyfriend. Even from across the room the tension in Draco was evident, or at least it was to someone who knew him as well as Hermione did. Hermione had thought that her boyfriend had gotten over his anxieties about returning to school, but it had been clear when he turned up at their house early that morning that they were back with a vengeance. Draco had been tense throughout the journey up to Hogwarts, and being back in the castle hadn't seemed to have helped any. Unfortunately for Hermione, there was nothing she could do to ease Draco's nerves until after the feast when they got to explore their new rooms.
"Stop watching him," Harry hissed as he leant over and elbowed Hermione in the ribs.
"But I'm worried," Hermione replied in a whisper.
"I know, but watching him won't help," Harry pointed out. "Think of how much more tense he'll be with you and his parents watching him."
Glancing at the Professors table, Hermione found that both Narcissa and Lucius kept sneaking anxious looks over at their son. Turning back to Harry, she admitted that she could see his point. True, Draco was anxious, but it was only making it worse if she kept watching him along with his parents. What she needed to do was leave Draco to it and she could then check on him after the feast.
Vowing to forget about Draco, she focused on Harry and the other Gryffindors. Things were still good between Harry, Hermione and their fellow Gryffindors, with Ginny being pretty much the only exception. To be honest, Hermione hadn't even been sure Ginny would have returned to school, but she'd appeared at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with her two oldest brothers. Although, so far she hadn't yet acknowledged Hermione or Harry. In fact, she was very much on her own and if the first day was an indicator of what the year held for Ginny, she was in for a lonely year.
"Has anyone given any thought to what they're going to do after school?" Seamus Finnigan asked, drawing Hermione's attention away from Ginny.
"I'm joining the Ministry," Harry answered.
"Our new Minister, are you, Harry?" Dean Thomas joked.
"Maybe one day," Harry replied with a laugh. "But I have to start at the very bottom. What about anyone else, do you have plans?"
"I'm stumped," Seamus admitted. "I was hoping someone else could give me some ideas."
"Sorry, I'm fresh out myself," Dean said with a shrug. "I have no idea what I'm going to do."
"We do have all year to decide," Seamus said.
"Yeah, let's just enjoy this final year," Dean said.
While Dean, Seamus and Harry changed the subject to quidditch, Hermione turned to Neville who was sitting beside her.
"You're quiet, Neville," Hermione remarked. "You're not worried about the future, are you?"
"I'm not worried, but I guess we do have to start thinking about the future," Neville replied.
"I guess we do," Hermione agreed. "But your future could be sorted."
"How?" Neville asked with a frown.
"You're a natural herbologist, and I think you would make a great Professor," Hermione said. "You should think about taking an apprenticeship under Professor Sprout."
"Train to be a Professor?" Neville gasped. "But I'm not smart enough for that, Hermione."
"Nonsense," Hermione replied with a shake of her head. "You know things about Herbology that no-one else in this school knows. You're definitely smart enough to teach Herbology. Think about it, Neville, and if it is something you want to do, I can ask Severus to help you."
"Professor Snape wouldn't want me teaching, he hates me," Neville said sadly.
"He doesn't hate you," Hermione said, even though she honestly didn't know what her brother thought of Neville. "He's just a grumpy git, and he's not actually as bad now he's headmaster and not teaching. I know for a fact that he'd love to have someone young and enthusiastic on the staff. In fact, I know he wants some younger staff. Just think about it, Neville."
"I will," Neville replied with a thoughtful nod as he turned back to his food.
Satisfied that she'd planted the first seed in Neville's head, Hermione refocused on her own dinner. Over the course of the year she had a few more people she wanted to sound out about becoming a future Professor, but for now she was going to enjoy the rest of the welcoming feast.
After the feast, Hermione said goodbye to Harry as her nephew headed off to Gryffindor Tower with the others. She then joined Draco outside of the Great Hall, and following the instructions they'd gotten off Severus, they headed to the third floor where they found the portrait of a flower fairy sitting in a giant rose.
"Freedom," Hermione announced, recalling the password her brother had given her.
At the password, the fairy flew off her flower and the picture swung to one side, revealing a wooden door. Pushing the door open, Hermione and Draco entered their new dorms. The common room they entered was pretty small, but there was enough room for a roaring fire, a comfy looking sofa, wooden coffee table and a desk and chairs to study.
"It's nice and cosy," Hermione remarked.
"Yeah," Draco replied shortly.
Hoping she could get Draco in a better mood before the end of the night, Hermione headed up to the bedrooms. The small stairway led to a passageway which held three doors. One was the joint bathroom, and while it wasn't as large or luxurious as the prefects' bathroom, it was still fairly decent. The two bedrooms were identical, with double beds, drawers, dressing table, and a desk and chair, with the only difference being the colour scheme. Draco's room was green and silver, while Hermione's was red and gold.
"I think I prefer this room," Hermione said as they stood in the green and silver room.
"It does work better than your room," Draco replied as he threw himself onto the bed without even removing his shoes and socks.
"I've got a present for you," Hermione said, hoping the surprise she had planned for their first night would help Draco's mood.
"What sort of present?" Draco asked.
"The sort you'll like," Hermione replied with a smile. "I'll just go and get ready. You make yourself comfortable."
"How comfortable?" Draco asked with a smirk. Suddenly, his anxiousness about being back at school was replaced with arousal.
"Put it this way, I want you in a lot less clothes," Hermione said, throwing Draco a mischievous grin as she turned and headed back across to her room.
While Hermione was gone, Draco quickly shed his clothes. Clad in only his black boxers, he settled back down on the bed to wait for Hermione, wondering just what she had in store for him. Five minutes later, Draco discovered just what his girlfriend had in store when she sauntered back into his room wearing a pair of knee high emerald green Slytherin socks, a quidditch top that just brushed the top of her thighs and her hair had been put up into pigtails. She looked both sexy as hell, and sweet and innocent and Draco loved it.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked, holding her arms out and spinning around slowly to give Draco the full effect of her outfit.
Hermione's movement revealed two things to Draco. Firstly, the Slytherin top she was wearing was one of his as his name was splashed over the back. And secondly, when she moved her arms the top rode up and revealed that she was wasn't wearing any knickers.
"Draco?" Hermione prompted when her boyfriend remained quiet. Judging from the bulge in his boxers, he appreciated the sight, but he'd yet to say so.
"Come here," Draco ordered in a husky voice.
With a smile, Hermione climbed onto Draco's bed and straddled his lap. Immediately, Draco crashed their lips together as his hands wandered over Hermione's body. Within minutes the pair were happily rolling around the bed, and Draco's anxiety about being back at school was well and truly forgotten.