Chapter 5

Emily couldn't believe what was happening. She could barely hold a conversation with this man, and now she found herself walking through the Hogwarts grounds, about to eat lunch with him. He seemed to have a location in mind, so she let him lead the way. He seemed content with companionable silence, which was a relief because Emily had no clue what to say. She'd always been bad at this sort of thing, and boy had she messed up today. Mumbling, awkward silences, nerves beyond belief. At least she could console herself that her lecture had gone well, and that her work had been more than satisfactory. She'd fixed that tapestry, the staircase, and the Hogwarts sorting hat. Professor McGonagall had seemed quite pleased.

"Here's a good place," Charlie said suddenly. Emily looked around. They had come to a tree near the lake she had noticed when she first arrived. He sat down on one side of the basket and pulled out a sandwich, so she sat down on the other side. There was no need to get too close; Emily was already confused enough. She had never lucked into making anything resembling a friend on her first day of, well, anything.

As she sat eating her sandwich, she wondered if Charlie was expecting any conversation. She looked over at him, but he seemed completely content just to be outside. Once again, she found herself trying to remember what it was that he did for a living. She knew she'd read it in one of those files. All of a sudden, it came to her.

"Dragons," she whispered.

"What?" Charlie looked at her abruptly.

"I, um, I was trying to remember… I read something in my MACUSA files… you work with dragons, that must be why you're enjoying the fresh air right now." Emily felt her face grow hot again; she hadn't meant to actually say anything aloud.

"Oh yeah, I love being outside. I work at the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. Or, I did before the war. I can't wait to get back there."

"I see." So he had a life elsewhere, not here in beautiful Scotland. She knew this shouldn't be disappointing, but somehow it was.

"What are you going to do after we're done rebuilding Hogwarts?" He seemed intent on keeping the conversation going, now that she'd started it.

"I'm not sure. I don't really want to go back to New York. Professor McGonagall said I could stay at Hogwarts and teach transfiguration but I haven't decided." Indeed, the headmistress had only just approached her about it that morning, after she'd fixed the sorting hat.

"That's brilliant!" Charlie said, and he seemed to really mean it. "I'd been wondering who McGonagall would get to teach transfiguration now that she's headmistress. You seem to enjoy teaching," he added, almost as a question.

"I do… it's easier… I always know what to…" she faltered, trying to explain without embarrassing herself further.

"I get it," Charlie said. "That's one reason I like working with dragons. They don't talk." He said this with a smile on his face, and Emily laughed. This was getting easier. But he was leaving in a couple months…

Charlie checked his watch. "We'd better get back to the castle. Won't want McGonagall to think you're slacking on your first day."

At that moment, both of them reached for the basket at the same time. Emily's hand grazed Charlie's, and she felt something, a strange feeling. It was like a warm, humming sensation in her hand, where it had met his. She looked up and saw that Charlie had pulled his hand away quickly. He looked right at her for a split second, then jumped up and grabbed the basket. What on earth had just happened? She was sure he must have felt it too. They walked in silence back to the castle. Charlie left her in the entrance hall, pausing only to say, "See you later," before heading off to find Bill.

Emily was confused. Whatever that feeling was, it had made her want to be closer to Charlie. It had to be something magical. It had felt almost like a low current of No-Maj electricity, but of course it couldn't be anything like that. But what was more confusing was that Charlie seemed to feel the opposite, and couldn't wait to be away from her. This was definitely not how she anticipated going through her first day at Hogwarts.

She decided the best way to get away from this problem was to bury herself in work. Before lunch, Professor McGonagall had told her that Hermione had been asking for her assistance near the Transfiguration classrooms. Emily doubted that Hermione actually needed help, but whatever she wanted to talk about would surely take Emily's mind off of Charlie.

She found Hermione outside a Transfiguration classroom on the ground floor, apparently deep in thought, but when she saw Emily coming she immediately became animated.

"Emily! I'm so glad to see you. We've mostly finished with this area, but I've been thinking a lot about your research. Professor McGonagall gave me some of your articles from Transfiguration Today last week and I've read them all. What you wrote about making conjured objects last longer, I really…"

Emily listened as Hermione went on. This girl was brilliant, the exact kind of student a teacher loves to have in class. When Hermione paused to draw breath, Emily said, "Hermione, are you coming back to Hogwarts this year to finish your N.E.W.T.s?"

Hermione faltered for a second. "I've been thinking about it… Ron and Harry don't want to but I just wouldn't feel right beginning my work in the world without finishing school."

"That's wonderful. Professor McGonagall has asked me to consider replacing her as transfiguration professor here. I would be happy to mentor you in your N.E.W.T. and you can assist me on my research, if you'd like." Emily thought she might have just made Hermione's day.

"That sounds brilliant! Thank you so much! Does this mean I have to call you 'Professor Newport'?"

Emily laughed. "Perhaps when we're in class. Otherwise, no. I will confess to you, I'm only 22. I've only been out of school for 5 years myself." Now why wasn't it this easy to talk to Charlie? Emily felt that she and Hermione were going to be fast friends. Hermione seemed to agree.

"That's amazing! I have big plans for when I'm done with school. I want to work for the Ministry and help make things better for magical creatures like house-elves. But continuing research in transfiguration also sounds so fascinating…"

Emily was reminded of how she felt when she finished school. She was capable of doing many different things, so how to choose? "You could always do both. Professor Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock of your Wizengamot while still performing his duties as headmaster here, and continuing his own research in transfiguration. I read many of his articles in Transfiguration Today."

This seemed to cheer Hermione up even more, if that were possible. She seemed remarkably resilient after everything she'd been through. But perhaps that was another thing they had in common; in tough times, forget the emotions and focus on work. Emily and Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the castle, helping anyone who needed help, while Emily avoided Charlie at all costs.

The rest of the month passed in much the same way. There was a lot of work to be done, but they were making excellent progress. Emily continued to avoid the Great Hall at meals, preferring to do as Charlie had done on the first day and sneak some food out onto the grounds. She had discovered a couple spots that she felt were perfect for a solitary lunch; her favorite place ended up being a courtyard off the third floor that was underneath the clock tower. It was here that Hermione found her on a Friday.

"Professor McGonagall says we're done for the day! We got more done this week than she expected us to."

"I'm glad it's all going so smoothly. Maybe you didn't need me here after all!" Emily really was starting to feel this way; they were all so qualified that this job could probably have been done quite well without her.

"Of course we did!" Hermione said, perplexed. "It wouldn't have been nearly this easy without you to fix all the most difficult parts. Bill was telling us about the tapestry near Gryffindor Tower that you fixed on the first day, and he didn't have any idea how to do it. And he's a curse-breaker for Gringotts, you know."

"I suppose you're right. I have a tendency to be self-deprecating," Emily said with a slight smile. This wasn't news to Hermione, or probably anyone who talked to Emily for longer than a few minutes.

Hermione was getting up to leave, but then wavered. "Would you like to come to the Weasley's for dinner tomorrow? Everyone will be there, and I know Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would love to meet you." She hesitated, then added, "Only, I noticed you ate lunch with Charlie on Monday, and I thought…"

Emily sighed. Of course Hermione would have noticed. "There's nothing going on between Charlie and me," she said quickly. "But I'd love to come," she added, although it was a bit of an exaggeration. She wanted to befriend Hermione, but a large gathering like this… she might need a Calming Draught beforehand, and possibly afterwards.