26. BACK TO HOGWARTS
There was a lot of press coverage about and in the aftermath of the attack, and from what she had gathered most of it was favourable to Tom. She still tried not to pay too much attention to any of it, having long since learned how fickle and vicious public opinion could be. Instead she did her best to enjoy the rest of her holiday, time passing by almost too quickly.
Percy came for lunch, bringing with him not only Ron, but also Fred and George, which led to a very fun afternoon of mostly harmless mischief and an impromptu Quidditch match on the castle grounds. Percy also readily agreed to take Winky into his employ, who in turn seemed elated at the prospect of having a proper and respectable master again and appeared truly happy for the first time since Holly had known her.
Tom accepted the sudden invasion of his castle by half of the Weasley clan with surprising calm, and a few days later, he actually suggested to her to invite Hermione for a similar visit, citing the other girl's interest in the castle's library. Holly was only too happy to take him up on his offer.
She also visited the Longbottoms with her godfathers, glad to see that Neville's parents were well on the road to recovery and were just as kind and open-hearted as their son. They had prepared what could only be called a feast in her honour, the long table all but groaning under the weight of all those delicious dishes, but dinner itself was informal and light-hearted, with Frank and Alice happy to tell her stories about her parents and all of them filling the older Longbottoms in on what they had missed these last few years.
Ancient Runes with David was added to her lesson plan and she quite enjoyed that as well, mostly because David focused very much on the practical applications and seemed to be of the firm belief that rote learning old glyphs and scriptures would amount to little more than a waste of parchment. And she still had her lessons with Rudolphus and Rabastan, with Professor Snape and with Tom so that all in all time seemed to fly by, the 1st of September arriving much sooner than she had anticipated.
She was all packed, thanks to Dobby, and she was mostly enjoying her last breakfast at Slytherin Castle if not for the smell of Tom's cheese sandwiches that made her feel rather nauseated.
"Holly?" Tom asked, turning to her in concern when she couldn't suppress a small groan and twisted away sharply.
"Can you please eat something else?" she pressed out, almost dunking her nose into her coffee in an attempt to get rid of the unpleasant odour wafting towards her from Tom's plate.
She heard Tom sigh expansively before he muttered a quick Vanishing Spell. He reached for her shoulder and gently tugged her closer, gathering her in against his chest. Holly buried her nose against his robes, breathing in the reassuringly familiar scent of his soap and aftershave until she started to feel better.
"Sorry," she mumbled finally, pulling back.
"You've had quite a few spells of nausea lately," Tom said, gently carding his fingers through her hair and studying her a little too attentively. "Dizziness, too. And your tolerance for any form of magical transportation seems to be going on nil these days as well."
"You said that was normal," Holly reminded him sternly. "And I just don't like the smell of your sandwiches so early in the morning. Why can't you have a sweet breakfast like any sane person?"
"It's certainly not normal to lose consciousness upon Apparition. Rabastan told me that you all but passed out again when he picked you up from your friend's house."
"Thank you so much, Rabastan," Holly muttered with a belligerent glare at the tall wizard, who merely shrugged. "And I didn't pass out. I was absolutely fine."
"Forgive me if I don't prescribe to your definition of 'fine'," Tom gave back sarcastically. "I want you to make an appointment with Madam Pomfrey as soon as we arrive at Hogwarts. And I saw that eyeroll, Holly."
"You were supposed to see it," Holly replied brattily, crossing her arms over her chest.
"If you would prefer, we can certainly discuss it with your godfather first," Tom replied magnanimously, arching his eyebrow expectantly. "I believe he's going to meet us at the train station later?"
"I don't like it when you use Sirius to blackmail me," Holly muttered with a huff.
"Yes, I would also like it much better if you just listened to reason," Tom replied mockingly. "So will you make the appointment, Holly?"
"Fine," Holly agreed grudgingly. "But I won't tell you what she says unless I feel like it."
"As is your prerogative," Tom agreed much too affably for her taste. "Now, what can I tempt you with for breakfast?"
§*§*§*§*§
Despite Holly's best attempts to hurry Tom along, they were still right on schedule when Tom finally pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin, her trunk shrunken in the pocket of his robes.
"I'll Apparate us a bit further away so that you can find your footing without having to contend with a crowd," Tom explained again and she nodded obediently. "Ready?"
She nodded against his chest, curling her fingers into the heavy fabric of his robes and closing her eyes.
"Deep breaths, focus on your core," Tom coached gently. "One. Two. Three."
§*§*§*§*§
The world was still running circles around her when she regained consciousness and she groaned pitifully, slamming her eyes shut again.
"Kitten, shh, you're okay, you're okay. Thank Salazar you're okay," Tom murmured, petting her hair and pulling her deeper into his embrace.
"What…?"
"You passed out," Tom answered. "Not nearly, not almost. You passed out, Holly."
"I get it. You don't have to talk to me like I'm stupid."
"I'm not. I'm talking to you like you're very, very stubborn," Tom corrected, soothingly rubbing her back and supporting her as she tried to sit up further. "I need to take you to St. Mungo's for a thorough check-up."
"Tom, please, no," Holly pleaded, sitting up fully and ignoring the dark spots that danced in front of her eyes. "I don't know any of the healers at St. Mungo's and I don't want them prodding and poking at me and then selling everything to the Daily Prophet."
"There is such a thing as patient confidentiality in the Wizarding world as well, Holly," Tom said with a sigh. "And all the healers at St. Mungo's will have taken an Unbreakable Vow to safeguard their patients' health and privacy. I would not be suggesting this if I thought it would put you in any danger."
"Please, Tom," Holly still insisted. "I already said I would go see Madam Pomfrey once we're back at Hogwarts. And Professor Snape said there was nothing wrong with me."
"Severus is an excellent Potions Master and self-trained field mediwizard, but he is not a fully qualified healer and he rightly pointed out that his repertoire of diagnostic spells is not the be all and end all of magical healing," Tom reminded her. "You've been exposed to quite a bit of Dark magic over this summer and we still don't really know how that's affecting you. I don't want us to overlook something."
"I get that and I know you're… worried about me?" Holly hazarded, a slightly questioning tone in her voice.
"I am, Holly."
"Okay… okay, I appreciate that. But I really do feel fine now, I swear," Holly replied, continuing before Tom could interrupt her. "So can I please take the Hogwarts Express with my friends and have a check-up with Madam Pomfrey once we're back at school? Unless you really think that forcing me into another Side-Along Apparition will help matters."
Tom sighed, brushing a strand of her hair out of her face, but then helped her to her feet. "All right."
"Really?" Holly asked in surprise.
"If I learned anything these last few weeks, it's that forcing you into things never works out in my favour," Tom gave back with an ironic smirk. She almost said that forcing her into this marriage had turned out pretty well for him but instead bit her tongue, deciding that in this case it might be wiser not to correct Tom's misconceptions.
She allowed him to tuck her safely under his arm and lead her towards King's Cross Station, through the thickening bustle of fellow travellers and to Platform 9 ¾ that was already well populated by other Hogwarts students, their parents, guardians and siblings. Tom's hand wrapped warm and secure around hers.
"Your godfathers are over there," he said, starting to lead her in the right direction, only giving her free when they had reached Sirius and Remus and the two of them immediately pulled her into a tight hug.
"Pup, finally, I thought you wanted to be here twenty minutes ago?" Sirius said, carding his fingers through her hair and studying her carefully. "You look pale. What happened?"
"Holly passed out when I Apparated us here," Tom replied before she could say anything.
"Tom," she hissed angrily, throwing him a betrayed glare as both Remus' and Sirius' worry slammed into her with full force.
"Were you under the impression that your godfathers would not care to know about your wellbeing… or lack thereof?" Tom arched his eyebrows at her before turning to address her godfathers. "Though, Holly and I are finally in agreement that she should consult with a healer about her frequent spells of dizziness and nausea. She will make an appointment with Madam Pomfrey upon our arrival in Hogwarts, isn't that right, kitten?"
"I said I would," Holly muttered angrily before also looking at Sirius and Remus. "Please don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing serious – probably something embarrassing like too much excitement or having to eat more vegetables."
Sirius acknowledged her joke with a fleeting grin, ruffling her hair and pulling her into his arms once more. "Worrying is kind of in the job description, pup. You'll let us know what Madam Pomfrey says?"
"Of course," Holly promised, resting her cheek against his chest. "Thanks for coming. I'm going to miss you. Both of you."
"You won't have a chance to miss us," Sirius replied with a laugh. "We still know all the ways to sneak into Hogwarts, you know."
Remus rolled his eyes, laying his arm around her shoulders and snuffling his nose into her hair for a few moments. "More to the point, we've marked all the Hogsmeade weekends in our calendar and we'll also see you during the Yule holidays."
"And our quarters are connected to the Floo – though I do hope you won't only come and visit me when you wish to talk to your godfathers," Tom added and her anger towards him abated slightly when she remembered how he had agreed to let her stay in Gryffindor Tower and not insisted, as he had originally planned, on her moving into the quarters Dumbledore had assigned to him.
"Thank you," she mumbled and Tom flashed her a grin before reminding her that the train would depart soon.
She sank into another hug with her godfathers, soaking up their love and care, their warmth and protectiveness, wrapping those feelings around herself like armour. She was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, her first true home, but she thought that a part of her might also miss the freedoms she had enjoyed over the summer.
The shrill whistle made them pull back finally, Sirius pressing one last kiss to her forehead. "Take care of yourself, pup. We love you."
"Love you, too," Holly replied, feeling Tom's hand in the small of her back gently steering her towards the train.
When they reached one of the waggons, Tom grasped her around the waist, easily lifting her up onto the footstep.
§May I kiss you goodbye?§ he hissed with a crinkle around his red eyes.
She nodded minutely, unconsciously licking over her lips, and he smiled at her, tipping her chin up with one finger before lowering his mouth onto hers. It was a sweet kiss, soft and almost chaste, both of them very aware of the countless curious witches and wizards still milling about on the platform, the disembodied heads of her classmates poking out of the train windows.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts, little kitten," Tom murmured after he had drawn back, tracing his thumb lightly over her cheek and only breaking contact when there was another sharp whistle.
He took a small step back, extracting her shrunken trunk from his pocket and tapping it with his wand. The trunk floated past her into the inside of the waggon and there returned to its original size with a little swirl of Tom's wand, still hovering behind her like a well-trained puppy.
"Bye, Tom," she whispered. "See you tonight."
He smiled back at her, sketching a gentlemanly bow to her just as there was one last sharp whistle and the train started moving. She hopped one step up, looking behind Tom to where Remus and Sirius had appeared, both waving at her. She beamed back, waved back, swallowing a sudden onrush of happy tears. It felt so indescribably good to have her family see her off for another school year.
§*§*§*§*§
Tom only turned away when the Hogwarts Express had become a tiny spec in the distance, chiding himself at so much sentimentality when in truth they would only be parted for a few scarce hours. He chided himself again when he found Holly's two godfathers stood just behind him, their looks far too knowing, far too familiar for his taste.
"You said Holly passed out?" Black asked, the reproach and accusation still clear in his voice despite the nominal progress they had made over the last few weeks.
"I Apparated us here – or more precisely to a quiet parking area nearby – and she just collapsed in my arms. She was out for less than a minute and of course insisted that she was fine, but as this was not the first such occurrence..." he trailed off meaningfully.
Lupin nodded in vague agreement, a troubled frown between his sandy brows, but it was Black who spoke up once again, "Then why haven't you taken her to see a healer?"
Tom arched his eyebrow slowly. "Are you suggesting that I should have dragged her there against her will, Lord Black?"
"I'm suggesting that you should have taken her to Hogwarts so that Poppy could have examined her before it got to the point of her passing out!" Black retorted.
"What an excellent idea. I tried that, dropped her off in the infirmary personally when I went to Hogwarts for one of Dumbledore's superfluous teachers' meetings," Tom bit back. "But apparently she had such a grand old time helping Madam Pomfrey go through her supplies for the next school year that the idea of a check-up completely slipped her mind."
Lupin huffed out what could have been a laugh, his lips twitching in amusement, and even Black seemed a little impressed, though clearly not with Tom. He rolled his eyes.
"Suffice it to say I will make sure that Holly actually makes the appointment this time… and I hope I will have your support if it should become necessary."
He could see that neither of the two former Gryffindors was happy about his request, but Lupin at least made an effort to be diplomatic.
"Holly has a mind of her own, but we will certainly keep on reminding her that she has people now who care for her," he said, an understatement on all fronts.
"Very well then," Tom replied dryly, deciding to cut this unproductive conversation short; perhaps it had been foolish to believe that common sense would trump Gryffindor stubbornness. "I expect Holly will contact you either via owl or Floo before long."
He tacked on a curt goodbye, then spun on the spot to Apparate back to Slytherin Castle. There was still a good few hours until he had to go to Hogwarts, though he felt some private regret that he hadn't decided to ride the Hogwarts Express with Holly after all. But Holly had seemed less than thrilled when he made that suggestion and he had given in, just as he had found himself giving in when he had seen how truly upset she had been about the prospect of not being able to return to Gryffindor Tower, of being separated from her friends and having to share quarters with him. It had stung, more than he cared to admit even to himself, but she didn't often allow him to see past her tightly wrought armour of courage, mulishness and sarcasm to catch a glimpse of the vulnerable young woman underneath. So he had yielded to her pleas, even though he had spent weeks beforehand arguing with Dumbledore about just this topic, always insisting that as his wife Holly should naturally move into shared quarters with him.
He had still derived a benefit from his sudden concession, using it as a bargaining chip to make sure that Rudolphus and Rabastan could stay at the school as well, and not, as Dumbledore had envisioned, only visit twice a week to continue Holly's training. Needless to say, Holly had been very pleased about that.
He shook himself out of his thoughts, determined to still get a few things done before it was time to leave. Dumbledore probably hoped that he would be too busy now, with his employment at Hogwarts, to focus very much on other pursuits, but Tom was nothing if not ambitious and his plans were actually well within schedule, thanks in no small part to the unexpected boon of Holly gifting him with a Patronus. (And it had been her gift to him, her magic complementing and purifying his own enough that he had been able to wield the Light charm; he had not been able to reproduce the same effect when he had tried again without her help.)
He found it almost funny how thoroughly that moment of serendipity had managed to undermine so many of the Light side's truisms, how some of their ingrained bias had for once worked in his favour with the long-held belief that no Dark witch or wizard could be capable of producing a Patronus, corporeal or otherwise.
They had taken full advantage of this unexpected break in hostility, of course, and Tom had given so many interviews and met with so many more or less influential witches and wizards that all of it had started to blend together. Still, he felt elated and energised. Public opinion was slow to change and there were certainly many who would never see past the spectre of Lord Voldemort; Tom knew it was much too soon to start petitioning for early elections, but he was confident that they were slowly but surely moving into a position to win once that time came. And then the real work would begin.
§*§*§*§*§
Holly broke away from her group of friends, murmuring to Hermione and Ron to go ahead and that she would join them soon, when she spotted Tom chatting idly with Rudolphus and Rabastan, but also clearly waiting for her. She huffed softly, rolling her eyes.
"Didn't Professor Snape tell you that you should sit at the teachers' table not lurk around out here to ambush unsuspecting students?" she demanded of Tom, sending the two Lestranges a small smile.
"There's only one student for whom I'm waiting and 'unsuspecting' is certainly not a word I'd use to describe her," Tom replied with a smirk, gently grasping her by the waist and pulling her closer. "Breath-takingly beautiful, on the other hand…"
Holly could feel her cheeks warm at the softly murmured words, not quite sure how to react to them or how to feel about Tom's hands tracing lightly over her back. She was about to say something, maybe another sarcastic comment, when there was a sudden bright flash, disorienting and intrusive.
"Hiya, Holly," Colin called out eagerly, beaming at her when she turned around. "How were your holidays?"
"Colin… I thought we talked about this?" Holly demanded with a sigh, indicating the camera in the younger Gryffindor's hand.
Colin just grinned at her again, waving brightly, and then let himself be carried away by the stream of students still pouring into the Great Hall. She turned back around, not liking the scowl on Tom's face.
"He takes pictures of everyone," she commented, half in defence. "It's bloody annoying and he drives everyone nuts, but he doesn't mean any harm by it."
Tom studied her carefully, looking for something. "Tell me if he bothers you and I shall have a talk with him."
Holly rolled her eyes, very unimpressed with Tom's suggestion. "I don't need you to go all 'Dark Lord' on my housemates, Tom! I can look after my own interests."
"Of course, Holly, I'm merely adding for consideration that your housemate's pursuit of his hobby is not more important than your right to privacy."
"My right to privacy?" Holly snorted. "That's hilarious."
Tom shook his head a little, gently pulling her back into his arms. "Unintentionally so, at least where I'm concerned, little kitten... Now may I escort you to your seat?"
"Is that why you've been waiting out here?" Holly asked in exasperation. "I told you you don't have to get up when I enter a room. And you certainly didn't have to drag Rudolphus and Rabastan along."
"We wanted to make sure you were all right, Holly," Rudolphus corrected her.
"We heard that you weren't doing so well earlier," Rabastan added, both of them sending her matching concerned looks.
"I wish you would all stop worrying about me," Holly murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't like how it feels." Like there was something broken inside her, something that needed to be fixed – whether she liked it or not.
"Then perhaps you could help us to worry less, kitten," Tom offered diplomatically, dropping a kiss into her hair and then placing her hand in the crook of his arm to lead her into the Great Hall, completely ignoring all the furtive glances and hushed whispers that accompanied their entrance. "Madam Pomfrey will be expecting you tomorrow at eight-thirty."
"But I have classes!" Holly protested angrily. "I was going to see her in the evening."
"It's the first day of classes, Holly, and at the risk of undermining my credibility as a teacher, I doubt you'll miss much," Tom said, pulling out the chair next to Hermione. §Your health is important, kitten, please act like it.§
Holly plopped down into her chair with ill grace. "Fine," she grumbled. "But you've thoroughly exhausted my good will for today, just so you know."
Tom chuckled, gently caressing his hands over her shoulders before drawing back. "Duly noted. I shall wait till tomorrow before I presume on your good nature again. Enjoy your dinner, Holly, and welcome back to Hogwarts."
He smirked at her before easily striding away to the head table, Rudolphus and Rabastan inclining their heads at her and offering her a smile before they followed suit.
"What was that all about?" Ron grumbled before glaring around the table, at their too curious housemates. "And what are you lot staring at anyway? Mind your own bloody business!"
"Shh, Ron, the Sorting's started," Hermione hushed him. "Holly can tell us everything later."
Holly sent her a grateful smile before she joined into the applause at their table when Biddlesticks, Beata became the first addition to their house. Holly made sure to clap for all the new Gryffindors, smiling at them when they moved past where she was sitting with Ron and Hermione. In-between she allowed her gaze to wander through the hall that was decked out in all its usual splendour for the Start-of-Term Feast. The head table had been extended slightly to make room for the Lestranges, who for once looked almost small next to Hagrid's towering presence. Tom didn't seem particularly happy to be relegated to a seat to the left of Professor Snape, though Holly honestly believed that it had been a wise choice to have at least a handful of chairs between him and Dumbledore.
After the Sorting, the headmaster greeted them with a few nonsensical words before clapping his hands once, all the tables immediately overflowing with food and drink, a smorgasbord of all kinds of delicacies. This year, Holly hadn't spent the entire holidays on the brink of starvation, but her stomach still grumbled in appreciation at the sight of all her favourites and she ate with much appetite, telling Hermione and Ron about what Tom had wanted from her between bites.
"All that because you didn't like the smell of his sandwiches?" Ron demanded with a scoff and a long eyeroll. "Though I guess we shouldn't be surprised that he turned out to be an overbearing asshole."
"Ron! He's our teacher now and he's clearly worried about Holly – as you would be if you had actually listened to what she said," Hermione snapped angrily before turning to Holly. "I think it's a good idea to set the appointment for tomorrow morning, honestly. This way, you'll know if there's an issue and Madam Pomfrey can prescribe something to help you. And if there's no problem, even better, then you'll be able to start the new term without such worries."
"I guess," Holly murmured. "I just don't think all this fuss is really necessary."
"You never think it's necessary," Hermione pointed out with slight exasperation and Holly had to grin a little ruefully.
When everyone had been fed and watered till bursting, the tables were swiftly cleared by house-elf magic and Dumbledore rose to his feet, twinkling at the assembled student body over his half-moon glasses and absently tucking his long beard back into the belt of his robes.
"Ah, what a splendid and delicious way to start off the new school year, though of course I understand that many of you are still in mourning over the end of the holidays." He winked at them, his beard twitching with a smile as a few chuckled. "Now, before I release you all to enjoy your last night of freedom, let me keep you for just a few short announcements and reminders.
"The Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden and Mr. Filch has reviewed his comprehensive list of banned items – I believe we are now at an impressive count of 849 – to include all products that can be purchased in a little shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. For your convenience, a full, updated list has been posted in your respective common rooms and I invite you all to consult it.
"Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that all clubs have been reinstated, as has been our dear Professor Trelawney, who will be teaching Divination jointly with Professor Firenze this year.
"Lastly, please give a warm welcome to this year's Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Riddle, or as he is better known, Lord Voldemort." He raised his hand to quiet the sudden restlessness among the student body, sending them all an overly sympathetic smile. "I can understand your unease at the prospect, given the many atrocities and crimes committed by Lord Voldemort and his followers, but please allow me -"
"Perhaps I could say a few words?" Tom interrupted him, loudly pushing back his chair as he got up and making clear that it hadn't been a question. Holly could feel his simmering anger. "I have a feeling that they will be more reassuring to my future classes than your good intentions. Headmaster."
There was a tense moment, in which the two wizards stared at each other in a silent battle of wills. Holly wasn't sure who won, but finally Dumbledore sank back into his chair, graciously waving his hand at Tom as if giving him permission to say his piece. He was too far away, but Holly could almost feel Tom roll his eyes before he turned away from Dumbledore and towards his future students, a charming smile playing around his lips. Next to Holly, Ron groaned loudly, muttering something about "another Umbridge", before demonstratively resting his head on his folded arms and closing his eyes.
"I'm sure many of you already know of the peace contract that was agreed upon by both Light and Dark and have followed the great strides we already took towards a better future, so let me just briefly sum up what the headmaster was offering to discuss in all detail: I always considered Hogwarts my home and I feel privileged to return here as your teacher. I look forward to passing on what knowledge I can on magical defence, not merely against the so-called Dark Arts, but against any form of magic that might be used in a harmful way against you.
"On that note, I will be starting my classes for Second through Seventh Years with a brief revision of what you've learned – or should have learned – in previous years. I noted that some of the past hires for this position were, let's say, debatable, which unfortunately left some rather gaping holes in the curriculum.
"As a last aside, I would also like to introduce to you Rudolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, who will assist me with re-establishing the long-honoured tradition of a duelling club here at Hogwarts and will also offer non-magical defence classes on the weekends to all those interested – including any Muggle siblings, who might otherwise be excluded from your lives."
He paused as the murmurs rose in volume, students checking in with their bench mates if they had heard correctly, muttering opinions and questions and craning their necks to get a better look at the new teachers.
"He's good," Hermione whispered to Holly. "He could have sworn an Unbreakable Vow that he meant no harm to any of us, but I doubt anyone would have believed him. But now he's completely changed the focus… Did you know about these martial arts lessons?"
Holly nodded, then shrugged. "I talked about it with Rudolphus and Rabastan once, but I didn't know they had actually made plans about it. Tom said that Dumbledore wasn't willing to provide them with a suitable training room."
"Of course he would say that." Ron scoffed. "Don't tell me you believe all that?"
"Dumbledore told me himself that he didn't think I should continue my martial arts training," Holly replied as calmly as possible, rather tired of Ron's irascible mood and not fond of remembering how Dumbledore had all but cornered her after Tom had dropped her off at the infirmary. She had been feeling a little under the weather, admittedly, and Dumbledore's persona of benevolent, concerned grandfather had seemed more contrived, more calculated than usual; it felt as if he had been testing her, poking and prodding to discover all her secrets and innermost thoughts, and she had been glad when she had finally managed to slip away.
"How old do our siblings have to be to sign up?" someone from the Ravenclaw table called out.
Tom cast his two Death Eaters a questioning look and Rudolphus cleared his throat. "At least nine years, I'd say, though if anyone younger wishes to join we can certainly discuss the individual case."
"All the information and the sign-up sheets will be posted in your common rooms shortly and if you have any questions, Rudolphus and Rabastan will be happy to answer them," Tom once more spoke up, a note of finality in his words. "And now, I have truly kept you long enough when I'll still have all school year to bore you with my lectures. Off to your common rooms and no dawdling in the hallways past curfew!"
He finished with an easy smirk, sinking back into his chair and reaching for his goblet of wine as the first students started to heed his dismissal, jamming a little around the great double doors before spilling out into the corridor, very few of them even sparing another glance for the headmaster.
Tom met her eyes across the hall, flashed her a grin and raised his goblet to her in a silent toast. No doubt, he was very satisfied with himself.