Headmistress Mcgonagall stood before her staffroom while the teachers began to get back to the school in droves that morning. Professor Flitwick had returned from a very long holiday in the Bahamas with a very tired Professor Sprout. The two heads of houses sat on one side of Mcgonagall, Harry and Hermione sat on her other side, Sinestra, Slughorn, Hagrid, Neville, Hooch and Ron were on the other side as she beamed at them all.
"I must admit, I wasn't sure if I could fill all of the needed positions this year, but it seems to have gone far better than I expected." Minerva said and the Hogwarts staff laughed as all of them smiled at one another. "So much has happened, it feels like I've hardly blinked for the past year." She admitted as she sighed.
"Indeed, good lady," Slughorn was the first to speak as she sat to their large, sumptuous meal. "So much madness in your first year, officially as headmistress. Enough to drive anyone mad. Can't tell you how excited I was to see our bright young faces at the professor's table."
Harry could see Slughorn's beaming smile directly into his face and he couldn't help but turn a bit pink. "Can't imagine who you mean." Harry chuckled and there was another bit of laughter.
That was when Professor Trelawney ambled into the staffroom. All of them stopped what they were doing as she walked in. Sybill did not seem to notice any of them, nor did she notice that anything was different as she slowly strode toward one of the big arm chairs near the fireplace and opened the Daily Prophet, scoffing at the first thing she read.
There was a small moment, then Harry spoke up once again. "So, about Professor Granger…" He turned his head toward her as she gave him a scowl for his grin.
"Yes! That's what I'd like to discuss!" Professor Flitwick agreed, his enormous grin toward Hermione, "our most gifted student, now a professor. I couldn't agree more!"
"Hear hear!" Slughorn agreed wholeheartedly through his spaghetti and meatballs.
"Never a finer choice for a professor, I'd say." Hagrid chuckled as he tipped back his bucket-sized goblet of mead. "Have to say I see the next headmistress of Hogwarts, come the years."
Hermione's face had begun to look like a cherry as her hand clamped firmly to her mouth, tears in her eyes as she looked at all of them.
"Yes, welcome, Professor Hermione Jean Granger, Harry James Potter and Neville Longbottom." Professor Mcgonnagall proclaimed as she raised her goblet, along with the rest of them.
"Yes!" Hermione said in a squeaky voice as she looked toward Neville. "Professor Longbottom, you've joined the staff too!"
"Yes, but Hermione, did you really think I'd outshine you on the roster?" Neville chuckled as he drank a good bit of the goblin-made wine.
"Well," she was once again left pink and hot-faced.
"I don't even think I need to say anything at this point." Harry said, causing the entire staff to laugh.
"Well said, my boy." Slughorn pointed his fork toward him. "Now, shall we begin the preparations for our young little guests after such an excellent meal, dear headmistress?" His mouth moved his mustache, which had a small bit of meatball dangling from the left side tip.
"Indeed, Professor Slughorn, but first, we must also decide one other important detail. Since we have three worthy candidates, and I am no longer allowed to show preference toward one single house, I can no longer be head of Gryffindor."
All three sets of their eyes lit up and Harry's eyes shot over to Hermione. Even Neville pointed over to Hermione, while her finger shot toward Harry.
"That's two for Miss Granger." The headmistress said, quite pleased with the outcome.
"It should be Harry." Ron said before shoveling more steak into his mouth. "So that's two for him."
It wasn't long before the entire staff got into the votes. It was actually much closer than any of them could have thought. However, Minerva Mcgonnagal was pleased to hold her hands together before motioning toward Hermione.
"I give you, Professor Hermione Granger, the new head of Gryffindor house!" She proclaimed to thunderous applause! Even Ron whole-heartedly agreed, honestly just choosing Harry on a simple whim.
Flushed to the point of scarlet, Hermione couldn't help but look especially pleased with herself. She finally was able to squeak out a loud enough "thank you" for them to hear, but she immediately clammed up again.
That was when all of them got a good look at Harry wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him. This drew many pursed lips and eyes as wide as doorknobs all around the table. Even Ron seemed like he was needing to get used to the sight of the two of them like that.
"Now," Professor Mcgonagall finally said as she drew everyone's attention once again. "Let us prepare to welcome our new students to a fully fortified and fully functioning school that is prepared to educate them to the greatest extent."
"'Tis going to be a very long winter." Said the dreamy, whimsical voice of Professor Trelawney.
With that, the meal was soon finished, and the staff set off to begin their special welcome.
Hogwarts took on that old glow once again. The candles began to burn and float across the main hall as all four house tables were laid out with silver platters and brass goblets atop their house colored table covers of red/gold, blue/silver, yellow/black and green/silver.
That was when Harry ran into a familiar face, as the brigade of ghosts finally showed themselves and Sir Nicholas floated by. "Harry! So good to see you are safe and well." He stopped near Harry as he walked toward Gryffindor tower. "Congratulations, I hear you obtained a most sacred and coveted position among the professors. Defence Against the Dark Arts is lucky to have one such as yourself. I heard tell of your great deeds in Dumbledore's Army all through the last year."
"Thanks, Sir Nicholas, it's good to see you too. I guess I'm ready for the first official job I've ever had." He said as he viewed one of the paintings on the wall. It was a street corner of an old Victorian wizarding village and all of them were grooming and powdering their noses in preparation for the oncoming class. Sometimes, one of the people in the painting would notice Harry and wave, and he would wave back.
"Ah, Professor Potter," Hermione said as she walked to him and held her hands together in front of her. "We have an appointment with Ron in Hogsmeade Village for tailoring." She said as she almost squealed with delight.
"Oh, right, that." Harry remembered very well the talk of how he dressed in the muggle world and how he dressed in the wizarding world. Anytime he was out of school, it was on with his overly wide, overly used Dudley clothes, because he started to grow into them rather nicely as he grew, though they still needed a belt. Now, however, he didn't have student clothing to wear because he was no longer a student and he was not a muggle.
Hermione had similar problems and it was about time that they both fixed it. If they were to represent Hogwarts, they were going to need to look the part proudly. That wasn't exactly a problem, however, it did present an entire barrage of options available to both of them.
As they entered the shop, there seemed to be a few more people than the three of them had anticipated. There were ten women and around seven kids spanning from primary school to Hogwarts age. Otherwise, there were some random blokes acting like they weren't all that interested, but still staring at his scar, nevertheless.
Harry had to numb away the indignity and the embarrassment of being ambushed on his way to getting some clothes. Hermione stood close to Harry as they all began to titter and beam loudly at the hero of the wizarding world. Ron looked awkwardly over at Harry, because he was also getting some handshakes and some interest. It took about ten minutes of hints and jabs toward the changing room before they got the message, and the three of them were given their own private room.
"Blimey, I just got three names." Ron said, astounded, "did I just sign my first autograph?"
"It loses its appeal very quickly." Harry was attempting to calm his nerves from all of the squealing and the cheering. He supposed he was going to need to get ready for what was to come once he got in front of his former fellow students. The transition from student to teacher was never going to be a smooth one, but Harry had to admit this was rather sudden. Though, a future without Hogwarts seemed far more dismal a prospect. Becoming an Auror could wait. For now, he could live with this.
Once the service tailors came with the robes, Harry was fairly certain there were still more than usual. They showed all three of them different patterns, different colors, and materials. There were winter robes, dress robes and just about every type of hat you could ever ask for.
"I'm sure glad they stopped with the pointed hats after the first year." Ron said as he tossed one that reminded him entirely too much of it. "I don't think I really want a hat. They all remind me of mandrake branches."
"That's half the point, Ron. Mandrakes have been a symbol of witches in many cultures and they have gone on and off in style throughout the ages." She said as she held up her own choice in witch's hat, though, she still didn't seem to want to put it on. "Though, I will admit, growing up around muggles hasn't given this much appeal."
"I think Dumbledore had the right idea," Harry said as he stepped out of the changing room in front of a small crowd of employees, who gasped and clapped. "Though, I think I liked this style better." He had on a dark gray robe, with a red outline bordered around a black vest, red and gold striped tie, white undershirt very reminiscent of his school robes, Gryffindor colors and something of a Victorian feel.
"Harry…" Hermione seemed to grow a bit hot under the collar as she gazed at him. Her eyes told him that she very much approved and was willing to show him her approval at a moment's notice.
"Very nice, mate. Did you get mum's gold watch for your birthday?" Ron asked Harry, who nodded and brought it out an inner pocket from his suit.
"Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about this. How did she afford a custom made pocket watch with my name inscribed on it?" He said as he opened it and showed his name on the face of the clock, the word "Hero" embroidered on the face in gold and a whole other barrage of words charmed into the face that all expressed love and kinship.
"The family got a bit of a bonus after everything," Ron said, a bit pink in the ears at the admission, "mum killed Bellatrix Le Strange, and she was worth a thousand galleons by herself."
This was an immense comfort to Harry. They'd given so much in the fight against Voldemort and if anyone deserved a reward, it was the Weasleys. It looked like Kingsley was already making good use of his stature as Minister of Magic. He needed to remember to send him an especially good Christmas card.
Hermione came out in beautiful, silky red robes with golden outlines around her v-neck blouse. The front was ruffled and showed off a little of her chest, but she seemed to make them stick forward as she walked to him. Her red dress robe let her figure sink into it some, but there were definite curves and he couldn't complain about that.
"You look very handsome, Professor Potter." Hermione seemed to glow as she put her hand on his cheek. Then he pulled away as he seemed to remember something.
"Ah, I forgot the most important part." Harry said as he drew everyone's attention in the room, and emerged with a red top hat, one with a black band around the base above the rim. "Ta-da!" There was applause from the staff and Hermione couldn't stop herself from laughing. The two of them embraced.
The staff tried to act natural and not with the utmost excitement as Harry and Hermione kissed. It was like their Christmas had come early as two legendary wizards who defeated You-know-who expressed deep affection in the middle of their tailor shop. "You even like the hat?" Harry asked, and Hermione hummed her affirmation as they kissed again.
Ron rolled his eyes as they kissed and Harry's new top hat leaned off to the side over his unkempt hair. "Oi, you two ought to–"
Both of them whipped around to scowl at him before he said something that made him into something of a hypocrite, again. His outings with Lavender Brown, God rest her, were something of a historic time in Ron's life.
Ron was in green robes, though, he was bound and determined not to look anything like Slytherin's colors, so he made the border of his robes Gryffindor gold. He didn't wear a hat, but he did have a hood with a point that went downward in the back. The robes were made for flying on a broom, as the middle of the legs were light and flappy and the pants were especially tough and smooth for the broom's finish.
"Well, I mean, alright." Ron conceded the point and started toward the door.
"Wait, Ron!" Harry shouted too late, because the door opened and he was right beside him and the crowd outside and inside the shop exploded with cheers! Photos went off as all three of them started walking out with very forced smiles on their faces.
"I'm going to kill you, Weasley." Hermione said through gritted teeth as she managed not to move her lips.
"Sorry." Ron replied through his own teeth in a loud enough whisper.
Despite the embarrassment, Harry and Hermione decided to get a few pictures together in their new robes. These smiles were genuine and they even kissed. This is where the flashes began to go haywire as all of the cameras in the store went off. Harry was nice enough to doff his hat to them before he moved on through the crowd that thanked them for the photoshoot.
Even Ron seemed to think that he was going to get his own Quidditch card on top of the aforementioned chocolate frog card. He had his broom with him, thinking he could fly it back to Hogwarts with his new robes and his Nimbus 3000. He got a good amount of praise for his new robes and was asked if he fought You-know-who as promise of a match between the Firebolt and the Nimbus 3000 was promised between Harry and Ron as they bumped fists.
The photoshoot turned out to be more fun than they had anticipated. Ron and Harry got a duo photoshoot and all three of them decided to pose like they were going on a book cover or a poster with their wands out. As per their requests, Harry made sure his scar was showing, much to his annoyance.
The crowd parted as they came to Hogsmeade and decided to go out to the Three Broomsticks, where they were met with similar cascades of fanfare and tumultuous cheers. They were assured by the staff, however, that they were given a good VIP room to eat in with no clucking teenagers asking for autographs. They were given the royal feast, which included as much Butterbeer refills as they wanted, free of charge.
Ron shoved his face full of kidney beans, mashed potatoes and sausages while Harry helped himself to some chicken legs and Hermione buttered some toast and began to eat some eggs benedict.
"Where do they have you shacked up?" Harry asked Ron, who had to swallow a generous portion of potatoes before he spoke clearly.
"I found a house in Hogsmeade, since I'm not technically an official professor. They gave me a really good deal. I can't believe I could ever afford twenty galleons a month in my life, but I'll have plenty for Honeydukes!" Ron said, and Harry laughed while Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Please try to keep yourself under four hundred pounds, Ronald." Hermione shook her head, but couldn't hide her smile. "Ready to teach some first years to stay in the air? I do hope you keep them safe."
"Yeah, I've been keeping a certain spell in mind. One that could be quite useful that I learned my first year in Hogwarts." Ron eyed a certain witch, who grew a little pink in the cheeks.
"Don't forget Arresto Momentum is good for long distance falls. It's the spell Dumbledore used when Harry fell in their first Quidditch match of the third year." Hermione explained and her dear lover had been trying to forget such an occasion. Though, his original Quidditch team did win the cup that year. That was a very good day.
"Arresto Momentum…" Ron tried to remember that one.
"Ascendio will put them farther up, though that might be a bit faster than you want." Harry admitted, and Hermione nodded.
"It's not out of the question, though, if you need them to go up for a good reason." She covered a piece of toast in jam, then checked her own watch. "Oh, dear, we may want to pay the tab. We still need to meet Neville by the Shrieking Shack." Hermione said as she saw Harry needlessly check his own gold pocket watch. She rolled her eyes at him but also felt a flare of love from within her chest as she quietly wished to press her head to his chest and listen to his heartbeat.
Aside from the crowds upon crowds of on-looking tourists and parents shopping for their students at the last minute, it was like the old Hogsmeade visits. There were the illegal visits he made and the ones that went terribly wrong, this one was pleasant all around. Neville brought them to his favorite plant shop, giving them useful tips on plants and pretty flowers that doubled as ingredients to potions.
Even Neville seemed to have his own amount of fanfare from the crowd. Apparently, tales of his bravery and gallantry against the dark wizards traveled quite far and wide in the wizarding world. It wasn't long, though, before they needed to head back to the castle. The day was growing older and the train was due in three hours.
oooooOoooOoooOOooo
The decorations done, the staff prepared at their seats and all of the food reaching the final stages of preparation, it was time to welcome a new year of students. This was bound to be their largest year, as many seventh year students would be returning for an extra year to make up for everything that happened the previous.
Sure enough, a great many students arrived, and it even looked like there was an extra cart put on the train for some extra students to fit. It wasn't long before Hagrid was rallying the first year students onto the boats to cross the lake near Hogwarts while the rest were carried by thestrals pulling coaches.
Soon, the entire hall was packed to the brim with students and many people were positively aghast to see Harry Potter sitting at the staff table, wearing a red tophat and smiling down at all of them. It was just a small smile, but with people's reaction, it could have been the beaming sun.
Hermione had her fans as well, as there were fifth year girls who waved to her as they sat at the Ravenclaw table. There was another one heading to Ravenclaw that drew Harry's attention. Luna Lovegood had arrived and she waved at him in her slow, thoughtful and strange demeanor. Both Harry and Hermione waved back at her and nonverbally promised that they would talk.
The great hall was positively aflutter with activity. There were students everywhere and Professor Flitwick was wrangling the students to their tables. The first years also followed him to the middle of the hall, where Professor Sprout brought the ruddy old hat, which had been repaired from burns it recently obtained in the Battle of Hogwarts. It looked little worse for wear, though, and never looked better, considering.
As amazed as the first years were, many of them locked eyes onto the lightning scar on the right side of Harry's forehead. He figured it was inevitable, and he didn't bother covering it. Harry already called enough attention to himself with the top hat.
Everything looked so different from this angle. He'd never sat in the staff table, looking out at the great hall before. The dishes were the same as they were for the students. The only difference between the two arrangements is the place set for the headmistress, which had her podium in front of it.
"What?!" A voice rang out through the hall and Harry's eyes locked with those of Draco Malfoy. He looked older. In fact, he looked like he'd been through the ringer over the past year and the summer wasn't much better.
He gazed at Harry with disgust, astonishment and blazing hot envy all at once. It was obvious that he knew what subject Harry taught and the fact seared its way into his brain in a painful moment of absolute fury!
The red-robed wizard didn't let on that his victory was ever so sweet. Instead, he simply looked nonplussed and gazed back at Draco with the air of no longer being on his level and thus, no longer needing to respond to his petty threats and conceded rubbish.
Hermione caught on and had no problem folding her hands together in front of her and looking upon Malfoy. She simply dared him to do anything, say anything or even think anything bad toward Professor Potter or herself.
After a long moment, as the hall seemed to quiet down quite a bit, the still shaken Draco Malfoy made his way over to the Slytherin table, next to the surviving members of his mates. This included Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Both Crabbe and Goyle died during the Battle of Hogwarts, both of them attempting to kill the trio and ending up killing themselves.
Once the hall finally quieted down, the small teacher unrolled a long scroll from his place on a stool and called out the first name.
"Alcott, Demitri." He called out and a short, pale boy stepped up, being sorted to Hufflepuff. As he hurried on, then came, "Autry, Teresa." Who was quickly sorted to Ravenclaw. When Professor Flitwick called "Deadmoon, Ryan", the boy called upon an image of Ron when he first came to Hogwarts. He was sorted to Gryffindor. "Grayliene, Crow" was sorted to Slytherin, "Hargroom, Alexis" was sorted to Hufflepuff. "Nighttale, Emery" was sorted to Ravenclaw while "Nighttale, Bridgette" and "Swordsinger, Melody" went to Slytherin and "Tomes, Donovan" was sorted to Gryffindor. Then, before the end, there came "Wethervane, Raeyn" who was sorted to Gryffindor.
The applause were brilliant with each student. It was such a relief to see Hogwarts get a new batch of wizards and witches to learn their fair trade in magic. There was an air of tension, however, as the Slytherins continued to glare toward the staff table to see so many faces from Gryffindor among its ranks. All of that red and gold, yet they are left with an overweight potions master who throws parties. Slughorn was said to be passing his subject over to Professor Granger, the mudblood from Gryffindor. To say they felt slighted was something of an understatement.
Headmistress Mcgonagall finally stood at her podium, quieting everyone down as she spoke. "Welcome one and all to another year at Hogwarts. After everything that has happened, I am overjoyed to see all of your young faces here, ready to learn and ready to prosper with your abilities. There is more to say, but as I know your journey has been long, I will make announcements after we have been nourished. So, as a great man once said, tuck in."
She lifted her hands and clapped, causing enormous amounts of food to appear in the plates and jugs filled with pumpkin juice and other assorted drinks. They ate, lavishing in the fact that they were back at Hogwarts and together again, against all odds.
"Did you see Malfoy? I half expected him to challenge me right there." Harry said before stuffing more fish and chips into his mouth.
"He certainly doesn't seem to like the fact that you took the position his former head of house wanted so badly." Hermione said wisely. "Seems you'll have to practice restraint with your authority as a professor where he is concerned."
"If I were a fair man." Harry's devious grin crept over his face.
"Well, it's a good thing that you are the man I love. I wouldn't expect anything less. Just remember what happened the last time you two dueled one on one in Hogwarts." She recalled a very divisive memory in Harry. Part of him relished in his overall defeat of the scaly worm, but he had a pang of guilt at having used a spell he was unfamiliar with. It was a spell that was far more dangerous than he had anticipated and it nearly killed Draco.
"I'm older and wiser." Harry assured her, as if there were any further need to prove he was superior to Malfoy in every sense. His final victory would be a humble acceptance of it and this made Harry grin into his potatoes.
"Is that so, Professor Potter? I suppose that means you could possibly pass Draco by the end of the semester?" She eyed him closely, as if x-raying him.
"If he masters nonverbal spells and doesn't bully other students, I can give him a fair chance." Harry said with a professional tone that surprised Hermione. "But if he starts calling me St. Potter, I'm deducting points from Slytherin." Harry said before starting on a treacle tart as dessert appeared after dinner was finished.
"Well, if he calls me mudblood, I'll make him drink the day's assigned potion." Hermione said in a highly unprofessional tone that made Harry's eyebrows disappear under his bangs. "Yes, I can be petty, especially after everything he put us through."
Seems how Hermione narrowly dodged a killing curse in their last encounter with Malfoy, Harry could hardly blame her malice toward him. Still, the odds were stacked against him now that they were both professors and Hermione was head of Gryffindor. The fact still needed to nest in his brain properly.
After just a moment, Hermione put a small bit of pudding in her mouth before looking toward him. Harry caught this look and blinked toward her before she looked down and grinned into the dessert plate.
"Seems your robes and position are quite attractive to some others." Hermione said, looking over toward Pansy Parkinson, who was having a heated conversation with Malfoy, who was often motioning toward the staff table. "I've heard she has a thing for the student/teacher dynamic."
"Really, and here I was aiming to catch someone else's eye with my position." Harry smiled at her as she blushed a bright pink in her cheeks.
"Well, not that you needed it but…" It was obvious that she wanted to reach toward his lower region under the table. She was interrupted, though, as she looked over toward the headmistress.
"There, that is much better. As we digest and prepare for our dormitory beds, I would like to introduce our new Hogwarts staff, some of which I'm certain many of you recognize." She motioned toward Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, who all gave half-hearted smiles and waved as three of the four tables gave a very loud cheer, Gryffindor's was deafening as all of the students not first years got to their feet and shot their fists up in their rapture.
"Yes," Minerva said once the mirth finally died down, "our new staff are fully prepared. Professor Neville Longbottom," she paused as the Gryffindor table gave a loud reverb at the mention of one of their great defenders. "Will be teaching herbology alongside Professor Sprout. Professor Hermione Granger," there was another explosion as the great hall erupted into cheers of ecstacy, "will be teaching potions alongside Professor Slughorn. Miss Granger also has the honor of being pronounced our new head of Gryffindor house." Before she even finished, there were howls, hollers, hoots as the Gryffindor table broke into celebration.
Hermione stood and waved her hand toward them. Much like her robes, her face was scarlett as she looked upon her house with such embarrassment but a huge swelling pride.
"And finally," the hall went dead quiet as all onlookers turned to the other new face at the professor's table. "Our staff is excited to welcome a very talented, brave young man who needs little introduction. He is the new professor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry James Potter."
There was an impenetrable wall of sound then. All tables, even a good number at the Slytherin table began to holler at the top of their lungs. Even Mcgonagall was taken aback by such a reception. Harry's lips pursed and he eyed a very tearful Hermione. So much welcome to their new job. It was more than she could have ever wanted and this time, she did reach over and take Harry's hand in a tight grip. He smiled toward her. It was clear that he liked the reception he got, but his smile told him that she was far better a reward for everything.
"Yes, well," the headmistress fixed her hat and spectacles. "Classes begin tomorrow. Make sure you report to breakfast so that you may be handed your class schedules."
There was a slight pause. "Also, if you would like to join the Portrait Paint Club to help Professor Mizar with the school's artwork refurbishment, please see Professor Mizar in the second floor art room." She announced before smiling at all of them warmly. "Remember to obey the rules and strive for the house cup at the end of the year. For now, though, head boys and head girls, take your prefects and see these students to bed. Good night and good luck."
With that, the students began to exit the hall slowly. There were several voices calling for first year students and it was clear that many of them were gazing toward the staff table and getting earfuls of tales of Harry Potter and his merry band of wizards.
As he rose, there came a familiar voice. "Hello, Harry, it's good to see you're doing well." He looked to see Luna Lovegood standing next to the staff table and gazing at him with those large, blue eyes. "I like the color red, but your robes are awfully dark." She said in that normal, honest tone that he knew her so well for.
"Yeah, I wanted to go with vaguely Gryffindor colors." Harry admitted, smiling and taking her hand in both of his. "Hello, Luna, so good to see you."
"I have to retake my sixth year because they kidnapped me and held me in a dungeon." His eyes flicked to Hermione, who returned the look.
"Yes, well, it's good that you can retake it." Harry smiled at her as she gave him a dreamy smile back.
"I thought you would need to retake your last year too, but it looks like you'll never need to if they've already given you a teaching job." She smiled at him, obviously proud of everything he'd achieved. "Well, I'm tired and it's late." Luna said in a little bit of a strange show of normal logic.
That was when Harry noticed that he had a bit of a crowd gathered to come talk to him. Many students gathered at the foot of the staff table, but were all held back by increasingly irritated head boys.
Harry waved to all of them, tipped his hat, and took Hermione's hand before they exited to the sounds of dismal disappointment.
ooooOoooOooOOoooo
Their room was very warm, thanks to a fireplace full of wood set up by the house elves and the night sky was absolutely chocked full of stars. Hermione tried to get to her desk, where her very full teacher's textbook lay on the top. Before she could grab hold of it, though, Harry's hand took hers and pulled her into him.
Next thing Hermione knew, she was against the stone wall of their room. Harry gently pushed her against it and pressed his lips to hers. She looked at him, trying not to seem too needy but doing a very bad job as her desires were etched very readily across her face.
"My first class is at eight in the morning." Hermione reminded him and he nodded knowingly.
"Mine is too." He said before kissing her lips once again. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt his lips rub against hers and even a little of his tongue slide against hers.
The witch with the curly hair that threatened to grow wilder suddenly felt her knees buckle as her breath was lost to this wizard who laid claim over her. She gave it willingly, of course. There was no denying that she had already bore herself to him and he pulled her into his realm. Now, this strange wizard was caressing her in places she'd never allowed anyone before. She felt Harry's hand trace his thumb over her jaw, over her cheek to her lips.
Hermione's eyes met his through those round spectacles and they were so beautiful in the fire light. His thoughts mirrored hers completely as her eyes came into sharp focus.
"Oh, Harry… there's so much I need to read ov–" She was interrupted as she moaned into a passionate kiss. For someone with something to do, she poured everything into that kiss and seemed reluctant to let it end. Her hands even went to the back of his neck as she pulled him closer. Her lips kissed furiously against his as the brilliant former student reached into his robes and felt his bare chest underneath his white button-up shirt.
Her breasts, however, were without support. He cupped them and felt her very pointed nipples beneath her robes as she gasped and looked deep into his eyes.
"Professor Potter, I thought we were going to have a professional rela–"
"Well, you were wrong, then, weren't you?" Harry grinned and caressed her tits as his lips rubbed passionately against hers. It was as if they were making up for seven years of making the wrong decisions. They were friends when Hermione should have been sneaking into his dorm at night.
Their robes came off but she made him keep the top hat on as she got on her knees in front of him. "Oh, Professor Potter, what will the students think?"
"They'll think I'm the luckiest man on Earth, and I'm going to drink in their jealousy." Harry admitted as she began to suck all the way down to half of his shaft. Then, her breath caught as she slowly began to slide him back and forth in her mouth. Her eyes closed and her hand went down to his scrotum, feeling his balls with her thumb and forefinger. "Hermione, your mouth…"
She hummed her affirmation. Knowing full well what her mouth felt like against his shaft, she couldn't help but love the feeling of his smooth skin against her tongue and the roof of her mouth. Thanks to a joking riff from Pansy Parkinson, Hermione knew not to use her teeth. Thanks to that skank, she could please Harry even more. Perhaps, now that she would possibly be in her class, she may thank her.
Then, there came a point where Harry could no longer take the sensation of her mouth alone. She lied upon the bed and allowed her body to become his play toy. He licked, kissed and caressed her entire body with everything he had and she looked down at him with increasing intensity.
"Harry, that's too sensit–OH!" His tongue lunged directly into her buds between her legs and she grasped handfuls of the sheets beneath her. If it was too much for her, she did not give the impression. Instead, she pulled his head tighter against her sex and moved her hips with his lips and tongue. Hermione was barely holding herself together.
His sudden stop nearly made her spasm. She gave a great cry of incredulity and glared at him as he got on top of her. Her face told him he was in trouble, only faltering when she saw him position himself with his very hard member against her pussylips. Hermione looked down at his long cock with the air of a queen expecting immediate gratification from her disobedient servant.
Her face faltered into a pinched expression as he started rubbing the front of his shaft against her inner labia. Her clitoris buzzed, her hole ached and drooled all over his member.
"Harry," she grew more agitated and spoke through her teeth, "I said I want green eyed, messy-haired babies and I haven't changed my mind." She spoke directly against his face. Her lips moved against his and he kissed her when she was done talking. She pulled from the kiss suddenly, glaring at him. "Don't change the subject!"
Then he complied. Sliding deep into her, making her feel every bit of texture. The smooth surface of his erection made her tunnel feel every single inch. He pressed tight against her, making her gasp at the sensation of his head pressing against her cervix.
"You want a daughter first?" He whispered to her and she nodded excitedly as she moaned. He had begun sliding slowly in and out of her tight sheath.
"Yes! I want a baby girl first. Aim for a girl." She said breathlessly, knowing full well that wasn't how it worked.
It didn't matter, though, he began pushing back and forth inside her and that was all she could think about. He started humping her harder and she couldn't keep her voice down. Her face buried into his shoulder as her hands gripped his back. Sweat poured from her brow and their fluids swapped within her as his cock became wet with his precum and her juices.
"Harry! Give me all of it! Make me pregnant!" She screwed her eyes shut as he slapped his pelvis against hers and she reached the peak octave as she came! She gripped him like a vise but he pushed against her anyway, causing her to scream as she splashed his cock and balls.
Then she felt him. It was as if a thick gravy had begun to pour between her legs. Her senses were overwhelmed and she clung to him for dear life as he kept draining into her.
"S-so good…" She whispered to Harry before kissing him.
They were a gasping, sweating mess on top of the sheets. They allowed the fire to die down, aiming to cool themselves in the night air as the moon showed clear through their window.
"You're such an ass." Hermione said, her body still hot and sweaty above the covers, but her breath evening out. "My first day of class and you interrupted my preparations."
"I beg to differ. I think I improved upon your preparations rather nicely." Harry grinned toward her. She'd just realized his top hat fell off his head mid coitus and was now lying near the bed on the floor. "You were doing that thing again."
"What thing?" Her voice had a slight edge of indignation.
"That thing where you don't leave the library for hours at a time, you barely eat and you miss the fact that you've already finished preparing a week ago. Your compulsion took over." Harry said, all the while, her eyes progressively widened while her lips tightened more and more into a line. The way she tried to counter his argument was absolutely adorable.
"Well, you…" Hermione cleared her throat. "You can never be too…"
"Oh, dearest love, yes, you can over prepare. You're preparing a Christmas feast for a tiny church gathering. I think first year students will be impressed with your potion making. Just keep a clear head and make sure none of the students have a book that's written on."
He chuckled as she slapped his arm with a brisk pat. "Silly boy." She said sweetly.
oooooOooOoooOOOooo
Morning started earlier than he would have liked. Hermione was about as warm and loving as she could be, but she was also busy getting on some beautiful magenta robes in a rush.
"Don't forget the homework assignments will be heavy in the next few weeks. Don't overwork them." Hermione said as she gussied her eyes a bit with a very light lipstick that only accented her natural color. Her fair skin and her beautiful, bushy hair gave him pause as he stood outside the bathroom, getting on his own emerald robes. They were short and went over a dark red tie and a white dress shirt.
She looked at his reflection through the mirror, inquiring. He smiled and shook his head.
"You just look lovely." He admitted with a shrug and she turned to him with a bashful smile. Even after they'd made love everyday for the past month, she still found herself going pink at his compliments.
They met in a kiss before putting on their game faces and going to the great hall for breakfast.
"Anyone we know dead?" Ron asked, his Nimbus 3000 broom leaned against the table beside him, in full Quidditch gear. He had a stack of bacon and toast he was buttering and making into sandwiches.
"Oh, Ron, of all the things we can leave behind, that question is definitely one of them." Hermione said distractedly as she folded the Daily Prophet in half and continued to read.
"So, are they?" Harry asked before eating another spoonful of porridge. Hermione sighed and shook her head at the both of them before doing a double take so fast, it drew both of their attention. "Oh my! As the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt settles into his office, he passed sentence on Dolores Umbridge."
All eyes locked on Hermione as she beamed and continued as both men nonverbally begged her to do so.
"She was sent to Azkaban for crimes against muggle-borns over four months ago, and was finally convicted yesterday, sentenced to life in prison with no chance of appeal." Hermione's eyes went wide and both men couldn't attempt to hide their looks of victory.
"So closes the story of that old bat." Ron said with no hint of sympathy. "I hope they make her relive the centaurs kidnapping her over and over again. That'll learn her one."
"I'd like to disagree on principle… but…" Hermione looked as if she swallowed something nasty.
"Kind of hard when I find myself scratching the back of my scarred hand." Harry said, feeling so smug, he could dangle his teaching position in her face while she was sucked dry by the newly reinstated dementors. "Still, like you said, that's the book closed on that old tart and we have Kingsley to thank."
"Yeah," Ron chuckled as he got up, pulling his broom over his shoulder. "Remind me to send him a good smoked mead for his birthday." He said as they also began to rise from their seats.
"Right, see you two after class. I want a full report of everything that happened on our first day." Hermione's excitement was palpable as she dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter.
"Good luck, both of you." Harry waved to them both before they heard Mcgonagall and Neville from down the table.
"Yes, all of you, have a good school year and remember, my favorite candy is liquorice wands." Mcgonagall said, and all of them understood.
Harry was in the hallway, walking through the students hustling through. Many greetings, startled hellos and students staring at his scar as he walked down the halls in his short green robes that resembled the size and shape of his school uniform.
He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but as he got to his classroom, he found that the queue was either already full of his entire class or had people who didn't belong in it. Since many of the queue looked far older than eleven, he figured it was the latter.
"Hello," Harry said and every smiling, beaming face went quiet as they listened intently. "If you are not in my first class, sorry, but you need to either go to your own class or common room." Harry explained, causing several crestfallen faces as he turned toward his classroom, not inviting any argument or negotiation as he ushered the first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws into his classroom.
To his delight, they made their way into his classroom with equal amounts of glee and determination not to make idiots of themselves.
Harry took the liberty of decorating the room much like Lupin's style if Dumbledore had come and made a few suggestions. There were sneakerscopes, secrecy sensors, foe glasses, small pictures of hexes and curses along their their names. Harry put up wanted posters of known and dangerous death eaters, though he made sure all of them were confirmed dead: Bellatrix Lestrange, Avery, Dolohov, Fenrir Greyback and, of course, Lord Voldemort.
There were diagrams showing the full moon cycles and a tank containing a Grindylow with its long fingers and green fangs as it made faces at any student who looked at it.
The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first years were in their seats in no time. A dark skinned girl with long, raven hair gazed up at him with an eager expression, as did the blonde boy beside her. He had short, straight hair and a prominent button nose. Despite one being from Ravenclaw and the boy named Ryan being from Gryffindor, they seemed to sit next to each other quite readily. Harry saw no problem with this.
"Good morning, class." Harry said and he was met with a spirited "Good morning, Professor Potter!"
He blinked, taken aback. "That's quite the energy level, I approve. As you may or may not have heard, I'm Professor Harry James Potter and I will be teaching you how to defend yourselves against people and/or creatures who mean to harm you by use of dark magic."
That's when he noticed that all of their beaming, smiling faces had not changed, nor did their eyes leave him. The tension in the air was palpable. Harry sighed, sitting on the edge of his desk and looking at all of them.
"Alright, fine. Who has questions?" Harry asked, and of course, all hands went up. He motioned for them to drop as he chortled. "Yeah, I had a feeling. Alright, well, it's time for role. I'll call your name and, by all means, I grant you one question that I will answer, within reason." Then he looked at the first of the register.
"Teresa Autry." He called and she waved from the middle of the class.
"Hi, Mr. Potter! Is it true you're muggle-born?" Teresa asked and he blinked.
"No, I'm half-blood. I was raised by muggles, though." Harry answered in such a matter-of-fact tone that many gawked at him. "Ryan Deadmoon." He read off the roster.
The boy in the front middle between a blonde boy and the dark skin girl raised his hand for a moment. "Is it true you killed a dragon?"
"No, I got past one and stole an egg from it. It was for the tri-wizard tournament three years ago." He surprised himself then, talking about an event that nearly traumatized him as if it were just a random event in some odd year. There were bursts of questions then, asking him if he was really serious.
"A dragon?!" A portly Ravenclaw boy ejaculated and Harry looked at him with a bemused smile. He began to flush, looking apologetic.
"Yes, a dragon." Harry confirmed before looking at the role again. "Um, Nighttale, Emery." He called and the smaller, skinny dark skin girl raised her hand.
"Yes, hello, sir. I'm Emery Nighttale, it's exciting to finally meet you. I've read so much about you in Dark Wizards of the Ages and History of Magic 6th Edition." She spoke at the speed hummingbirds flapped and somehow lapped Harry's hearing. It took a moment for him to catch up.
"Yes, well, that's nice. I'm sure those books have lots of good things to say. There was a question somewhere?" Harry's smile widened as her eyes widened and her embarrassment was obvious.
"Yes, well, I was wondering if the rumors about you and Professor Granger are true?" Emery's embarrassed smile intensified.
"Yes, there's even talk of marriage. Next, we have…" There were gasps and even someone in the back who squealed with delight at the gossip. "Tomes, Donovan."
"Aye, yessir," he spoke in an Irish accent that would give Seamus pause. "Was wondering if you really did use expelliarmus to defeat you-know-who?" Donovan asked and Harry's brows rose at the very direct question.
"Strangely enough, yes. And it worked." Harry looked over the register once again to see one name remaining. The kids were now feeling as if all of their birthdays and Christmases had come all at once. It was surreal seeing one of the wizarding world's biggest heroes standing in front of them telling them the real story of how it all happened. "Raeyn Whethervane."
A little witch with curly dirty blonde hair raised her hand behind Donovan and she did not speak. Harry looked at her, waiting for a moment.
"Did you have a question?" He asked and her face went very pink as she shook her head. Then her head dipped more as her face turned beet red, almost purple.
Harry got up from his desk and walked over to her, leaning down some. He held his ear closer to her and she gazed at him as if he were about to chastise her.
"Don't be shy. I don't bite, despite claims." Harry said, receiving a little chuckle from the class.
She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, nearly inaudible, "Do you really love Miss Granger?"
Harry let out a loud laugh which startled the entire classroom as it echoed through its hallowed walls. Raeyn was especially taken aback by his bark of a laugh. "Yes! Yes, I do, very much so. Thank you for asking." He winked at her as he walked to the front of the classroom once again and she suddenly plunged her face into her arms, muffling a squealing, giggling fit. She was immediately hounded by every student around her, asking her furiously what her question was.
"Alright, class, put away your books, you will not be needing them today. Thank you for getting them, I know they're expensive, so I got you a good one." Harry put his hands in his pockets and looking around the class. "Now, who can tell me what a dark wizard looks like?"
The question brought a halt to the questions encircling Raeyn as all of them looked toward him. Eight hands went straight into the air, followed by three more. He pointed toward Emery, "Yes, Miss Nighttale." He made sure to keep the list near him so he could at least attempt to keep names and faces straight.
"The question on their appearance is rather null and void as a collective of the community and society. Having been raised among what we would consider normal wizards and sometimes, even muggles, their dress, attire and bodies would not differ from any of us. Though, some have been known to dress all in black, carry dark objects and talismans or even clad with weapons. While this does constitute a fair assessment of some, it is not always the case." Emery said, and Harry was almost certain she did not draw breath for the entire paragraph she just cracked off. There was a deafening silence in the room as every eye was suddenly on the girl, even the two boys sitting beside her.
"Well, how about we go with, say, ten points to Ravenclaw?" Harry asked but was fairly certain. Realizing he had just given his first points to a house that was not Gryffindor, he felt sure that Hermione would be rather proud that he did not show favorites. "Yes, that is correct, and quite thorough, actually. I have seen, for a fact, that witches and wizards that practice the dark arts can look like anyone in this room, in fact. They can look exactly like you if they simply have a lock of hair or a piece of skin. Who knows what I refer to?"
This time, only two hands were raised. One was Emery once again, but Harry looked at the other. "Yes, Mr. Deadmoon, I believe?"
"Yes, sir, I think you're talking about polyjuice potion." Ryan said and Harry was genuinely impressed. "My older brother got a lock of my hair while I was asleep." Suddenly, Harry stopped everything he was about to say. "He impersonated me in front of my dad and told him I didn't want to go to my friend's party. Instead, I wanted to stay home and study for Hogwarts."
"What?" Harry was quite astonished.
"Yeah, it was retaliation. I turned his blanket into a giant gelatine mold while he was asleep in it." Ryan admitted, and the class went ballistic with laughter.
"You what?!" Harry joined in on the laughter. The only ones who weren't laughing were Emery and Raeyn, both of whom looked thoroughly mortified. After a few moments, though, Harry calmed them down with a few waves of his hands as he was still smiling. "Alright, not a bad start, if I do say so myself. Very nice. That's ten points to Gryffindor, my dear house."
Ryan looked rather pleased with himself. That was, however, until he met the gaze of Emery beside him, who scowled at him for taking her rightful answer and house points.
"So, yes, a dark wizard, death eater or snatcher can look like literally anyone and everyone. You never truly know until you have the evidence you need. This can come in many forms. When I was in a muggle diner, I was laying low after a death eater raid." All eyes in the classroom suddenly widened and many jaws dropped. There were whispers asking whether he was serious or not. "Two of them showed up and walked to the front, shoulder to shoulder. Both of them were dressed as muggle construction workers. The only reason I noticed they were death eaters is because they both drew their wands faster than any muggles."
There were gasps in the classroom as the first years held onto every word. He regaled them with the tale of how he cast his stunning spell and Professor Granger cast her full-body bind charm. The students kept their jaws gaped open as he spoke, and his face felt a little hot at all of the looks of astonishment.
"Look, I know it all sounds glamorous and amazing. Yes, I get it all sounds like a lot of fun, but I am going to be the first one to tell you that it is not. I got lucky." He said, his face a little more grave than he had intended. "I was under an invisibility cloak, and that is the only reason they did not know to hit me with a hex. One wrong move, one missed step and it could have been all over for me. That's the difference." Harry got up and started to pace the classroom as they all followed him with their gazes. "Throughout this class, I will be happy to answer your questions, so long as they do not dig too deep into my private life and so long as you tell the story correctly to your friends and family. Don't bother telling me you'll do that last one, I know some of you won't." He received a bit of laughter. "However, at no point will I tell you that fighting on battlefields is full of glory and dueling a dark wizard is cool and action packed. None of these things are true. There were moments where I felt the worst pain in my life and there were moments that will haunt me until my dying days. Dear students, I will never wish any of this on you, especially when you are so young. I didn't break rules to be edgy and I didn't participate in the tri-wizard tournament for attention. I did it because lives were at stake and there was very little to no choice in the matter. I have my scars, one in particular that people relentlessly stare at." He paused, giving them all a warm smile of mild humor. "But not all of them you can see. So bare with me if I do not wish to answer certain questions, particularly ones pertaining to You-know-who. I do appreciate all of you withholding those questions, for the most part."
Harry shot Donovan a grin as he passed him, even patting him on the shoulder. This made him go pink and beam up at him as he went.
"The point I want to relay to you is that these wizards can come out of nowhere and you need to know what to do when you see one or hear that one is nearby." Harry said and he pulled out his wand, bringing up the projector, which brought up a picture of a woman. "This is Vinda Rosier. While she does dress a bit darkly, she definitely doesn't look like someone we can assume is a dark wizard. She was Gellert Grindelwald's most devoted follower and killed in his name without question."
"Sir," he heard a boy ask with his hand up.
"Uuhhh yes, Mr. Tomes."
"Can a death eater still exist, even without You-know-who?" Donovan asked, and there were several students that looked rather perplexed by this.
"You know, that's a rather good question. I don't think so. Lord Voldemort– oh get used to that name, there will be no fear of it here– was obsessed with becoming immortal. So much so, that he was willing to mutilate his own body and soul to, as he claimed, 'conquer death'. He didn't, obviously, but I had quite a time proving him wrong. I think, now that we know they can't eat death, they'll just go back to being called dark wizards."
The room went absolutely still. He'd said it. Part of him thought someone had cast a time freeze charm, because not a single muscle was moved. Half of them couldn't believe he just talked about killing He-who-must-not-be-named, the other half thought that if they moved, they may distract him and stop him from elaborating. Harry caught onto this rather quickly and gave a bit of a grim smile.
"Okay, how about we make a deal?" He leaned against his desk once again and smiled brightly at all of them. They were very ready to make a deal. "If all of you pass this course, including the end of the year test, I will tell you all I am comfortable with telling about that little… event."
The words "little event" earned him a very large laugh from a good few of them, but mostly they began to give cries of "yes" and "please". They gave him promises of good grades, candy and Quidditch tickets.
"Now, I can't be bought with chocolate frogs, but you're welcome to try." He smiled at the lot of them and walked over to the projector once again and switched it. "Alright, so, one way that many have gone about finding who a dark wizard or death eater is, is by marks such as the dark mark. It's this one here with the skull and the snake. There are also many with hex and curse scars on their bodies, which is not always true, of course. You may think I'm talking about myself, but there was a very old and experienced Auror who was nothing but scars named Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Half his nose was blasted off, his leg and one eye were both fake. Hence the name. He was a great Auror who taught me a lot about defense and vigilance in and out of the field."
"Did ya really meet Mad-Eye Moody?" One student asked from the class and Harry nodded.
"Yes, I fought with him more than once." Harry said, trying hard not to think about the fact that Moody died defending him and getting him to a safe place. That painful memory also brought the same for Hedwig, his first owl.
"Merlin's beard!" A Gryffindor boy who Harry knew was either Keifer Lowpetal or Terri Wall, those two looked a little too similar with their sandy blonde hair and mild looks. "Is there anything you haven't done?"
"Like I said, it all sounds great on paper. Sometimes I fell into things and had to fight my way out, sometimes I happen to cast the right hex at the right time. It was all instinct and I wouldn't recommend it." Harry reasoned once again, only to hear another voice.
"But you flew on a phoenix!" This drew more gasps and exasperations.
"Oh, bloody hell." Harry muttered under his breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn't pretend this all caught him unaware.
He assigned a very short, optional essay, eight inches of parchment on the dark creatures or particular dark wizard they would like to learn about in this class.
For his third year class, he began lessons on boggarts, dementors, hinkypunks and lethifolds. Mysterious creatures and their various forms that often lack legs will be the theme for that year.
After the second year class and a ten inch essay on charms and jinxes to defend against dark creatures of little corporeal substance, Harry was off to the staff table at lunch.
The entire school was abuzz with Defence Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was passing around the story of Harry's fight against death eaters disguised as muggles, his battle against an army of dementors and the second year students' claim that he performed a perfect patronus charm right in front of them.
Even after only two classes, with two more double classes after lunch, Harry was quickly becoming a celebrity all over again. If it wasn't already loud enough, his presence increased the crowd's volume a few more pegs and he heard a certain voice above all of them.
"Harry," he heard Professor Granger say before he looked to see a very strained, very forced smile across her face as she pulled out the chair beside her. "Have a seat! Let's chat!"
"Hello, dearest heart of mine." Harry couldn't help but grin at her face faltering into a pinch for a second. "How were your classes?"
"They were alright, aside from the fact that half my first class was first year Slytherins. I showed them that I was not to be tampered with, though." Hermione explained and Harry beamed at her.
"Brilliant! I hope I can sit in on one of your classes." Harry asked and she continued as if he hadn't said anything.
"Then the first year Gryffindor class came in," and Harry immediately knew where this was going, "and a cute orange haired girl named Raeyn asked if she could get an invitation to my wedding with my dearest love, Harry Potter!"
Harry tried with all his might to keep a straight face, but that was a losing battle. "So, did you tell her November sounded good? I was wanting a bit of snow on the ground."
"Oh, no, I wanted autumn at the very least. Perhaps October?" Hermione offered, and Harry played along.
"October is a wonderful month. When do we tell your parents?" Harry asked, and Hermione started thinking of a good date before her face suddenly went limp and her jaw went slack.
"Wait, what did you say? What are we talking about?" Her mind and her heart rate were going at speeds reserved for celestial bodies.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted all the sudden, causing her eyes to go as wide as galleons and lean back very slightly. The silence in the hall was deafening as all eyes suddenly turned to the staff table. Even Professor Mcgonagall turned to look down the staff table over her copy of the Daily Prophet.
Harry's hands wrapped around hers and held them both in front of him. Her hands and arms were limp as she stared at him with the air of someone who witnessed an especially beautiful, heavenly light. Stunned, thinking she knew where this was going, tears collected in her eyes.
"Will you marry me?" He asked, and the collective breath of the crowd drew in as Minerva dropped her newspaper.