"Hello, everyone, and welcome to your first day of History of Magic."

Theda scanned the room, making sure to meet the gaze of all seven of her students. Although she was slightly disappointed by the turnout, several students having dropped the class before even attending the first lesson, she was also a little relieved. The fewer students there were, the less emotional input there'd be for her to have to process.

She'd lived alone for nearly 10 years before returning to Hogwarts and no longer had the capacity she once had for being around so many people. During her school years she had eventually gotten used to the emotional toll, and she hoped she'd be able to start building a tolerance once again. For now, seven students would be manageable, and she was grateful.

Smiling, she continued.

"I genuinely hope you all grow to love this subject as much as I do. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you throughout the school year."

The students made no attempt to respond to anything she had said, their eyes glazed over in a blank stare.

"Right, well, I'll start by introducing myself. I'm Professor Desmond. I was born in the United States, in Salem, Massachusetts, to be more specific. I lived there with my grandmother until I was 16. I transferred from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts when I was in my 6th year, and I was sorted into Ravenclaw. For the past 10 years, I've worked mostly as an author, traveling to many countries in order to document different accounts of oral histories throughout the wizarding world. My star sign is Pisces. My favorite animal is a demiguise. My hobbies include collecting old photographs and visiting cemeteries. And, umm... This is the very first class I've ever taught. I guess that about sums it all up. Does anyone have any questions for me?"

None of the students raised their hands.

"Alright then, I'm going to pass out these questionnaires to each of you. Nothing too difficult; I know it's your first week back in the classroom so these questions are more about me getting to know you all than anything else."

She passed out the papers, on which the following questions were written:

1. Who is your favorite witch or wizard from history, and why?
2. If you could travel back in time to witness any historical event, what would it be?
3. Which of the Hogwarts ghosts is your favorite?
4. What's one thing from wizarding history you've always wanted to know more about?
5. If you could possess any of the items from the story of the Three Brothers for a day, which would you choose and why?

"When you've answered all the questions, please come and place your papers on my desk."

After about 10 minutes, one of the students got up and turned in her paper.

"Thank you, miss..." Theda said, searching the paper for a name.

"Constanze. Willow Constanze."

"Thank you, Willow." She said, smiling. "I see you wrote that your favorite witch from history is Phyllida Spore. What made you choose her?"

"She was the greatest herbologist who ever lived. I want to be just like her one day." She said with more enthusiasm than Theda was expecting.

"So herbology is your favorite subject, I take it?" Theda inquired.

"Oh yes, it's been my dream to become a herbologist since I was little."

"Excellent!" Theda replied, excited to finally see a glimmer of passion in one of her students. "Did you know that Phyllida Spore was once the headmistress of Hogwarts?"

"She was!?" Willow replied. "Why have I never heard that before?"

Theda grinned.

"Oh yes, she was one of the best this school has ever seen. If you ever find yourself in the Headmaster's office, take a look around and see if you can find her portrait. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't mind allowing you to chat with her for a few minutes. I assure you, she's quite friendly."

Willow's eyes widened in shock at the prospect of being able to actually talk to her hero.

"You see? There are many interesting things to be learned about the history of this school, and the history of the wizarding world in general. I'll make sure we cover quite a few historical herbologists throughout the school year. How does that sound?"

One by one the students all turned in their papers, and Theda was pleased to see that they'd all provided such thoughtful and interesting answers. This was even better than she'd hoped for, as it seemed like all of the students had the potential to become quite the little amateur historians, with the right guidance.

Theda beamed as the next class filed in, this one with slightly more students than the previous period. They didn't know it yet, but she was going to do her best to find a way to connect with each and every one of them as she had done with Willow.

When Theda entered the Great Hall for dinner that night she was glad to see Severus sitting in his usual seat, hoping she'd finally be able to clear the air in regards to the previous night's events. To her dismay, the second she took her seat he got up and left without so much as a glance in her direction. While Theda could certainly understand why he was being cold towards her, she knew she hadn't done anything to deserve it and wanted to explain herself to him more than anything.

"Ahh, Theda! I wonder if you'd mind accompanying me to my fanclub tonight. Think of it as our first date." Gilderoy declared as he snuck up behind her, placing his hands on the back of her chair.

"Seems the herbaria did an effective job in making him forget the details of last night." She thought to herself.

"No thank you, Gilderoy. I'm not feeling very well." She said, making her exit.

She decided to take a walk down to the dungeons after dinner, knowing Severus would almost certainly be there. She had to at least try to make him listen. Even if he was still angry, even if he banned her from the storeroom for life, she would be able to accept it. The one thing she couldn't accept was the silent treatment.

To her surprise, when she entered the potions classroom he was nowhere in sight. She sighed, accepting that she was not going to be able to clear anything up tonight. She returned to her chambers, changed into her casual clothes, and decided to go for a little stroll along the grounds. She'd been so busy since she arrived that she hadn't had a chance to explore much of the castle until now.

As Theda roamed the grounds aimlessly, she took in the cool night air with much delight. She loved the cold. It was a gentle reminder of the home she'd left behind in New England. Of how her grandma used to rest hot pumpkin pies fresh from the oven on the windowsill to be cooled by the midnight breeze. Of the drafty basement in their Queen Anne-style house where her grandma would teach her simple healing spells on the mice and birds her cat brought in.

She was suddenly roused from this nostalgic walk down memory lane when she heard a high-pitch cackling. It was coming from the direction of the herbology greenhouses, so she decided to get a closer look, making sure her presence was not known.

There, by Greenhouse 3, she saw a group of Hufflepuff girls who must've been in their first or second years. They were approaching a small, elfish-looking creature Theda immediately recognized to be an erkling. She knew erklings were forest-dwelling creatures, so she figured it must have come from the Forbidden Forest. The students, however, seemed completely unaware of what it was, most likely under the impression it was a house elf that had strayed too far from the castle. One thing was clear: the girls were not aware that erklings were known to entrance children with their cackling in order to lure them back into the forest and eat them.

Theda hastened her approach as she saw the girls following the creature toward the edge of the forest. She darted behind a nearby tree as she drew her wand, but before she had the chance to do anything, the erkling was suddenly hoisted into the air by some invisible force, dangling by its ankles.

The girls were so frightened by this sudden action that they ran as fast as they could towards the castle, screaming all the way. Theda looked around for some explanation, straining her eyes, when she saw a dark figure exit the greenhouse. To her surprise, it was Severus, who had apparently been harvesting potion supplies before noticing what was happening just outside.

Theda considered going and speaking to him for a moment but quickly decided against it when she saw the look on his face, clearly infuriated with the girls for being out by the greenhouses this time of night. And for being careless enough to nearly fall into the erkling's trap.