Disclaimer: Ain't mine…just Bill and Leigh…and a secret character coming soon…
Chapter 6
"Okay, everybody! Please take your seats!"
The students moved about to their seats, talking loudly as they went.
Leigh sighed, then yelled, "Let me try this again….please take your seats quietly!"
An abrupt silence came over the students as they quickly scuttled to their seats.
"Much better, thank you. All right. Welcome to your 7th year N.E.W.T. Potions class! I am Professor Collins, none of you know me, but that's all right, I'm sure you will by the end of the year. Most of you will either love me or hate me or perhaps even both…but I can pretty much guarantee that there's no in-between with me. As you are all teenagers, I'm sure you're just dying to know more about me.
The students laughed a little as she continued.
"My name is Leigh Ann. I'm," she gasped for suspense, "34 years old which, in case some of you can't count, is twice as old as the majority of you. I attended Hogwarts when I was younger and I was the Head Girl in my 7th year. Potions was my best and favorite subject, in spite of the fact that my teacher was a slimy git, and so I pursued a career along those lines.
"I started off as an intern at St. Mungo's Hospital along with my friend Shawn, whom I later married. A few months after we married, he was diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of Wizarding Cancer.
"As a result, I branched out and created my own research corporation, the Shawn Collins Foundation, or S.C.F., which focused on finding a cure. Unfortunately, we were not able to find one fast enough to save my husband, but several years later we had a breakthrough which eventually led to the cure.
"S.C.F. is doing quite well, but I resigned from my job because I found that it was very stressful and prevented me from spending a lot of time with my son. I took the job here in order to be close to him, he's just starting his first year here. Any questions?"
"How long were you married?"
"Just under two years."
"Was he still alive when your son was born?"
"No, he passed away a month beforehand."
"Do you miss him?"
She smiled softly, "Every day." The class remained silent so she asked, "Any others?" No one replied so she talked about what they would be doing in class.
"I'm not gonna lie to you guys, this class is hard…for some of you, this class may even suck. The potions we will be making are very powerful, extremely complex, and highly dangerous. But that's not to say that we won't have fun. Several of the potions, if done correctly, could be very comical."
A hand arose, and Ron asked, "How so?"
She smirked, "I guess you'll just have to find out."
Ron grinned sheepishly and tilted his head to the side a bit.
"Oh, and before I forget…the poem on the blackboard will more than likely become your motto as the year goes on. The poem was written as follows:
Now I lay me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord I will not flunk.
But if I do, don't pity me at all,
Just lay my bones in the dorm hall.
Tell my prof I did my best,
Then pile my books upon my chest.
Now I lay me down to rest,
And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I'll have to take!
As the class read it, they laughed. Professor Collins smiled and then concluded, "Well, that's all I have planned for today so I guess you get to be released early!"
A cheer rang out through the students and they stood up, grabbing their things.
"And tomorrow," she yelled, "the real work begins!"
The class groaned as they walked out the door. Harry and Hermione, however, approached the professor.
"Professor Collins? I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter."
At Harry's name, Leigh reacted a bit, but attempted to look normal.
Hermione reached out to shake the professor's hand, "We're the Heads this year, Professor Dumbledore asked us to introduce ourselves to you."
"Oh, yes, thank you."
Harry said, "If you ever need anything, we'd be more than happy to help you."
"Thank you, I appreciate that."
Hermione asked, "Have you met Professor Buck yet?"
Leigh paused, inhaled sharply and then said, "Yes, I know him." Or at least I thought I did, she thought to herself.
"Oh, good! How did you meet him?"
"He….escorted me last night," Leigh replied, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Oh, I see. I think you'll like him…he's a really great guy."
He was, Leigh thought, but she simply said, "I'm sure he is."
Harry seemed to sense Professor Collin's unspoken discomfort on the subject so he softly tapped Hermione's shoulder and said, "Speaking of Bill…we don't want to miss his first class."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Potions room was empty save for Leigh, who was sitting at her desk perusing some paperwork when Bill hesitantly walked into the room. Leigh didn't notice him, as she was completely absorbed in her work, until he strode up to her desk and cleared his throat. Leigh raised her eyebrows to the man standing in front of her. Her eyes contained a hint of sadness until a wave of forced hardness came over them.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I wanted to apologize."
Leigh placed the papers she was holding onto the desk, folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, her cold gaze never leaving Bill's eyes. "You're insane if you think that saying you're sorry is going to help anything."
Bill's eyes closed as his guilt of what he had done resurfaced. "You have to know that I never wanted to hurt you."
"That's bull!" Leigh shot back at him.
"No, it's not."
"Look, whatever," Leigh stood up. "The fact is that you did."
Bill inhaled sharply and looked down to the floor. "I know I did…and believe me, I hate myself for it."
"Well, guess what? So do I." Leigh said, looking directly at him as her voice cracked a little despite herself. "Now get out of my classroom."
"Leigh, please…let me explain…"
"Go."
Bill sighed, defeated once more, and he turned to leave the room. When he reached the door, he turned and said, "I'm really sorry, Leigh."
Leigh stood there staring at the door Bill just crossed through as conflicting emotions threatened to drive her mad.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The class sat in their seats anxiously waiting for the arrival of their new DADA professor who, as it seemed, was late. The sound of the door slamming startled the class, as did the man who walked to the front of the room with a grim look on his face. He walked to his desk, dropped a pile of papers onto it and turned to face the class. He stared fiercely into the eyes of every student in the room…all of whom, save three, looked back at him terrified.
He spoke, "Lesson one…the look you see on my face now is nothing compared to the one you'll see on someone who not only wants to kill you, but will…try. So prepare yourselves."
He stood silently to let his words sink into the teenager's minds and hearts. His intense gaze slowly faded and the kind one he so normally wore took its place. He smiled as he continued, "I'm Professor Buck, but in this room you can call me Bill…provided you still show me the same level of respect you show any other teacher.
"I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. You might as well put your books away as you will not use them…except perhaps for homework."
The class groaned at the mention of homework, but did as he asked.
"You will not need them because all the reading in the world on this subject will do absolutely no good. You need to know its practicality, to perform it for yourselves and to experience it for it to be of…adequate…use to you. I'm sorry to say that 3 of your six years experience in this subject are worthless.
"Professor Moody, though he turned out to be a traitor, was a decent teacher and he taught you some of what you need to know…but not all. In my personal opinion, it is Professor Lupin and Mr. Harry Potter who deserve much of the credit for your current skills. As it is, what they have taught you is not enough.
"The fight against the Dark Arts…against evil…occurs every day whether or not you're aware of it. And more importantly…whether or not you're prepared…for it. So I will say this…expect a lot of hard work in this class this year. You've got a lot to learn…and not nearly enough time to do so. Take out your wands…let's get started."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Dumbledore!" Leigh yelled as she entered the Headmaster's office, "You sneaking, conniving, manipulative, old man!"
"That's remarkably close to what Bill called me," Dumbledore replied.
"Why didn't you tell me that he was working here? Better yet, why didn't you tell me he was alive?"
"I'll tell you what I told Bill…because then you would have refused the job."
"Damn right I would have!"
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why would you have said no?"
"Because…"
"Because even though he hurt you, supposedly died, and lied…you still love him."
Leigh didn't reply to that.
"My dear, dear Leigh…not everything is as it seems. Might I suggest you listen to whatever explanation Bill offers you?"
"Fine, if you want me to, I'll listen…but I can't guarantee anything more than that."
She left the room.
Youth is wasted on the young, Dumbledore thought once more as he returned to work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione stared at Ron with a look of disbelief on her face as he proceeded to eat everything within reach at lunch. "I can't believe that after seven years the sight of you eating still grosses me out."
Ron abruptly stopped chewing his food, he looked at Hermione and said, "Well, then, don't look." Hermione, unfortunately, was greeted to a sight she could happily have lived her whole life without…the sight of food in Ron's mouth. In addition to that, when he spoke bits and pieces flew out of his mouth towards Hermione.
"Eww! Ron! You're such a pig!" Hermione exclaimed as she quickly reached for her wand and muttered "Scourgify" to clean the food which Ron had so generously given - well, spit at - her. She put on a fake pout, turned to her boyfriend and said, "Harry…make him stop!"
Without looking up from his food, Harry said, "Ron…stop."
"I'll have you know I'm very insulted by that remark! Of course you're gonna side with your girlfriend as opposed to your best friend."
Harry looked up. "Well…I like you and all, Ron…but…she kisses me."
"Ahh….nope…can't beat that. Dang it!"
Hermione smiled brightly, having won, and kissed Harry on the cheek.
Ron sulked and went back to eating his food as he muttered, "Don't know how I'm expected to beat that…"
"Hey, guys!" Lavender said, "Mind if I eat with you today?"
"No, of course not," Hermione replied, "but I have to warn you…it can get rather gross watching Ron eat."
"It's always gross watching Ron," Lavender joked as she pulled up a seat next to him.
"Jeez, what is this? `Pick-on-Ron' day?" Ron complained, pretending to be hurt.
"No," Harry replied matter-of-factly, "its `Pick-on-Ronniekins' day."
"Oh, well, thanks for clearing that one up." Ron said. "How could I not have known?"
They laughed again before Harry and Hermione began talking amongst themselves and Ron became absorbed in eating once more.
"Aren't they so perfect together?" Lavender asked Ron.
"Hmm?" Ron replied with his usual clueless look on his face.
Lavender laughed. "Harry and Hermione…aren't they so cute together?"
"Oh, right," he glanced at his two best friends who were now laughing quietly at a private joke and smiling uncontrollably, completely oblivious to the outside world. A smile twitched at Ron's mouth as he said, "Yeah…yeah, they really are."
"They make it look so easy…."
"Make what look easy?"
"Being in love…it just…makes me wonder sometimes, that's all."
"About what?"
Lavender shook herself out of her trance, smiled and said, "Nothing."
"Just so you know, I don't buy that…but I'll let it slide this time." Ron remarked, looking at her.
Lavender smiled a bit and changed the subject. "So how about you? Any…love prospects?"
"Um…no, not really…not right now anyway. You?"
"Nope…I have a non-existent love life at the moment."
Ron laughed. "Well, we have to admit that not everyone finds their soul mate as early as those two did," he said, motioning to Harry and Hermione.
Ron's little sister came up to the table now. "Hey, big brother," she said as she sat down on Ron's other side.
Ron stiffened momentarily, remembering his conversation with her on the train. "Hey, Ginny."
"So how was your first day of classes?" she inquired.
"Good. Yours?"
Ginny, however, didn't answer. A slight smile came across her face as she looked across the Great Hall.
*~*~*~*
A/N: Haha, don't hate me. I'm trying my hardest to write these things quickly…but it ain't easy and I want to give you all my best. Forgive any mistakes or errors…I have no beta.