A/N: Sorry for the wait! I promise to update sooner next chapter!
Chapter 5 - Apologies and Confessions
Hermione didn't have Gryffindor first years on Tuesday, so she didn't see Raven and Jade until after school. They entered the classroom five minutes after the final bell rang, both avoiding looking at their professor.
"Come in girls, and please sit in the front rows," said Hermione.
Raven and Jade wordlessly walked up to the front, dropped their belongings unceremoniously on the ground, and sat in their seats.
"As it is the beginning of the school year," Hermione began, "There isn't much cleaning to be done, which would be the usual punishment that I would give you. Instead," Hermione flicked her wand and several filing cabinets appeared in the classroom, "You'll be hand-copying these records of rule-breakers and their punishments. As you can see, they are fading, so they are in need of being rewritten," Hermione finished.
"Yes, Professor Granger," said Raven sullenly before opening a drawer at random and taking out a stack of cards.
Jade did the same and in no time at all the room was filled with the sound of scratching quills: the two students copying the records and Hermione correcting more quizzes. Two hours and three sore wrists later, Hermione set her quill down and said, "That's enough for today girls, just put your cards back in, mark your place for tomorrow, and you can see yourself out."
Hermione went back to grading the quizzes, not looking back up until she heard the shuffling of feet in front of her desk. She looked up slowly, hating herself for being afraid of Raven hurting her again. When she made eye contact with Raven, who was standing in front of Jade, she firmly asked "Yes?" so as to not show her fear.
"Professor Granger," began Raven, "I would like to apologize for my behavior in your class yesterday." Hermione was dazed and confused at the same time. "It was unacceptable of me and I sincerely hope you can forgive me."
"I'm sorry too, Professor Granger," Jade said from Raven's side. "It was wrong of us to disrupt your class and to disrespect you in front of the other students."
Hermione took a second to admire Harry's parenting skills. She always knew he would be a good father. "It's quite alright, girls," she said warmly. "I just hope that it never happens again."
Both Raven and Jade seemed to relax a bit now that the task was finished and they actually smiled at Hermione before Jade said, "It won't, Professor Granger. We promise."
Raven nodded somewhat enthusiastically before turning around and walking out of the classroom with Jade, and this time Hermione waited until the door was shut to smile.
***GMAC***
The next day, Hermione had the Gryffindor first years again, and she could see why all of the other professors confessed that the two Potter girls were their favorite students.
They were organized, they were smart, and they weren't afraid to raise their hands in class. They really did seem to be the brightest of the first years. Quite frankly, they reminded Hermione of herself at that age except for the fact that they had made friends without having to have a near-death bonding experiencing by fighting a fully-grown troll.
And so Hermione actually found herself regretting that they had to serve detention after school again. Hermione knew that Harry had sorted them out, they really didn't need these detentions any longer. And despite the fact that they seemed to be the brightest of their year they did share traits with Harry, which meant that they probably needed as much time as they could get for their homework.
So when the girls stayed after school and sat in their front seats, Hermione said, "I believe that you two really have learned your lesson. Unfortunately, you must still serve your detentions. But instead of doing menial, time-consuming tasks, I will allow you two to quietly work on your homework."
Jade smiled at Hermione and said, "Thanks, Professor Granger!"
Raven didn't smile but said the same and once again the room was filled with the sound of scratching quills.
Hermione finished grading her fifth years' essays by the hour mark. She really didn't have much to do, and usual when that happened, she found her mind wandering to Harry.
She closed her eyes and found herself drifting off to the past, reliving her days in Hogwarts. Fighting trolls, drinking polyjuice potion, turning time, secretly practicing for the Triwizard Tournament, infiltrating the ministry. Then she thought about some of the less hectic and stress related times. Basking in the sun by the lake, goofing off in class (not that she ever partook in any of the goofing off, of course), watching Harry flying loops around the Quidditch pitch, eyes darting in every direction looking for the snitch.
Then she was on Harry's broom with him right behind her, and they were flying in the air over the school enjoying the beautiful sights. And oddly, despite the fact that she was in the air, she wasn't afraid. Harry was there, nothing was going to happen to her with him right there.
"Do you want to get down, Hermione? I know how much you hate flying," said Harry's smooth, deep voice.
"No," said Hermione. "I changed my mind-I really like flying."
"Professor Granger?"
Hermione furrowed her brow. What happened to Harry? Why did he sound like a girl?
"Harry, why are you calling me Professor Granger? And what's wrong with your voice?" asked Hermione, who was thoroughly perplexed.
"Professor Granger?" Harry's little girl voice asked a bit more sharply.
"What?" Hermione mumbled groggily as she opened her eyes.
"Professor Granger, are you alright?" asked Raven.
As Hermione realized where she was she blushed to the roots of her hair. How could she fall asleep when two students were serving detention in her classroom? She was absolutely mortified. "Erm…yes, I'm quite alright," Hermione responded with mock-calmness.
"Are you sure?" asked Jade, who looked more amused than worried. "Because you were talking about flying and our dad."
Hermione felt her face turn a deeper shade of red. "Your father was very good at flying, I'll have you know. Youngest seeker in a century, and he never failed to catch the snitch…well, except for that one time the dementors attacked him, but that doesn't really count." Hermione was doing what she always did when she was nervous or embarrassed-spouting facts.
"We know," said Jade. "Uncle Draco told us all about it. We're both going to try out on the team as Chasers."
Hermione did a double-take. "Uncle Draco?" Last time Hermione had checked, the rivalry had been as solid as ever. Apparently a lot had changed in the last three years. "But Malfoy and Harry hated each other!" Hermione exclaimed half to herself.
"Yeah, they did," said Raven. "But our dad and Uncle Draco were bidding for ownership of the Appleby Arrows and instead of having to pay a really high price, they decided to buy the team together. And then they just kind of became friends," Raven finished simply.
Hermione took a second to collect herself. All of this new information from the past week was doing her head in. Once she had calmed down, she asked, "What does your father do for a living?" This was really quite unprofessional of her, but Hermione couldn't help but be curious.
"He's a businessman," replied Raven. "He owns Potter Manor, which is our home, and invests his money into businesses so he can make more money. At least, that's how dad explained it to us."
So Harry had truly become Lord Potter. This next question Hermione couldn't help but ask. "And who's his girlfriend?"
"Hannah Abbot," Jade practically spat out.
Harry was dating Hannah Abbot, eh? The little blonde Hufflepuff bint, Hermione thought to herself savagely. What did Harry see in her, anyway? He had never expressed any interest in her at school. Hermione mentally shook her head and refocused on the conversation. "You don't seem to like her very much."
"We don't," Raven replied angrily. "She's mean and annoying. But then when she's around our dad, she becomes the perfect girlfriend. We tried telling dad once, but he got pretty angry and told us to be nice to her." Raven then grumbled, "As if we would do that when he wasn't around."
"We think that Hannah is only our dad's girlfriend because he's really famous," Jade said.
Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking, thought Hermione to herself. The three sat stewing in their own thoughts for a while before Raven asked, "Er…Professor Granger? You don't have to answer this, but…what happened between you and dad?"
Hermione looked down at her hands, unwilling to meet the two girls' eyes. Their tentative and newly-formed bond would probably crumble following this revelation. But Hermione was taught to never lie, and she thought it would be particularly heinous if she did so to her own students when she was teaching them the same thing.
"Your father came to me one night…and he…he confessed his love to me," Hermione admitted. Both girls' jaws dropped. "I, being a supreme idiot, rejected him," Hermione said.
Raven and Jade's looks of shock surprisingly became looks of curiosity. "Why?" asked Raven. "You didn't love him back?"
"That's the thing!" exclaimed Hermione. "I do love him! I did love him! I've always loved him!" Wow, Hermione thought to herself, the first people you tell this to are Harry's eleven-year-old twin daughters. "I made a mistake. It was all my fault."
Raven and Jade looked wide-eyed at each other before Jade said, "That's weird. Our dad said the same thing."
"He did?" asked Hermione, confused.
"He thinks that he was the one who made a mistake," said Raven.
Hermione felt her heart break even more than she did the night she realized that she had made a mistake in saying no to Harry. He hadn't really loved her? Was she just a passing fancy, a simple crush?
"So…so he didn't love me?" asked Hermione quietly.
"Are you kidding me?" asked Raven. "Of course he loves you!"
"He told you?" Hermione asked Raven.
"No," responded Jade. "But it's pretty obvious." Raven nodded emphatically.
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know, really," said Raven. "But…when he talks about you, you just know, I guess." This time Jade nodded along with her sister's words.
Well, thought Hermione, if two eleven-year-olds can see it, I'm guessing it must be there. Merlin, I can't believe that I'm spilling out my heart to and getting advice about my love life from Harry's daughters. Hermione looked down at her watch. It read 6:15 PM. The girls' detentions had finished at five. "You two better get going, it's already 6:15, dinner will be ready soon."
"Bye, Professor Granger," Raven and Jade called over their shoulders as they headed for the exit.
"Have a good night, and I'll see you tomorrow!" Hermione called back as the door was shutting.
It was strange, but telling somebody how she felt really took a load off her chest. Maybe I shouldn't be as hard on psychologists, Hermione thought to herself as she made her way to the door of classroom.
***GMAC***
As Raven and Jade made their way to Gryffindor tower, they looked at each other and raised an eyebrow simultaneously. They were twins, they knew that they were thinking the same thing.
It was about time that Hannah Abbot was out and Hermione Granger was in.
A/N: I hope you liked it, especially considering the fact that I went a little more light-hearted with this chapter. This was sort of the fun and happiness before it gets all serious and dramatic.
And please remember to Review. Your input really means a lot to me!