Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Web of Redemption COMPLETE	By : FemmeBono Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 3455 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7: Rent the fabric, start again

    As the start of term
commenced with the arrival of the students and the standard Sorting ceremony,
Cassie learned the awkwardness of eating in front of a crowd. At the high table,
she felt as though she were on display, elbow to elbow with the other teachers.
She found some comfort in the fact that the students did not seem to pay
attention to their end of the room, and she was ever thankful for the company
what with Minerva on one side and Aurora Sinistra on the other. Best of all was
the fact that she had finally gotten a chance to speak with the house elves
about her distaste for anything made with pumpkin or internal organs. As a
result, her breakfast of decaffeinated coffee, egg-white omelet, and whole grain
toast was much more in keeping with her usual fare. Other than the first day
jitters she had yet to get over, Cassie felt quite at home in the hallowed
castle with people who were worlds different from herself, and yet much the
same.

    However, by that next
morning, all her flutters had calmed reasonably enough that she really began to
enjoy her classes. For the most part, her students were incredibly bright and
came up with the most amusing questions, completely undone by someone who had no
magical tendencies whatsoever. Her best question of the day was from a third
year who wondered how they vanished the contents of commodes without an
automatic flushing charm. The biggest surprise yet was Wednesday when her OWL
level students entered. As expected, Draco Malfoy was one of the first into the
room and made no pretense at being in the wrong place, he proceeded to sit right
up front. Despite being prepared for the sight of him, Cassie still felt her
knees buckle and gripped the edge of her desk, glad to have it between she and
the class so no one was the wiser. That blond hair and swaggering walk was all
too familiar.

    She knew his first day back
had been difficult. Suddenly two of the closest friends he had would not even
speak to him, and somehow he and Blaise Zabini had gotten into a scuffle on the
train that afforded Zabini a black eye and broken nose though no one was quite
willing to admit how it happened or what was said. He had taken to walking
through the halls alone, sitting at the very end of the Slytherin table and ate
hunched over his meals, talking to no one. Even Pansy Parkinson seemed to regard
him with disdain. In fact, the only Slytherins who still seemed to acknowledge
him at all were Graham Pritchard and Tracey Davis. If or when they did, however,
it was amid looks of utmost disgust from the rest of the table.

    As he settled into her
classroom though it was with all the apparent zeal of starting the most
interesting of subjects. He sat, book out, parchment and quill at the ready,
waiting for her to address the class.

    "Thank you all for
making it on time," she began, "I hope everyone had a good...night's
sleep, and are ready to go this morning." She finished lamely,
clutching the chalk in her now sweaty hand. She had just been on the verge of
saying "summer," but knew undoubtedly that at least one of her
students had not enjoyed his and any number of others may not have either. Glad
for a reason to turn her back and take a breath, she wrote her name on the
chalkboard, then stepped to the podium to take roll before she introduced
herself.

    "As many of you may know
already, my name is Professor Pearl and I am a Muggle." This news did
register a few gasps and titters, but not as many as she'd expected. Clearly,
the students who heard this speech the day before spent no time relaying the
news of a Muggle professor. "I am not, however, new to teaching or working
with children and I have already been exposed" her eyes rested briefly on
Malfoy before continuing "to your world and how it works. For some of you I
may be the first Muggle you've met and as such, will be able to teach you loads
of things you couldn't get from books."

    "I have also been
through the books Professor Burbage assigned you, and though they are lacking in
some respects, I'm sure I can take up the slack. As an example, I can assure you
that the correct term is 'firearms' as opposed to 'firelegs' and--" she
stopped abruptly as Draco raised his hand. "Mr....Malfoy, is that
right?"

    "Yes, Professor,"
he drawled. "I wonder, with 'firearms' and the any number of other weapons
you Mud--ggles have created, are you as much of a warring class of...people...as
you seem?"

    "Honestly!" piped
up a cherubic girl with blonde ringlets. Mandy, was it? "Muggles aren't as
bad as all that. I think they're cute."

    "I appreciate you
correcting yourself--and for raising your hand, Mr. Malfoy," she said,
looking pointedly at the girl who had spoken out. So he still has quite a bad
taste in his mouth, she thought, and took a steadying breath before replying.
"Honestly though Draco, it depends on the Muggle just as much as it
does the wizard. I'll say this, we are no more cute and cuddly than we are
barbaric and warring. The best advice I can give you as to know what Muggles are
like personally is to imagine every single person you know and picture them
unable to do magic. There are as many different types of Muggles, in any number
of shapes, sizes, and temperaments as there are witches and wizards. Some good,
some bad. Ultimately, except for the magic, we're no different than you."

    Cassie was reminded sharply
of a line from one of her favorite John Cusack movies: "we all shit the
same, scream the same, and die the same." The irony that his character had
been talking to Hitler about the similarity between he and the Jews was not lost
on her, especially when she found herself facing a boy-child who mouthed off
about purity of blood and could very well pass for a Nazi youth.

    Moving the class back on
track, though, she pushed into the safe realm of classroom rules and
expectations before writing their first assignment on the board and opening the
floor for questions. Once again, Draco's hand shot into the air first and she
steeled herself wondering what he might ask next, tipping her head in his
direction she asked, "yes, Draco?"

    "Professor, do Muggles
duel with weapons as wizards do with wands?"

    Here we go, she thought.
"Well, that's kind of complicated. Years ago, they did in fact duel with
swords or perhaps flintlock pistols--an early form of a small, hand-held
firearm--but nowadays dueling is actually out of vogue. Fighting with weapons is
considered illegal in modern Muggle societies...unless it's in the case of
self-defense. If anyone fights typically in a silly brawl, they are more likely
to do it with fists than anything else. At any rate, outright fighting, unless
it is in an act of war done by soldiers, or as I mentioned self-defense, would
land them in jail for assault. Anyone else?"

    "What were your schools
like?" asked one boy at the back of the room, effectively putting the
subject back on much safer grounds.

    Later, left to what was now a
splitting headache, Cassie secretly hoped this did not set the tone for the rest
of the year. She was surprised at that point by Madame Pomfrey bustling in with
a small vial of amber liquid in one hand and another of a bluish brew in the
other.

     "Good morning, my
dear," she nodded curtly. "Dumbledore pointed out that you may not be
aware we had these available. Almost all the teachers need them the first day or
so back." She set the vials down on the desk next to Cassie's arm and
gestured at each. "A tension taming tonic for headaches or...should you
still need it, a calming draught for the butterflies."

    "Oh tension taming
sounds fantastic, please." She sighed, deeply relieved as she tipped the
amber potion up and swallowed, feeling immediate relief. "The jitters
thankfully didn't last very long yesterday." Oh man! Where was this stuff
all her life? she wondered.

    "Good, good," Poppy
nodded. "Dumbledore also made me understand...in not so many words...that
is, that your erm, previous condition was not...to put it delicately, of your
choosing."

    "Ah. Um. No, it
wasn't," she replied, not quite able to meet the woman's eyes.

    "I do apologize for a
silly woman's assumptions. I know there is some grief involved typically
howsoever you lose a child, and if there's anything I can do..."

    "Thank you. I'll keep it
in mind."

    "Indeed. Well, I won't
keep you dear." At that, the woman took up the other vial, placed it in her
pinafore pocket, and was gone.

    Cassie slid her head down on
her folded arms and wished fervently that the day was over. As it was she still
had the NEWT level sixth-years to go and night patrol. Lump, who had already
explored the castle to his heart's content, had resigned himself to following
her everywhere she went just as he used to back home. At this point, he was
living up to his name, laying under the desk snoring away for all the noise and
confusion of a class day. "Well, fuzzy bear, it's time for lunch,"
Cassie said, scooting back her chair and shrugging into her cloak to fight the
chill of the damp hallways. At the word "lunch," Lump bolted up out of
a dead sleep and ambled to the door, looking back as if in wonder at what was
taking her so long.

    He had discovered that being
the one animal in a castle full of children meant any number of hand-outs and
ear rubs, especially at meal times. The house elves, timid of his size at first,
had grown to love him as well and had taken to leaving plates of food and water
in Cassie's room for him twice daily. As a result, he was already growing to a
much more sizeable Lump and needed daily walks with Hagrid and Fang about the
grounds. The biggest shock of all regarding her lovable pet though was coming
across Severus doing his rounds the first night of term when she couldn't sleep.
There he was, strolling along the third floor corridor with Lump at his side. It
was all she could do not to laugh.

   Now, heading out the door, she
allowed herself a chuckle at the memory of seeing man and dog out for what
appeared to be a friendly walk. Later on, after finally eating something, her
day did improve. Her headache gone, the NEWT students she found to be much more
knowledgeable with an extra year of Muggle Studies under their belts, and her
patrol even passed without more than a simple rebuke and 20 points each for two
Hufflepuffs kissing behind the tapestry covering the fourth floor stairs. At
last, the day over, Cassie could sink under the covers and relax in peaceful
silence, too tired for a change to worry what her dreams would bring.

Ed. note: As an fyi, I stuck Draco in
with the OWL year kids (5th) since he had not taken an OWL for that class.
Without the test, presumably, he could not advance to be in the same class as
the other 6th years even though he is nearly caught up with the material.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Web of Redemption *COMPLETE*

Web of Redemption COMPLETE