Office Hours

Hermione took a deep breath as she prepared to enter the castle for the first time in many years. The memory of the last time she was here weighed heavily in her mind. She pictured all those who were lost that night. So many people gave their lives in the attempt to make the wizarding world a better place. She had seen these faces many times before in her dreams, and in her nightmares. 

She couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for their deaths. What could she have done differently? What could she have done to prevent so much loss? Realistically, she knew that her role in the Battle was to help Harry destroy the horcruxes, however she couldn’t seem to get rid of the heavy feeling that she could have done more. 

Hermione’s hands tightened at her sides as she began to feel the panic take over her. She quickly began the breathing exercises that her muggle therapist taught her. She inhaled for four counts, held her breath for seven counts, and exhaled for eight counts. She did that several more times, starting to feel slightly better about being back in this place.

Before she could truly calm herself, the heavy oak front doors to the castle opened, revealing a friendly, scruffy looking face. 

“Hermione! It’s good to see you,” greeted Hagrid. 

“Hagrid! I wasn’t expecting you to be my welcoming committee,” gasped Hermione. She took in the kind, beetle black eyes of Hagrid and started to feel her anxiety lessen.

“Well, I had to come and congratulate you in person of course! I am so proud of you, Hermione. I always knew you would do great things.” 

Hermione blushed. “Thank you, Hagrid. Truth be told, I am a bit nervous. What if I’m no good?”

“Codswallop. You are going to be the best Transfiguration teacher since Albus Dumbledore… err I mean, Minerva McGonagall now that she’s not teaching.” 

“Exactly! There have been so many fantastic Transfiguration teachers at Hogwarts. I don’t know if I can live up to the legacies of their teaching,” admitted Hermione. 

“Nonsense. You are going to do great. Now, let’s get you inside. The headmistress wants to go over a few things with you.” Hagrid led her inside the front doors and up towards the Headmistress’s office. Hermione looked around the halls as she passed them. She hoped Hagrid was right. No matter how many academic accolades she had achieved, she still doubted herself. “Up you go.”

Hermione looked up, slightly confused. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized that they had arrived at the spiral staircase leading to the office. 

“Right.” Hermione steeled herself and took the first step up the staircase. You’ve got this. She tried to convince herself. She knocked on the door to the office.

“Come in,” rang a familiar voice. Hermione stepped into the office. The walls were lined with books and portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses. Dumbledore’s portrait hung beside Snape’s behind a large mahogany desk. 

“Hello, professor’” Hermione said timidly.

There sat Minerva McGonagall. Her hair in a tight bun and glasses on the tip of her nose, like always. McGonagall peered up from the parchment on her desk, taking in Hermione. Her stern gaze melted as she greeted her former student. “Professor Granger,” she nodded.

Hearing the title out loud caused Hermione to straighten her posture. Professor. She still couldn’t believe it.

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” said Hermione.

Professor McGonagall motioned for Hermione to sit in the chair across from her.

“You’ll find that many things do. But if anyone can master the role, it’s you.”

Hermione couldn’t help the small smile that made its way onto her face. Even though she had left Hogwarts years ago, she still liked to hear that her teachers believed in her. 

“Thank you, that means a lot coming from you.”

McGonagall gave her a polite nod of acknowledgement before continuing.

“As you rightly know, teaching here is no easy task. Students here will challenge you in ways you wouldn’t think possible. They might even attempt to take on a fully grown mountain troll at the age of eleven.” Mcgonagall fixed Hermione with a knowing look.

Hermione felt her face flush, remembering that particular scolding from McGonagall. She had to give her credit. The professor didn’t give anything away on her face as she spoke of Hermione’s past transgressions. 

McGonagall continued, “However, I won’t coddle you. There will be times that you will struggle. Whether it is dealing with the students or the other staff. You must learn to deal with frustrations and take everything in stride.”

“Of course. I had great examples of how Hogwarts Professors should handle themselves, thanks to you.” 

A flicker of a smile crossed McGonagall’s face, but only for a moment before she returned to her stoic gaze. 

“I always had a feeling you would return here, in some capacity at least. I think the castle might have had the same idea. It has a way of calling back those who belong here.”

“It’s good to be home,” Hermione said softly. She meant it. No matter the terrible things she witnessed here that night, Hogwarts still felt like home to her. She could learn to manage her anxiety and her stress. She could, at the very least, find a distraction. The castle was full of them.

“Alright, let’s go over the expectations, then I will show you to your accommodations.” 

They sat and discussed Hermione’s role as a new teacher. McGonagall would serve as her official mentor, which Hermione was very thankful for. She would need someone to show her the ropes of teaching. Hermione had always been good at school. She was top of the class in just about every subject. No one had come close to her in that regard, except perhaps Draco Malfoy, but she wouldn’t have to worry about competing with him this time around. 

After almost an hour of McGonagall laying out her new role and Hermione asking very thorough questions, they seemed to reach the end of their discussion for the day. Hermione found out that there was going to be a meet and greet for the new staff members to get to know the tenured staff the next day. Hermione was excited at the prospect of getting to know some of her old professors as colleagues. She hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself. 

As McGonagall was showing Hermione to the dormitory they provided for her, she continued to ask more questions. She just couldn’t help herself. As they arrived at the wing of the castle that housed the teachers’ dormitories, Hermione felt her curiosity burn. She had never been to this part of the castle before. She hadn’t even known for certain that the professors stayed in the castle. She had assumed, but it was fascinating to find out for sure.

“Professor, are there other first year staff members joining this year as well? Or will it just be me?”
“Yes, there is one other new teacher this year. As you know, Professor Slughorn decided to go back into retirement at the end of last year, so we’ve had to hire a new Potions Master,” McGonagall told her as they made their way up the staircase and came upon a landing with two doors on either side of a suit of armor.

“Oh yes, I was sad to hear he was leaving once again. I always enjoyed his lessons.”

“He was a brilliant potioneer, but he did train his replacement reasonably well.” 

Hermione wondered who could replace such a renowned potion maker like Horace Slughorn. Perhaps it was one of the many pupils he kept pictures of. 

McGonagall led her to the door on the right side of the suit of armor and opened the door. 

This was nothing like the dormitories in Gryffindor Tower. It was more like a small flat. She had a bedroom separate from the living room and kitchen. Even better, she had a huge bathroom complete with a soaking tub. She couldn’t believe that she was actually here getting to experience this. She was actually going to be a Hogwarts Professor!

“I’ll leave you to get settled. See you tomorrow for the staff meeting. You and Professor Malfoy can walk down to the Great Hall together. His room is just next door,” said McGonagall. 

Hermione’s jaw dropped. Malfoy? Like Draco Malfoy? She must have misheard. There was no way Malfoy was the new Potions Master. That simply couldn’t happen. Convinced that she must have hallucinated, Hermione nodded and waved goodnight to McGonagall.