by Meg Boyd » Sunday 7 December 2003 2:48:25am
Harry stopped glaring at Ron, sat down slowly, and took a large slam of tea.
“What I was going to say,” he growled, “Was that Hogwarts sent me a letter asking for me to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.”
Ron’s jaw dropped as Hermione’s normally flushed face drained to a pasty white. Harry looked down at his hands. They were shaking, nervously, like he had never seen before. There was just something about that letter that made him nervous, yet nervous with excitement that he hadn’t felt in years.
“Don’t they remember Cedric?” Hermoine muttered, quietly pacing her kitchen, “Dumbledore’s words, don’t they remember?”
Hermione seemed almost detached at the sound of Harry’s announcement. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, both remembering Cedric and the other victims centering around the school and Wizard kind’s dark days. None of the three had stepped a foot on Hogwart’s campus since their bittersweet commencement ceremony, and none of them planned on returning so soon.
Ron pulled at his collar and cleared his throat, “Well, what are you going to do Harry.”
Harry’s mouth opened, and answered Ron, yet it was almost as if Harry had no control over what he was saying. Even though he was fully conscious of his words, he couldn’t help but feeling like he was a marionette as he said, “Teach, of course!”
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, “Yes, Harry, you must teach…I can’t believe I didn’t see it before…” she muttered almost half to her self.
Ron crossed over to Harry. “You see flustered. You should come to the shop with me, you know. It would be great fun, plus you could take a gander down to Fred and George’s shop. They are in Majorca vacationing now, but Lee Jordan and his wife Angelina are there, I’m sure you’d enjoy catching up with a lot of the old gang. Perhaps Lavender would like to come, eh???” Ron said, guiding his friend to the door as his wife waddled around the corner.
Harry stroked his chin, feeling the stubble of a 5 o’clock shadow. He really needed some relaxation, but he did have to pick out china patterns with Lavender. Yet as Ron grinned his silly freckled smile, Harry knew that Lavender could wait, like he was going to have a say in china patterns, anyway.