𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕆𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕤 [𝔸 ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔]

Chapter 3 | Back to Hogwarts

Hogwarts hadn't changed a bit from the last time that Neera was there. The castle walls were still the same, the doors were still the same, and of course, most of the teachers were the same, though they seemed a little bit more tired than they had been when Neera graduated.

'Maybe that's because Potter and his friends have been running amok,' Neera thought to herself as she walked through the empty corridors. School wasn't in session yet, and wouldn't be until the following week, but Fudge had suggested that Neera get settled ahead of time, along with Umbridge, so that the two of them could start prepping for their first week of classes. 

As the new Astronomy teacher, Neera had been given a room in the highest tower of Hogwarts, just underneath the classroom that she would be teaching in for the next year. It was a simple room, or rather, two rooms. One room at the front would serve as her office where she could meet with students and colleagues, and the second room served as her bedroom. Nothing too fancy. A desk, chair, and shelving unit sat in the front room, while a bed, wardrobe, and bookshelf sat in the bedroom. It seemed that most of the necessities that she would need had already been provided for her, and she was able to transfigure them into the desired colour and texture with a simple flick of the wand. 

As she was settling in, she heard a knock on her door. She dropped the robe that she had been in the middle of putting away, and turned to the door, pulling it open and smiling when she saw her old professor standing on the other side.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Neera said with a small smile. Even though she had been a proud Slytherin for seven years, McGonagall had always been Neera's favourite professor. The elderly witch had taken Neera under her arm when she found out about the comments that the other Slytherins made about her, especially since she was a Muggleborn rather than a half-blood or pure blood like the rest of them.

"Hello, Neera." The witch smiled and shut the door. "You know, you may call me Minerva now. You have graduated and are now a fellow colleague."

Neera nodded but didn't say anything, and McGonagall suddenly remembered how quiet Neera had been during her time at the school. She rarely spoke in class, or to her peers, preferring to spend her free time in the dark corners of the library and down by the black lake where she could study in peace.

"Dumbledore asked me to come and see how you were settling in," McGonagall continued. "I hope this room is to your liking." She looked around and smiled a little when she saw that Neera had already changed the colours to dark blue and silver, embracing her new job as the Astronomy professor.

Neera nodded. "It's better than having to share a room with four other girls." She sat down on the edge of her bed. "Have you gone to visit Umbridge yet?"

McGonagall shook her head. "No. I thought I would come and see how you were doing first. And Delores has said that she will be moving in the day before classes start. She had some last-minute things to take care of with Fudge before she could move her things here."

Neera didn't want to think about what things the two of them were working on. Most likely conspiring against Dumbledore and trying to stir up rumours in the Daily Prophet. Harry Potter would also probably be a favourite subject of discussion.

"Well," Minerva sighed, "I had best get going. Classes start in a week, so I suggest that you start planning."

The younger witch nodded and bade her old professor goodbye before shutting the door and returning to unpacking. She did find it concerning that Umbridge wasn't showing up quite yet. 

The week before school seemed to fly by, the new professor having spent most of her time on the lessons that she was preparing for the students. Thankfully, the old professor had been kind enough to leave all of her notes behind, so Neera had a strong base to go off of and then branch out with what new information had arisen in recent years of study.