HP one shots

The New Guy // Tomarry

Summary:

Tom was just getting used to going through the boring routines of being a Hogwarts student when everything is changed up by the appearance of a new professor part way through the school year. A particularly attractive and mysterious professor who just wants to help Tom stay the way that he is. Between strange dreams and fancy spell work, Tom is going to have his work cut out for him in figuring out everything there is to know about the new guy.
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"Hey, Tom, have you heard the news? We're getting a new professor."

Feeling slightly irritated that he was apparently one of the last people to find out this fascinating tidbit, it took him a moment longer than usual to school his expression into his normal polite mask. "In the middle of the year? Why?"

The boy who'd whispered over to him, Leime, just shrugged. "No one really knows for sure, but Cat said that Professor Lumi hasn't been seen around the school in a week, and all of her classes have been subbed by Professor Dumbledore. Some kids are saying that Lumi got knocked up, and has to leave to go marry the guy before she starts showing so that she doesn't disgrace her family. What do you think?"

Tom thought that he had a lot better things to be doing than sitting around and gossiping about the going ons of the professors, but he couldn't figure out a way to say that that wouldn't come out sounding too snappish. Sometimes it just felt insufferable to be surrounded by all these fools who were usually too stupid to even know how to tie their own shoelaces without a step by step guide. He was saved from having to think of some clever retort that would both answer Leime's question while also subtly insulting him by the fact that the office door at the top of the stairs in the front of the classroom swung open.

But instead of their usual defense against the dark arts professor, Merrythought, an unfamiliar young man began hurrying down the stairs. His robes were flying out around him, and his hair seemed to stick out in every direction. "I'm terribly sorry to be late!" he called out, and he looked like he almost tripped over his own foot, which would have led to a nasty spill.

Leime tugged on Tom's sleeve, looking very excited by the stranger's appearance. "That's him! That's the new guy! I guess Lumi was just out sick after all and it's actually Merrythought who was replaced!"

Yes, thanks, like Tom hadn't been able to figure that one out on his own. "I wonder why," he said softly.

Then the new professor reached the bottom of the stairs, and stood proudly at the front of the room, staring out at the class of mostly unresponsive students. It was a rather early morning class, and most of the students were still half asleep. From the look of the professor, the man had just woken up himself.

As the professor looked around the room, his bright green eyes landed on Tom for just a moment longer than he'd looked at any of the other students for. Then he blinked, and the man was turning away to go up to the chalkboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and scrawled his name across the board in penmanship so horrid that Tom couldn't even tell what it was supposed to say. Then he turned back to the room, with a goofy little grin on his face. "So for those of you who haven't seen me around the school yet, I'm Professor H- Jamie Potter." He seemed flustered for a moment, as though his own name had somehow tripped him up, before powering on. "I know that it's a little strange to get a new professor this late into the year, but I hope to do my best as your teacher. Today we'll focus on you guys catching me up so that I know where your previous professor left off with you. I've got a good feeling that we're all going to work very well together for the remainder of this year, and I look forward to getting to know you all!" There was a long moment of silence, and then the man's face flushed pink. "Right, I'm the professor, so it's my job to do the talking," he mumbled to himself. "Er, how about we go around the room and everyone can tell me their name and what they want to be when they grow up."