Hogwarts Is Where The Heart Is

Chapter 20

Professor Weasley sighed as dinner concluded. Things between her and Eleazar were still severely frosty. She didn't consider herself in the wrong for being concerned. Not when every instinct told her there was SOMETHING going on. And if there had been one thing, she'd learnt over the years it was to trust her instincts.

That said she hadn't intended to imply Eleazar would put a student in danger for his own gain. The thought of him doing so was ridiculous considering how much she knew he cared about his pupils. But especially Genevieve Smith who she suspected he cared for on a deeper level. Something that judging by the worshipful way the girl looked at Eleazar was returned whether the pair realized it or not.

She had to infer then that whatever they were doing, which she suspected HAD to be dangerous or else why the secrecy? Must for some reason or another REQUIRE Genevieve's involvement. She could think of no other reason why Eleazar would be including the girl he was clearly so protective of.

Of course, it also begged the question of what on Earth required the involvement of a 15-year-old girl but she hadn't missed the correlation of three different attacks Genevieve Smith was involved in. She didn't approve of involving an underaged child in anything dangerous if it could be avoided but she was at a loss for what to do until she had something concrete to confront Eleazar with. She certainly wasn't going to Black with her suspicions.

No, she knew something was up. But it didn't mean she liked fighting with her colleagues least of all Eleazar who'd become something of a mix between friend, colleague, and mentor. Particularly during her early days.

She'd come to the school fresh from being a freelance curse breaker but needing a change of pace and scene due to the recent death of her husband Paul. The teaching post had been a bit of a gamble to tell the truth and while she now found it to be natural, she'd not always been so confident. She could still remember the eve before her first day.

*Flashback*

Matilda paced around her new classroom nervously checking for probably the hundredth time that everything was in place for the next day. There was a knock on the classroom door and she turned to see a middle-aged man with hair that was going white dressed in crimson and gold robes. She recognized him as one of the staff members however she had yet to be introduced to everyone.

"Good evening," said the man with a friendly smile. "You must be Professor Weasley the new Transfiguration teacher." Matilda smiled back the man had something about him that naturally put her at ease. Not to mention she wanted to try and be on good terms with all of her colleagues.

"Please call me Mattie. Come in," she gestured for him to enter and transfigured the wood chair in front of her desk into a chinse armchair.

"Eleazar Fig, Professor of Magical Theory. I can see you are quite qualified," he told her warmly.

"I hope so," said Matilda. "Though it's less the actual subject matter that concerns me and more the students. The closest thing I've ever had to controlling children is being Head Girl and if that taught me anything it's that they aren't always fond of authority." Eleazar shrugged.

"Having to take instruction from your peer can grate more than a teacher. I should know." Suddenly Matilda realized why his name rang a bell in her head.

"I do seem to remember hearing something as a first year about a seventh year Gryffindor with the name Fig who had quite the detention record." Eleazar chuckled in amusement.

"Guilty as charged. Mind you I believe a certain first year transfiguration prodigy earned back almost as many points as I lost." Matilda laughed.

"Well, someone had to."