Hello... Again

Matchmaker?

TRIGGER WARNING: Details and talk of attempted suicide and self harm later in this chapter. To some it wouldn’t be a big deal but it’s mentioned, so I have to put a trigger warning out of courtesy to others.

All of the students crowded the interior entryway of Hogwarts. Their luggage trunks made the corridor more cluttered than it would have been if there were only the students. Agnes leaned by the stairs as she diverted focus to her nails. She was required to be here. The goodbyes and the warm hugs the students gave to one another made the situation that much more awkward for the amatuer professor. Agnes spotted Juno in the crowd of black robes. She was embraced in a hug herself. Juno patted the shoulder of a fellow female Slytherin and whispered her departing words.

With the students soon to depart, Agnes turned to make her leave back into the castle.
“Professor Blackwood!” Juno’s voice called out above the chatter and commotion.

Agnes continued on. Talking to Juno would only make things more awkward for her.
“Professor, wait!”

“Oof!”

Agnes stumbled but righted herself before hitting the floor. Arms enveloped Agnes - their owner clutching Agnes from behind. Since the situation couldn’t be avoided, Agnes turned to face her student.
Juno’s smiling face met hers.
“I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to you, Professor.”

Agnes’s eyes darted in all different directions as she tried coming up with a proper reply. Words failing her, Agnes settled with a weak smile.

“I’m going to miss you, Professor Blackwood. You are a wonderful teacher and a good friend. I’ll miss you and our after class talks.”

Giving in, Agnes knelt down to Juno’s level to accept the hug. “I hope you have a very merry Christmas, Juno.” She stood and patted Juno on her shoulder. “Enjoy yourself. Go on, now. You don’t want to miss the train.”

“It won’t leave without me. It’s not like it’s the beginning of the term.”
Juno hugged Agnes tighter. Tears threatened to form in the young Slytherin’s eyes. “I will miss you, Professor. Terribly so.”

Juno stepped back to look up at Agnes. “I hope that you have a very merry Christmas, as well. Oh, and if anything happens between you and Professor Snape I want to know every juicy detail!”

“Go on!” Agnes scoffed. She hit Juno on the shoulder. “Stop with that nonsense.”
Despite herself, Agnes laughed along with Juno. “Hurry on, then. Everyone is about to leave.”

Reluctantly, Juno turned to walk out of the castle with her fellow students. When she reached the entryway threshold, Juno faced her professor to wave a goodbye to Agnes one last time. “Goodbye, Professor Blackwood!”

Agnes returned her wave and her smile. She watched the young Slytherin go on her way with her luggage trunks levitating behind her. Agnes stood there awhile longer. She continued to gaze where Juno once stood. She watched the throng of students grow smaller in the distance as the great doors of Hogwarts slowly closed.

Not wanting to be dragged down by any unnecessary depression, Agnes traveled to her classroom. To busy herself, Agnes began grading the midterm exams the students had taken just before Winter Holiday began.

Time had passed and Agnes was already more than halfway done. “Yes?” Agnes greeted, not looking up from her work as the door creaked open.

“Busying yourself as usual, Miss Blackwood?” Dumbledore stepped into the classroom. He clasped his hands together at his front. He smiled in Agnes’s direction, though the witch didn’t see it. She was still occupied with her grading.