The Order of the Phoenix | Hermione Granger x Male Reader (Book Five)

7. The New Teacher

Y/N's POV

The rest of the train journey was very uneventful and when we arrived, I followed Draco as we exited the train and made our way to the school. It was very weird as I felt a lot of eyes on me and murmurs such as. "That's apparently Draco's brother." or "He's from Durmstrang." or any other comment regarding my sudden appearance to the school.

As we made our way to the Great Hall, I was stopped by an old man, wearing long blue robes with half-moon spectacles. "Mr...Malfoy, if you may." the old man asked, motioning to a room next to him.

I turned to Malfoy who had a very concerned expression on his face. "Professor Dumbledore, my father insists that I stick by my brother's side throughout his first year here."

I realised that I was speaking to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked at Draco and had a small smile. "I understand that you are protective of F/N here...but I need to have a word with him."

I smiled at Draco. "I'll be fine, I'll see you in the Great Hall."

Draco was still very unsure but in the end, he nodded and headed off with his Slytherin friends. Once he left, I walked into the room Dumbledore had entered, it seemed to be an office.

"Is this your office sir?" I asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "It is another Professor's office."

I nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. "What would you like to speak to me about?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Straight to the point I see. I wanted to talk to you since you're a new student."

"I have all my books, I have a wand and I'm in Slytherin." I said confidently.

"Yes, what I meant is that I want you to know that since you're new, if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to come speak to me in my office." Dumbledore explained.

"Do you do this with all the new students?" I asked, suspicious of what this man wanted.

"Not all of them, I just want to make sure that you're ok." Dumbledore said and I was even more suspicious, this man knew something but he just wasn't saying it. I didn't want to start any trouble with the Headmaster of Hogwarts, instead I nodded and thanked him for his concern.

"Can I go find my brother now?" I asked.

Dumbledore nodded, he looked at the scar across my face before speaking. "I will come with you." he walked me into the Great Hall, causing even more eyes on me. I parted ways with Dumbledore at the front, he made his way to where the teachers were and I made my way where Draco was. Draco was very keen to hear what had happened and I explained. Halfway through our conversation, our attention was diverted to the door, which had just opened revealing a group of first years ready for their sorting.

After the sorting, the feast began and food appeared in front of me. Smiling happily I began to help myself to delicious food whilst engaging in conversation with Slytherins around me.

Dumbledore, after the feast had finished, stood up and began to speak. "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door. We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

I clapped lightly for the new teachers, Dumbledore continued. "Quidditch tryouts-"

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat. "Hem hem." she had gotten to her feet and it was clear she wanted to make a speech.

Dumbledore looked taken aback but he respectfully sat down, and allowed Professor Umbridge to make her speech.

"Thank you Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Umbridge said, in a sweet, sickly, high pitched voice. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me! I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends."

I looked around, I saw very concerned and almost disgusted faces.

She continued. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching. Every Headmaster and Headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress' sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

Her speech finished and Dumbledore clapped, following his lead, the students and faculty starting clapping, slowly. There was something about this woman that made her seem very unpleasant. I turned to Draco who seemed to be very enthusiastic about our new teacher.

"Thank you Professor Umbridge, that was very illuminating." Dumbledore said, before finishing his notices.

After everything had finished, I followed Draco as he and Pansy lead the new Slytherins to their Common Room. "The password is Pure-blood." Draco said to the first years as he walked into the Common Room.

The room was fully green, it was quite dark and there was a window showing the depths of the lake by Hogwarts. After all the newcomers were shown to their rooms, I followed Draco to our dormitory. In our room were myself, Draco, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle. I knew Crabbe and Goyle had first names but everyone seemed to refer to them by their surnames so I went with it.

Once everyone was asleep, leaving me and Draco as the only ones awake, Draco spoke.

"How was your first day?"

I shrugged. "It's cool, when are Quidditch tryouts?"

Draco had to think for a minute. "Next week or the week after."

"Do you think I could tryout?" I asked. "I want to be seeker."

"No way!" Draco exclaimed with a laugh. "That's my position!"

I smirked. "Well you've got competition then don't you?"

"I'm a better seeker than you, any day." Draco laughed.

I shook my head. "In your dreams Draco."