Eyes Full of Stars

Chapter 3

Fourteen Days. I have survived fourteen days here and I can survive fourteen days more.

Rey repeats the mantra in her head, falling back on her old tricks. Counting the days has helped her continue on, to realize she is strong enough to go on.

A routine has finally set in, and she is enjoying the mundanity of her current post. The solitude of her classroom has been a comfort.

The Defence Against Dark Arts room has always been a place where she could escape. The tall ceilings and cathedral-like windows have a whimsical look to them. All of Hogwarts has that feeling to Rey, but this room is like an epi-center. This was the room that she felt most secure as a witch, where she could feel powerful without any doubt holding her back. The subject itself was also one of her favorites; Skywalker would often assist in teaching the class, being able to see her idol up-close was breathtaking at the time.

The smoke and mirrors of idols have vanished, but I still feel the magic here.

The classroom still holds that magic, but Rey is now aware of how people really are. No longer gullible to their deceptive words and the false meanings they hide behind.

As Rey has grown into this world, so has her acceptance in her new position.

Plants can be found throughout the room, decorating the windowsills with used textbooks and greenery. Vines of ivy have covered the railing on the stairs, and Rey even placed some on the bones hanging from the ceiling.

The walls are adorned with sketches of cornish pixies, dementors, trolls, and other creatures. Rey will eventually cover these creatures during the course; she thought it would help students to see the drawings she made, rather than just focusing on the grainy textbook pictures.

Rey's art has always been an outlet for her to let her mind wander and not let her emotions consume her. She feels as though she no longer has the time to do so, and the art surrounding acts as a reminder that she has something to rely on if all else fails.

Rey looks over her room from her desk, proud of her work to make the place feel like her very own.

This is mine. How could I possibly deserve all of this?

Though she still can not accept herself in this role, Rey still is awe-struck by this opportunity. It is beyond her wildest dreams to be here.

Rey tries to get back to work grading the students' most recent paper: Understanding the Boggart and identifying them. But even as she reads the words she assigned, she still can not get her mind to focus.

She hopes that her students will grasp this information with enthusiasm. Rey remembers how hard it was having a new professor every year. Having to figure out each professor's ways of teaching and grading: was a challenge to keep up. Rey wants to be different: she wants to be able to grow with her students.

A series of knocks sound at the door, just as she wrote an 'A' on the top of a paper.

"It's open!" She hollered.

Flipping to the next paper, Rey looks up to find Poe walking into the room. With a flyer in his hands, Poe is grinning ear-to-ear.

Oh, no.

Rey had met Poe only a few times before. She met him after he and Finn started dating, Rey took it as best as she could. It is not that Rey doesn't like Poe, rather it is that they are just two very different people. Poe is the type to be the first one to jump into action, he works as the flying instructor and quidditch referee at Hogwarts. Rey feels like she can't keep up with him or Finn. So, she would rather just keep her distance.