The Enemy of my Enemy

The Breakfast Discussions

What's your plan to talk to Slughorn?" Daphne asked.

Teddie shrugged as she added the finishing touches to her Care of Magical Creatures essay. "I was thinking of going to his office before dinner and, you know, asking him," she said.

"I thought you said Potter already tried that approach?" Blaise asked. "What makes you think that you'll have any better luck?"

"Maybe I won't," said Teddie. "But I can only try. Besides, as much as it pains me to do it, I can always play on the 'orphan' approach. Slughorn adored Riddle when he was at school, maybe if I play up to the whole 'I want to know more about my father', he may let something slip."

"You said that You-Know-Who had a fascination with the four Founders, right?" Theo asked.

Teddie nodded.

"And he stole the locket and cup from Hepabizh."

Again, Teddie nodded.

"Maybe you could as Slughorn why he believes He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did that?" said Theo.

"That's a good idea," said Teddie, nodding. She dipped her quill into the inkwell and scratched out her name on the bottom of the essay. She then set it aside to dry.

Daphne eyed the stack of essays beside Teddie. "Are all those yours?" she asked.

"No. These are essays from the year three class that Flitwick set last week," said Teddie. "He wants me to grade them by Thursday, ready to be given back on Friday."

"You're really getting into this whole teachers assistant thing, huh?" Daphne asked.

Teddie grinned. She may not have liked the idea that she shared the same ambition as Voldemort when it came to teaching, but she could honestly say that their reasoning behind the idea was different. Voldemort wanted the Defense position because it gave him a pool of influential young teenagers; whereas she wanted a teaching position as it allowed her to educate and broaden young minds.

"Any chance of you being promoted yet?" Blaise asked. "Junior assistant is great, and all that, but what duties would a senior assistant undergo?"

Teddie shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Never spoken to Flitwick about it, to be honest,"

"Maybe it means you can take lessons," said Daphne. "You know, like, half Flitwick's load and take a lesson of first years or something."

"I'm already tutoring a few students who are struggling," said Teddie, "I don't need to be taking lessons, too."

Daphne smiled. "Professor Teddie Green," she teased. "It has a nice ring to it."

Teddie rolled her eyes. "What about you?" she asked.

"Huh-uh," said Daphne, shaking her head. "We're not talking about me. We're talking about you. Do you want us to start calling you 'Professor'? Because we can, you know."

"Don't you dare," Teddie warned.

Daphne giggled.

Teddie smiled and shook her head. "You're a pain," she said.

"I know," said Daphne. "But you love me."

"Someone has too."

Daphne teasingly blew Teddie a kiss. "Speaking of Professors'," she added, nodding to the portrait hole where Professor Snape had just stepped through. He made a beeline for the table that the friends were sitting at.

"Miss Green, if you would follow me," said Snape, his voice drawling.

"Um, sure," said Teddie, setting down her quill. She looked to her friends, all of whom seemed confused at the request, then she shrugged and followed Snape out of the common room.