Brilliant (Harry Potter/Doctor Who Crossover)

-Chapter 11-

Chapter 11

Before I knew it, Saturday had become my favorite day of the week. Smith and I met in his office at 2pm for "help with Astronomy", but for real, the subject only took 15% of our time. Though I never said it out loud, it was no secret that I didn't come for Astronomy and he didn't seem to mind one bit.

One week before Christmas break on your last "lesson" before I would go to the Borrow - yell at Ron - and see my best friends again, things got a little more personal.

"You seem sad, miss Granger," he suddenly said.

It had nothing to do with his trip to Rome and it had completely caught me off-guard. I stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.

'It's just that lately, I see you walking around the school and you look sadder ever time. Worried could be the better word. Or bothered," he explained further.

I frowned as I thought of the only thing that's been bothering me lately. I rolled my eyes thinking of the last letter I received from Ron. It was very short and vague with just a mentioned apology to replying so late. Angry, I crumpled it into a ball and threw it in the fire. I was about to tell Smith about it, but hesitated. He was a grown man, he didn't want to hear about some school girl's love life. I looked up at the snowing sky that we could see through the ceiling.

"You know," he broke the silence, "to be perfectly honest with you, I don't see you like any other student in this school. And I definitely don't see you as a little girl. You surpass even the most mature students greatly. You have experienced things they haven't. The truth is that I enjoy discussing with you as an equal."

I smiled warmly to him. Hearing that was very assuring.

"And well, some people might find a student-teacher friendship slightly inappropriate, but you're 18 years old, you know what you are doing, right?" he added, smiled back.

"Yes, I do. And I don't see you like any other teacher as well," I nodded. "So, professor, do you mind if I call you John?" I suggested hopefully.

"Only if I can call you Hermione and that we kept that between us, he grinned.

"Agreed."

I felt like the student-teacher wall that blocked us from really being friends has completely been destroyed. The conversation dragged on for 2 more hours after I admitted having no trouble in his subject. I spoke to him of Ron's perplexing distance, sending vague letters or none at all, and he suggested me that I should wait until Christmas break to talk to him face to face about it. With the Holidays a week away, that wait wouldn't be long.