Strange Teachers

Chapter 8

——Harry——

The first few weeks of school went by and they were great. Ginny and I took walks around the lake a few times a week and she, Ron and I practiced quidditch in preparation for the tryouts. Ginny was given the captaincy of the gryffindor team, which wasn't at all surprising. She was an amazing woman, beautiful, intelligent, great at quidditch and could stand up for herself. Sometimes, I wondered how I'd been so oblivious for so many years. It seemed like I couldn't live without her anymore.

The only downside was the homework. Every one of our first classes started with the lecture about the importance of N.E.W.T..s that we'd all expected. After all, we'd had to gone through the same thing for our O.W.L.s in our fifth year. All of our professors, except the two curious co-heads of Gryffindor, gave ridiculously long homework.

DADA and Healing had quickly become some of my favourite classes, especially the latter. There was something liberating about talking through my feelings with people I trusted. My group consisted of Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny's best friend from her grade, a witty girl named Rebecca Neumann. Even though most of us didn't know her, we soon realised that whatever magic had sorted us into groups had been right to put her in our group. She had loads in common with each of us and we grew to trust her, albeit less than we did each other.

That class, we had to talk about the thought we'd had most often since the war. I considered lying, but the purpose of this class was to help us and maybe it would. So, I went first.

"I keep reminding myself that all the deaths during the war were my fault. That I could've prevented them if I'd done things differently. I know it isn't true, but I can't help thinking it," Ginny's hand found my back and she rubbed it soothingly.

"I see why you might convince yourself of that, but it isn't," Hermione told me.

"Yes, but so many people lost friends or relatives...Teddy will never even know his parents."

"They knew what they were getting into and those who died are heroes. Besides, once we graduate, Teddy will have a loving family who'll tell him everything there is to know about his amazing parents," I couldn't help but smile a bit at that, picturing raising him, maybe even with Ginny. We already had plans to move in together next year and take him from Mrs. Weasley, who was currently taking care of him.

"You're right, Gin. Thank you."

We kept going in a circle, each answering the question, until the class ended. Ron said he'd been thinking about what made him happy, because that's what Fred would've wanted him to do. When we asked him what made him happy, he gave a timid smile in Hermione's direction and muttered her name, which we all thought was very sweet.

On our way out of class, we passed Prof. Chase speaking to Prof. McGonagall in hushed tones.

"It was a prophecy, I'm certain. My mother came to a Ginny in a dream to give her a prophecy."

"Why would she do that? Ginny must've just written a poem..." I wondered what they were talking about and why there would be another prophecy. If Ginny had received it, she might even be in danger! I hoped that that wasn't the case. I'd have to ask her about it later. That wasn't even the strangest part of their conversation...who on earth was Prof. Chase's mother?

— - — - —

I looked up from my essay on the patronus charm's different forms for the first time in just under an hour. I tucked it away into my book bag, careful not to disturb Ginny's sleep. She must've fallen asleep while I wrote. My eyes flitted to her next to me on the sofa in the common room, fiery hair cascading over my shoulder. The moment was so peaceful that, for the first time since the war, I truly relaxed.

The last thing that I wanted was to ruin the moment, but I had to ask her about her prophecy. I let my hand rest on top of hers as I gently woke her up.

"Harry?" she asked groggily, caramel eyes, barely open, reflecting the light of the hearth.

"Sorry to have woken you up, Gin. I need to ask you about something and I don't know when we'll be alone again. I overheard Profs. McGonagall and Chase talking about a prophecy." By the look on Ginny's face, she had no idea what I meant. Realization only graced her features several seconds later.

"I-I didn't even think about it being a prophecy. It does make sense, I guess."

"Wait, what is it?" I was growing more and more confused, while my thoughts were going a mile a minute. Just imagining her in some kind of trouble or being involved in another adventure scared me more than I'd like to admit. I'd been so caught up in my own musings that I didn't notice my girlfriend taking a book from her bag.

"This." Following the nod of her head down, my eyes fell to the orange leather journal that lay open in front of me. On the first page, a verse was written in Ginny's careful handwriting. Beneath it, the bear cub might as well have jumped off of the page.

"This is brilliant, Ginny. I had no idea that you could draw so well," I finally said with awe in my voice.

"Neither did I," came the quiet reply as I read the alleged prophecy. It certainly sounded like one to me. "It never occurred to me that it could be a prophecy either."

We spent a while longer sharing thoughts and concerns. I had so many questions once she let on about the dream it came from. Ginny had dreamed about a cryptic stranger who was also, apparently, our professor's mum.

We fell asleep that way, together on a couch in the gryffindor common room. As I fell into unconsciousness, everything I'd learned played in my head. My last thought was one that I would later recognize as incredibly wrong.

All of this couldn't get any more strange.

— - — - —

A/N: happy new month! Time's really flown in quarantine. It barely feels like a few months, but school's going to start again soon. 

Hope you liked the chapter and that you'll vote if you did and/or comment feedback and opinions. Thanks for reading!