All her hard work, reduced to a pile of ash.
“Er . . . maybe I should come back another time.” Said her unwelcome guest, reminding her of the unpleasant fact that this was all his fault.
She turned slowly to face him, aware that she must look absolutely insane, with her Muggle clothes covered in ash and her face unable to fully conceal the barely controlled rage that simmered below the surface.
“Professor Longbottom,” she said tightly, “I believe this is the fourth time you have entered my office without knocking, and the fourth time that has resulted in my technology exploding.” She gestured at the door. “There is a sign on the door, you know. It says, ‘Please knock.’”
Neville Longbottom, second-in-command of Dumbledore’s Army, Slayer of the Snake, Professor of Herbology, Head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and all-around war hero, shifted uncomfortably. “Well — I would have knocked,” he said. “But your door was open.”
Belatedly, Swara remembered that it was her walk-in hours and she did indeed keep the office door open in case any students wanted to ask her questions about the class or their homework.
“Maybe, Professor Longbottom, you should knock anyway.” She said.
