The Hourglass

Chapter II

The morning had arrived… just like the previous day and the one before that. Hera smashed a cushion on her face as the common room begun to fill with voices and laughter. She hated it more than anything, especially after having been up until three a.m.

“Give me back my shoe, you idiot!”, a third-year yelled as he chased one of his friends around.

“In your dreams! You’ll just have to chase me down to the Great Hall jumping on your right foot! Watch out with the stairs, though!”, his classmate laughed as he played with the stupid shoe, annoying the blonde to no end.

“I said, give it back!!!”

The shoeless boy pushed the joker, attempting to retrieve his possession and making him fall on the sofa where Hera was laying, who barely had time to fold her legs before the kid collapsed on them.

“You bloody morons!!!”, she screamed. “That stupid shoe almost left me on a wheelchair!”

“Calm down, kiddo”, the guy laughed patting her feet. “Where’s your sense of humour?”

“It seems our definition of humour is slightly different”, she replied bitterly.

“Amuse us, then”, the other boy said as he put on his left shoe.

“Don’t push me…”, she warned them.

“Come on! Hit us with your best material, doll.”

“Alright”, she grinned dangerously. “There’s a young boy walking around a dark alley. He had just gone to the market because his parents were sick and couldn’t get up from bed, but he hated leaving his house at night because of how dangerous his neighbourhood was. Suddenly, a man comes out of the shadows and pins him against a wall, threatening him with a sharp knife. ‘Give me your money’, the man says so close to his face he could feel his liquorish breath. The boy stretched out a trembling hand and gave him the only money he had and, after punching the boy on the stomach, the mugger ran away. So, the boy returned to his humble house with his hands emptier than his pained stomach to tell his parents there would be no dinner that night.”

The Gryffindor that sat on the sofa had gone pale and took a trembling hand to his stomach. The other one just looked quizzically at Hera.

“I didn’t get it”, he said.

“I told you we had a different sense of humour”, she smirked as she got up and stretched. “I’m starving… I hope they’re serving breakfast by now.”

“So do I… come on, Gavin… are you coming? Gavin?”, he said as he waved a hand before his lost eyes.

“Yes… you go, I’ll catch up in a bit.”

“As you wish”, the clueless Gryffindor said and left his friend immersed in his own sinister memories.

~*~

“Mr. Potter… Mr. Malfoy”, McGonagall called them during breakfast. Both seniors looked up at her intrigued. “Professor Dumbledore asked to see you in his office once you finish eating. The password is sugar bats.”

“Thanks, Professor”, Harry nodded and the witch left.

“What do you reckon he’s calling you for?”, Ron asked at the pair, who just responded with a shrug.

When their appetite had been drowned with pumpkin cupcakes and their curiosity had taken over them, Harry and Draco got up from the Gryffindor table and went up to see the Headmaster.

“Come in”, the old wizard’s voice got to them from the other side of the door. The Gryffindor and the no longer Slytherin went in and sat in front of him.

“You wanted to see us, Professor?”, Harry asked.

“Yes, yes… we’re less than a week away from your graduation, as we all know, and before you leave, I’ve got a proposition for the both of you. I don’t know if you’ve heard that professors Severus Snape and Marianne Eliot will no longer be a part of the Hogwarts’ staff, therefore, we would be left without a Potions master and a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“Why are they leaving?”, Draco asked shocked.

“Well, Professor Eliot is going through some personal issues and Professor Snape was offered a job at Durmstrang as their new Dark Arts teacher”, he said disapprovingly. “But what I wanted to ask you is if you’d like to take their places next year. You’ve been our best Potions student since first year, Mr. Malfoy, and you, Mr. Potter, have amazing Defence skills, which is why I immediately thought of the two of you. So, would you be interested?”

“Of course”, Harry beamed. “What do you think, Draco?”

“Well, I’d love to do it, obviously, but what about Hera? She can’t spend her whole life doing nothing.”

“Of course not”, Dumbledore laughed. “But if my calculations are accurate, she’ll be eleven next year, so she’ll be able to get sorted and start her own studies.”

“But, sir, she’s not actually a witch.”

“Yes… I’m aware of the situation, but I thought we could make an exception. We could test her skills with a wand, and if there are no magic results, she simply wouldn’t have to take Transfigurations and Charms, but I doubt there would be any problem with the other classes.”

“Well, in that case, I think it’s a great idea”, Draco smiled excitedly.

“Wonderful”, the wizard nodded. “Now, about the payment… you’d get 150 Galleons a month. I know it’s not much, but considering you won’t have any expenses since you’d be living here permanently, I guess it’s more than enough for any wizard to live a comfortable life.”

“Great. I’ll do it”, Harry said happily.

“Me too”, the blonde added.

“Lovely. Here are your contracts. Please, sign near the cross.”

Both Harry and Draco took a quill from their schoolbags and, after dipping them in Dumbledore’s green ink, they signed the parchments, which shined for an instant and rolled themselves shut.

“Well, you may go to your classes now. Thank you and welcome to our staff”, Dumbledore said as he shook their hands and walked them to the door.

Harry and Draco left the office pleased with themselves. They were young, they were in love, they had been accepted by… most people, and they had a new job to look forward to. Their lives had finally rearranged.