Almost Me Again by nuw255
Chapter Notes: The start of term brings some interesting surprises for Harry, some of which may prove very hard to live with.
I'm so sorry for taking so long with this update. Unfortunately, I've had a lot less free time than I expected this summer; however, I'm not abandoning either of my stories. If I take forever to answer reviews, just know that I'm using what little computer time I have to write new chapters. Thanks for your patience, everybody.
September first was, as always, a flurry of chaotic activity at the home of Molly and Arthur Weasley. Already-short tempers became even shorter as Harry, Lily, and Brian scrambled to finish packing their trunks. After a hurried breakfast, they all headed outside in preparation for the trip to London.
Harry wore a narrow-brimmed hat pulled low over his forehead to hide his scar. His return to the Wizarding world had, so far, been kept extremely quiet - so quiet, in fact, that Ron was the only one of Ginny’s siblings who knew he was still alive. He had no delusions about remaining anonymous forever, of course, but he did hope to be able to arrive safely at Hogwarts before the media frenzy began. Thankfully, Headmistress McGonagall had been very understanding of that desire during their interview a few days previously. On the other hand, Harry got the impression that she would have agreed to almost anything in order to get a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Apparently, most of the Wizarding public still believed the post to be cursed, and he was the only serious applicant.
As they all lined up outside and began loading their trunks into the luggage compartment of Harry’s car (which had been magically enlarged to ensure that everything would fit with ease), Harry noticed for the first time that Ginny had her trunk packed and ready to go.
“Are you coming too, Ginny?” he asked in surprise.
She just laughed at him. “Did you really think I was going to stay home with Mum and Dad while you three went off to Hogwarts?”
“Well, I-”
“Besides, I think McGonagall might have gotten a bit upset with me if I didn’t show up,” she continued as though he hadn’t tried to answer.
Harry quirked an eyebrow as he lifted her trunk. “Oh? And why’s that?”
“Because she wouldn’t have anybody to teach Charms,” she answered with an innocent look on her face.
“You’re teaching Charms?” Harry asked, bewildered. “Hang on. So you were the old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?”
Ginny nodded, grinning.
“How come you didn’t tell me?”
She shrugged. “At first, it was because I didn’t want to influence your decision about the job. But after that, I decided that it would be fun to wait until right now and see the look of shock on your face. And I was right; it was fun.” She winked at him and slid into the front seat of the car.
Harry shook his head in amusement as he climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the drive.
When they arrived at King’s Cross Station, it was already 10:45. Harry hurriedly parked and helped Ginny, Lily, and Brian get their trunks out of the car. Then, picking up his own trunk, he followed them into the station along with Molly and Arthur.
He kept to the background after passing through the barrier into Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He waved to Ron and Hermione, who were dropping off their oldest son, Joshua, for his first year at Hogwarts, but other than that, he kept to himself and didn’t interact with anyone. After saying goodbye to their grandparents, Lily and Brian hurried off to find a compartment with their friends. Eager to stay out of the spotlight, Harry quickly followed, pulling Ginny along with him. They found an empty compartment near the back of the train, and sat down.
“I don’t usually ride the train,” Ginny said after a moment. “Not many teachers do. But I thought it might be nice to ride it again with you, for old times’ sake.”
Harry smiled softly at her. “Thanks,” he said. He blew out a long breath. “This train sure does have a lot of memories, doesn’t it? If these walls could talk, eh?”
“If these walls could talk, I wouldn’t want to know what they had to say,” Ginny replied with an exaggerated shudder. “Just the thought of what could have happened in here with the shades drawn....” She left the thought unfinished.
They continued chatting comfortably for the remainder of the trip to the school. As the end of the journey drew near, they changed into their robes and impatiently waited for the train to stop. As soon as the wheels stopped turning, Ginny grabbed Harry by the hand and dragged him out of the train and toward the waiting thestral-drawn carriages.
“Firs’ years over here!” called a familiar voice, and Harry glanced to his left to see Rubeus Hagrid. Other than the fact that his hair and beard now had a touch of gray, he looked exactly the same as Harry remembered him.
He and Ginny arrived, out of breath, at the first carriage a moment later. She immediately climbed in, and he followed, pulling the door shut behind him and signaling to the thestrals that it was time to go.
“Sorry about the running,” Ginny panted as she tried to get her breathing under control. “McGonagall can’t stand it when staff members are late.”
Harry grinned. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” he asked. “Hey, do you know how she’s planning on introducing me at the Opening Feast?”
Ginny shook her head. “When I started teaching, she just announced my name before starting the feast, the same way Dumbledore always did when we were in school.”
“What made you decide to become a teacher, anyway?” Harry asked suddenly.
“Actually, it was sort of like what’s happening with you,” she replied. “When I was younger, I always wanted to do something dangerous and exciting, like be an Auror, or maybe work with dragons, like Charlie. But when I found out I was pregnant, I suddenly became all... maternal. I started teaching in the twins’ first year so I could be close to them, and I ended up really liking it.” She laughed. “I don’t want you thinking I’m a completely different person, though. I haven’t changed all that much, really - I still enjoy a good prank as much as anybody - but I lost that reckless desire to put myself in harm’s way, you know?”
“I do know,” Harry said softly. “The same thing’s happening to me, I think. We both saw so much danger and violence from such an early age that I think we just assumed that would be our lot in life. But with Voldemort gone and the prophecy fulfilled, suddenly making a happy life for our family became more of a priority than saving the world. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s somebody else’s turn to save the world next time.”
Ginny laughed. “I couldn’t agree more. The carriage stopped at the castle’s front steps, and they hurried into the Entrance Hall.
“Running late, Potter?”
Harry froze at the sound of that familiar drawling voice. He slowly turned to his left to see the unmistakable pallid face and white-blond hair of Draco Malfoy. Malfoy’s wand was in his hand, and Harry immediately sensed danger, but he couldn’t react. One part of him was yelling for him to draw his pistol (which he no longer had), another part was yelling for him to raise his left arm so as to be able to block any unfriendly spells with his concealed wand (which, in fact, he no longer wore strapped to his left forearm), and a third part of him was screaming that he needed to just draw his wand and curse Malfoy then and there before the Slytherin had a chance to attack. The conflicting reactions made his head pound, and he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to make it go away.
Ginny just rolled her eyes at Malfoy. “We took the train,” she said simply. Harry suddenly understood that when Malfoy had said, “Potter,” he had been referring to Ginny. He wondered if the other man even recognized him.
“Who’s your friend?” Malfoy called out as Harry and Ginny began walking toward the Great Hall.
Ginny didn’t even look back as she answered, “Come to the feast and find out.”
“What’s he doing here?” Harry whispered urgently the moment he was sure that Malfoy was out of earshot.
“He was the spy,” Ginny answered.
“No way.” The disbelief was evident in his voice, but even so, it made sense. Harry knew better than anyone that Draco Malfoy had been willing to switch sides on the night of Dumbledore’s death. But still...
“He teaches Potions,” Ginny said with a shrug, snapping him out of his thoughts. “And before you ask, yes he’s still a git, and no he’s not as bad as Snape. Anyway, Slughorn retired about five years ago, and McGonagall needed a new Potions Master and a new head for Slytherin house. Malfoy applied and got both positions.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Harry muttered. “I’ll bet he’s terrible to the twins, am I right?”
“No more than he is to the other Gryffindors. He hates us all equally.”
“Good evening, professors,” McGonagall greeted as Harry and Ginny arrived at the staff table and sat down between a pair of empty chairs. Harry made sure to sit next to the large chair belonging to Hagrid, as the half-giant was sure to make a scene when he realized Harry was alive, and Harry wanted to make sure that that scene would be as small and as short-lived as possible.
A minute later, Malfoy walked up to the staff table and sat down on Ginny’s other side. She immediately reached under the table and gripped Harry’s hand reassuringly. As he gave her hand a slight squeeze of thanks, Professor McGonagall leaned over and whispered to him, “Will you please take off that ridiculous hat?”
Still wanting to keep his scar hidden for as long as possible, Harry bent low over the table and pulled off his hat. He couldn’t see the hall at all now, but at least no one could see his lightning bolt scar.
“So, Potter,” Malfoy muttered quietly, noticing Harry and Ginny’s linked hands. “Who’s your new friend?” Harry’s free hand clenched into a fist.
“Why so quiet?” the blond continued in his annoying drawl. He let out a harsh laugh. “Finally accepted that your pathetic husband’s gone, have you?”
Harry slowly looked up until his eyes locked with Malfoy’s. Malfoy’s face, already pale, turned chalk-white as he recognized the man sitting on Ginny’s other side. “Maybe her husband learned a thing or two about coming back from the dead,” Harry growled.
Ginny winced slightly, and Harry mentally slapped himself for his choice of words. He hadn’t meant to imply that he had returned with the help of a Horcrux, but the words had just slipped out and there was nothing that could be done about it now.
“Professor Malfoy,” McGonagall whispered sternly from behind them. “I believe we would all be better off if you would take your usual seat at the far end of the table.”
Malfoy turned to her sharply and drawled, “Yes, I was just thinking the same thing.” As he moved to the other end of the table, Harry was satisfied to see that he glanced back once with an expression of not only hatred, but fear as well.
At that moment, the doors to the Great Hall banged open, and Harry quickly looked down to hide his scar as students began filling the House tables.
“Just relax, Harry,” Ginny whispered as she stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.
“Relax,” he muttered as his palms began to sweat. “Right.”
Harry was so nervous that he barely even noticed the Sorting ceremony, and he was only roused from his panicked musings when Headmistress McGonagall stood to address the gathering.
“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts,” she began. Harry couldn’t help smiling sadly as he was reminded of Professor Dumbledore’s start-of-term speeches. “Before we begin the feast, there are a few matters of business which must be attended to. First and foremost, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has once again asked me to remind the student body that no magic is allowed in the corridors, as he did not appreciate having his hair accidentally turned blue by a stray spell last term.”
“That was the twins,” Ginny muttered while trying to suppress a smile, “and it definitely was not an accident. Turning people’s hair wild colors is their favorite pastime.”
“...may be found, for your reference, on Mr. Filch’s office door,” McGonagall continued. “We also have some new staff appointments this term. As most of you know, Professor Flitwick retired at the end of last term, leaving his positions as Charms Master and head of Ravenclaw house vacant.” A few sad groans came from the Ravenclaw table. “However, I’m sure you will all be pleased to hear that Professor Vector has been chosen as the new head of Ravenclaw, and Professor Potter has very graciously agreed to take over teaching Charms.” Ginny stood and waved, earning thunderous applause from the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, and even a smattering of polite applause from the Slytherins.
McGonagall cleared her throat, and the applause died away. “Obviously, this still leaves us with one vacant teaching position: Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Harry wondered why she seemed to be dragging this out. “And so it is my great pleasure to announce that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be...” she paused and shot Harry a small, sympathetic smile, which he only saw out of the corner of his eye, “Professor Harry Potter.”
The room fell utterly silent as Ginny pulled Harry to his feet and he looked out at the sea of faces before him. Every eye in the room was glued to the scar on his forehead, and he felt a sudden urge to try turning his fork into a Portkey to whisk him away. After what seemed an eternity, an enormous hand grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around so that he was looking up into the face of his old friend, Rubeus Hagrid.
“Is it really you, Harry?” Hagrid asked in a low voice.
Harry grinned up at him and nodded. “It’s me. Good to see you again, Hagrid.” He was immediately swept into a bone-crushing hug as Hagrid began sobbing about how sorry he was for having given up the search.
“It’s okay, Hagrid,” Harry reassured him as he examined himself for cracked ribs. “What’s done is done, and I’m here now, right?”
“Righ’,” Hagrid muttered as he sank back into his chair.
Harry turned back toward the students and realized that, after the initial shocked silence, the entire Great Hall had erupted into loud conversations. His eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table, where he was immediately able to discern all of the Weasley children. Although their house-mates were talking excitedly, there were several Gryffindors - who Harry was sure were his nieces and nephews - that were simply staring blankly at him. A moment later his eyes found Lily, and she smiled broadly and waved at him. She elbowed Brian, who was sitting next to her, but he only glared spitefully at Harry.
“Can I sit down now?” he asked Ginny after a few minutes.
She just shrugged, and they both sank back into their seats, still holding hands.
By this time, Professor McGonagall was waving her arms in a most undignified manner as she tried unsuccessfully to silence the chattering students. Finally giving up, she brought her wand to her throat and muttered, “Sonorus.” In a voice which was now magically amplified, she said, very firmly, “Silence!” Conversations all across the Great Hall stopped mid-sentence, as everyone turned their attention back to the Headmistress.
“Quietus,” she whispered, and her voice returned to normal. “I wish to remind the students that Mr. Potter is your professor, and I expect you to give him the respect he is due. Now, I’m sure you are all quite hungry, so without further delay-” she turned to wink at Harry, “-tuck in!” She clapped her hands, and the tables were instantly filled with all manner of good things to eat. Harry ate very little, as his stomach was knotted up with nerves, but he managed to remain in his seat until the students were dismissed.
After the Great Hall had emptied, he was finally able to follow Ginny to the professors’ quarters. When they arrived outside a room with the name POTTER written on the door in large block letters, Ginny turned to Harry and hesitantly looked up into his face.
“I hope you don’t mind that they assumed we’d be sharing living quarters,” she said quietly. She held her breath, waiting for his reaction.
Harry was startled for a moment, and he let it show. Just as quickly, however, he realized that McGonagall would have had no idea that he and Ginny weren’t exactly living like a normal married couple. After a few moments of internal debate, he said, “I guess it’ll be okay, as long as we have separate bedrooms.”
Ginny’s eyes showed disappointment, but only for a split second. She nodded. “I already had the house-elves set up a second bedroom, just in case.” She pushed the door open and they walked into a small but comfortable living room. Ginny quickly showed him around, and then they sat down together on the sofa.
“I’m in big trouble, Ginny,” Harry said after a moment.
“What? What do you mean?” she asked. “This isn’t about those Muggles you were working for again, is it? Because you know there’s no way they could possibly find you at Hogwarts.”
“No, it’s nothing to do with them. I don’t think I’ll be able to teach Defense like I’d planned. My reflexes are all screwed up, and I’ll end up looking like Gilderoy Lockhart if I try to do a demonstration.”
Ginny furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean? All of the training for the Final Battle seems like it just happened, right? So how can there be something wrong with your reflexes?”
Harry blew out a long breath and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “When we ran into Malfoy in the entrance hall earlier, my brain was screaming that I needed to get ready to defend myself, but I just sort of froze up. One part of my mind was telling me to pull my wand on him, another part was telling me to get ready to block with the wand strapped to my forearm - which is no longer there, by the way - and a third part of my mind was telling me to pull a gun on him, even though I know I haven’t carried a gun since I quit my job with the P.M.’s office.”
“So, even though you know what’s going on, you’re having a hard time reacting to it?” Ginny asked.
Harry nodded. “I think this is just more of what Hermione told us about - the whole ‘remembering process,’ I think she called it. It’s going to take time for my memories to completely mesh together into one mind again, but I haven’t got that kind of time.” He stood and walked to a window, where he stared out over the grounds and the Forbidden Forest.
“What if I help you?” Ginny suggested, crossing the room to stand beside him. “After all, I have been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for the past three years.”
“Okay,” Harry said, more because he wanted something to say than because he actually thought she could help. “What do you suggest?”
“Use the first week for introductory lectures in class,” Ginny suggested. “That way, you won’t have to do any magic in front of the students right away. In the meantime, you and I could practice dueling to help you get comfortable with everything again.”
“Hmmm....” As Harry thought about it, he had to admit that Ginny’s plan did make sense. He shuddered at the idea of being a Defense teacher who didn’t have the students practice spells in class, but it seemed like the only way to avoid making a fool of himself. Finally reasoning that the magic-less classes would only last for the first few days, he nodded. “I’d really appreciate it,” he said at last.