Heavenly Waters||Sirius Black

Chapter 7

Rumors began to fly about Professor Whitlock as soon as classes began. Ron was largely responsible, swearing up and down that the teacher was a Veela.

And while he and a few other lads were quite happy about it, the same couldn't be said for all.

Specifically Slytherins.

"Not only is this class a waste, the teacher is a filthy half breed," Draco Malfoy says haughtily, his Slytherin cronies nodding as Harry tries to ignore them.

He's sat next to Ron whose already dozing, Hermione directly in front of them with her books already open.

"Wait til my father hears about this," Draco professes much to Harry's chagrin.

The class jumps nearly in unison when a calm voice suddenly says,

"I look forward to hearing what your father has to say. Would you like me to write him a letter introducing myself, Mr. Malfoy?"

The class erupts in laughter at the Professor's words. Harry can't stop the grin that appears on his face when the Slytherin flushes and grumbles something under his breath. Professor Whitlock carries on to the front of the room, her midnight blue robes making her hair look nearly white. The class grows quiet when she turns and fixes her unnerving eyes on them. She locks onto Malfoy, saying simply,

"Speak up, Mr. Malfoy. Only a coward talks about blood status under their breath. I prefer insults to be given directly to my face."

He stammers awkwardly until she holds up a hand, silencing him. She smiles nonchalantly and says, "No apologies necessary."

Her eyes drift from the bunch of red faced slytherins to the boy she'd been avoiding looking at this whole time. Her heart stops, her palms sweat. She can hear familiar laughter, boisterous and loud, and reluctant and scandalized. Harry was a carbon copy of James Potter, right down to the glasses. But his eyes were 100% Lily's. A dull ache spreads through the Veela's chest, the laughs in her head turning to horrific screams. Gwen clears her throat, glancing at the gawking red head beside him in a rather easy attempt to distract herself. She quirks a brow and asks,

"Mr. Weasley. Do you have a question?"

"No, Professor," He quickly replies, his pale skin turning pink under her icy gaze.

"How unfortunate. I was hoping to clear up some of the rumors."

The class again grows quiet as she leans back against her desk and says flatly, "I'm sure you don't need my confirmation now that Mr. Malfoy has so graciously announced it, but I am in fact of Veela ancestry. Any further questions about what that means can be taken up with Hagrid or Professor Lupin. Now, shall we start our lesson?"

Hermione's eager nodding earns the Veela's attention, and for the first time that period the Professor smiles. It's faint, a ghost of a tired smile.

But it's there.

"Good," She says taking her seat. "While it may seem odd to you considering my position, I bloody hated Astronomy when I was your age. So, I'll try to keep it less dry. You're first assignment will be to read the first chapter of your book and then provide a list of anything you know about astronomy. Stars, planets, moons. You think of anything, write it down."

Gwen's eyes lock onto Hermione when her hand shoots into the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, I was hoping we may discuss star—"

"Star charts?" Gwen interrupts, blinking as the young witch quickly nods.

"Yes, we'll get to those. While I admire your eagerness, Miss Granger, take this assignment as an opportunity to get a good starting grade." Hermione flushes and nods as Ron lets out a snort of laughter. Gwen pauses, eyeing the rest of the students before saying,