𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 | 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚

Chapter 3 - A Familiar Face

Helena was peckish at breakfast the following morning. She had slept okay, at least, after she'd laid there for a while mulling things over. But now, her stomach felt awfully sick, almost as if it had completely flipped over. It was like being a first year all over again.

Most unfortunately, time has a habit of speeding up when one is dreading something, and this rule was applied no more differently to Helena. It was all really a blur--one moment, she was stepping out of bed, and the next, Neville Longbottom was passing schedules out to the students as they ate. As he began to near the last of the bulk of them, Helena decided it was time to slip down to her classroom and wait patiently for the bell to ring.

Now was the time to pull herself together. This would be a piece of cake, she told herself, all she'd have to do is regurgitate her knowledge back to the students, who would hopefully be listening. Today was only nerve-wracking because it was the first. By tomorrow, that band-aid will have been ripped off, and a routine will be in place. By next week, there would be a groove to be settled in, and by next month, why. . .

She'd have that right in the bag.

After she took a long, deep breath, Helena felt like laughing at herself. She was getting so worked up, and for what? She had been Hufflepuff House Prefect at one point, she reminded herself--that experience had certainly been a step out of her comfort zone. How was this going to be any different? In fact, it might even be easier, considering she had some years and wisdom on these students. . .

The sound of the bell above snapped her out of her thoughts. Here would come the first flock, stampeding down the stone steps, anxious to nab seats by their friends or at the front of the classroom. With another deep breath, Helena elongated her posture and stood up tall. The door to the room opened with a creak. . .

Quiet as mice, in little first years waddled, books clutched tightly to their chests and pale, focused expressions upon their faces. They looked just as skittish as she had felt just moments ago, Helena thought, and suddenly her nerves eased up even more so. There was nothing remarkable enough about a group of eleven-year-olds to be intimidated by, she figured, so she found herself plastering a warm smile on her face and gazing at them welcomingly. Some of them returned the notion, though in a very brisk fashion.

Once the last bit of them had trickled in, Helena gave a flourish of her wand and shut the door from her desk.

"Good morning," she greeted them all kindly. Some of the students shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. She cleared her throat. "My name is Professor Borington, and I am pleased to see you all here at Hogwarts with us this year. I know how some of you must feel right now--overwhelmed, maybe a bit out of place, or even excited at all this. . . newness." The words came more comfortably now, and Helena finally began to feel as though she were in her element. She began to pace the aisles between the desks. "Believe it or not, you and I are in the same boat," she told the children, who all stared at her with big, innocent eyes. "It's my first year here, too. And though some of you might be quite familiar with the wizarding world"--she eyed one who looked somewhat bored by this speech--"or have siblings who have come along here before you"--and another who had all-too-familiar fiery red hair--"that does not take away from the fact that this is your first day here, too." She noticed that some of the color had returned to a few of their faces. "I'll tell you right now," she grinned, "my time as a student here were some of the best years of my life. It's okay to be nervous now, but just know that by even tomorrow, most of you will begin to feel more at home."

Helena began to wonder if she was talking more to the kids or herself. She pushed the idea aside as she returned to the front of the room.

"Shall we get started, then? Let's have a little pop quiz."