Chapter 8- Pun not intended

Hermione straightened her hat and shoulders. She turned towards Draco and hit his chest with the back of her hand, resulting to him straightening his back. He glared at her and turned forward, reaching for the door.

Hermione inhaled and plastered a small smile on her face before nodding to Draco. He gave her a small grin before opening the door.

Silence.

(Insert Break-line)

The students stilled at the sight of the their professors. Soon, the silence was replaced by murmurs and mutterings. Hermione raised a brow, her inner Malfoy kicking it's way to the surface.

"Please take your seats, students," She said, walking along-side Draco to their separate desks. The children obeyed and sat down, an obvious separation between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors.

Hermione took note of this in amusement, but decided against bringing it up… for now.

"Well, as you all know, I am Hermione Malfoy, and this is Draco Malfoy. We will be your Defense against the Dark Arts professors for this year." Hermione explained, flicking her wand to the chalk-board, having it chalk down their names.

A girl from Gryffindor raised her hand. Draco looked at her and nodded for her to speak.

"Professor, are you going to be our permanent teachers? Even after this year?" She asked. Draco smirked and shook his head.

"It is highly unlikely. Hermione and I will be returning to Auror duties after this year." There was a faint sound of awe that rippled across the room. Hermione chuckled and tapped the side of her wand against her palm idly.

"Now, as fourth-years, you will be introduced to things far more advanced than your common hex and counter-curse." She said.

"This year, we will be introducing you to the more… mature side of magic. You will be dueling, bewitching and learning defensive spells." He paused for a while and turned to Hermione with a smirk. Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"And lastly, one must be alert at all times because you'll never know when something might strike. Expelliarmus!" Draco exclaimed, whipping his wand out and aimed the spell to Hermione.

Hermione, however, quickly flicked her wand and deflected the spell, causing it to aim upwards towards the ceiling, disappearing in a flurry. Draco nodded his head approval.

"Well done, love. Even better than-"

"Stupefy!" Hermione called out, sending a stream of light out of her wand. Draco however waved his wand and had it fling to the door. Draco looked at Hermione's gleeful face and frowned. "Constant Vigilance." She quoted, smiling in nostalgia.

"Not funny. I nearly didn't catch that one." Draco said. The students however watched in awe. Draco strode up to Hermione's side and faced the students.

"Well, the dueling will have to wait. Now, who can tell me the difference between the Stunning Spell and the Disarming spell?"

(Insert Break-line here)

"Good-bye, Professor Malfoy." A student bid farewell to Hermione as she packed her things. She smiled at the passing student and continued.

Their lesson went well, and Hermione seemed content with the turn-out. Sure, there had been some minor mishaps when they practiced stunning, but it all just ended up being minor scrapes and bruises that Draco seemed to patch up well.

"And to think, we had a nut teaching us unforgivables at this age." Draco drawled, leaning against his desk. Hermione let out a soft chuckle and nodded in nostalgia.

"Mad-eye was a brilliant man. I'm sure, if we had him as our professor. The real Mad-eye, we would have had an amazing time." She said. Draco rolled his eyes and helped her carry her books.

"Come on, I believe we have to see McGonagall before our next class." He said. Hermione nodded and walked out of the classroom, Draco in tow.

"... Do you think we did alright?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it's our very first time as educators. The children's future is in our hands. I mean, what if we give off the impression that Defense Against the Dark Arts is an excuse to hurt someone. What if-" Draco quickly covered her mouth with his hand, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Merlin, Granger, you have got to calm down. It's not as if we've never handled children before. I'm sure we did all right." He said, removing his hand from her mouth. She glared at him and looked towards the door that was now in front of them.

"McGonagall's office… " She said, looking at the door. Draco raised a brow at her. Hermione's lips thinned and looked back in mild embarrassment.

"Well, did you expect me to be well acquainted with her office?" She asked. Draco chuckled and nodded.

"Quite frankly, yes. With you breaking the rules almost every year. It's a wonder that you were still top of the class." Hermione frowned and nudged Draco lightly on the chest.

"Oh, Ms. Granger, how lovely to see you again." A voice said gleefully. Hermione turned around and beamed.

"A pleasure to see you too Sir Nicholas. How are you?" Hermione asked pleasantly. Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Dismal, but I live with it. Pun not intended." He said with a shake of his head, which was wobbling precariously on his head. "You'd think the Baron would keep Peeves in order. Sad to say, he's far to busy with The Grey Lady to even try." The ghost said and shrugged. He then turned his attention to the man beside her.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Why, is that really Draco Malfoy?" He asked in astonishment. Draco frowned slightly.

"Yes, it is. Why the tone of surprise, Sir Nicholas?" He asked. Hermione just shook her head as the friendly ghost just laughed.

"Why, I thought I'd never see the day you two would actually be civil with one another. My, I must have missed quite a lot." He said. Hermione chuckled.

"More than you'd imagine." She said jokingly before looking up at the ghost with a smile. "Draco and I… Well, we're married now, Sir Nicholas." She explained. The ghost froze and raised a brow.

"Did you now?" He asked, his mouth slightly open.

"I'm surprised you didn't know. I assumed-"

"Oh yes, Ms. Gran- Erm… Malfoy." He paused for a while before shaking his head and chuckling lightly. "I was well informed, I just never believed it. Being a ghost does have it's good points and bad points. Them being the fact that people never enjoy staying to have a chat. Especially about current events." He huffed and floated upwards.

"Well, I'm incredibly happy for the both of you. Job well done, Mr. Malfoy, this girl's a keeper." Nearly Headless Nick commented with a wink. He waved at Hermione pleasantly before disappearing through the ceiling of the hall, with a fading farewell that echoed through the corridors before disappearing.

Hermione however chuckled at the ghost's attempt at being dramatic, for not long after, she heard a soft 'oof' that probably meant the old ghost ran into a crowd of students. She turned to Draco and smiled.

"Shall we?" She asked, before knocking on the door.

"Come in." Someone called from the inside. Hermione stepped in, however Draco didn't follow. She looked at him questioningly, her head slightly tilted in inquisition.

"Draco?" She asked. Draco looked at her, snapping out of his daze. "You alright?" She asked. Draco nodded his head.

"Yeah." He said and smiled. "Just thinking." He added before following her in the office.

"About what?" She asked. Draco waved it off.

"Nothing." He said. Though the look he gave her conveyed otherwise. He thought back on what Sir Nicholas told him before he floated off.

This will probably be the only time I agree with that ghost.

AN: Okay, so I can explain. I've caught this increasingly horrible case of writer's block. I wrote all about it in my LJ. www (dot) mightnotmaybe (dot) livejournal (dot) com. This chapter was in my original version of 'Something There', but Draco and Hermione actually dueled. I took that out because I found it too… unrealistic. I don't know if this was more believable, but…

Anywho, there's another rewrite on the way. Nothing major, just a few adjustments.

Tell me what you guys think! I'm so grateful to everyone who reviewed and supported me! Thank you guys!

I shall start Chapter 9 now.

Love

Ren