Professors | Snape x Hermione

Just ten more minutes remained before the first lesson of Hermione's career, and she was the most nervous she'd ever been. She needed to make a good first impression or she would never forgive herself, fearful of making a fool out of herself like she had on many occasions in school. Too clever, too smart, too keen; these were just a few things she'd hear whispered behind her back but she was just glad Ron had her back - most of the time.

Looking around her classroom, Hermione took a deep breath as she examined every inch of the space in front of her. The tables were neatly lined up, set up immaculately with inkwells and piles of empty parchment, ready for each new student walking through the door soon. She smoothed out her cloak and tightened the bow that hung down on her chest, darting her eyes to the clock and deciding it was time to open the door.

Hermione waved her wand at the big wooden door at the back of the classroom and it clicked ajar, with a light squeak. I must get some oil on that, she noted to herself and put a smile on her face as the first student bounded through the door. "Good morning!" The young girl with bright auburn locks waved nervously and took a seat at the front of the class nearest Hermione's desk.

"Good morning," Hermione said with a bright smile and browsed over the list of students names in front of her, wondering who she could be. Before she could ask, a crowd of students came bounding through the door to her classroom.

Forgetting all about the girl sitting in front of her, Hermione's attention was on the others who were chatting and spreading across the classroom to find seats. She took a deep breath. This is it. First ever lesson. Keep calm, kids can be rude! I can do this! The last students settled at their desks just as Hermione approached her pull down screen and tugged on the string to unravel it.

"Good morning First Years, I'm Professor Granger and I will be your Muggle Studies teacher for this year!" She looked around the room at her students, some of which were visibly disgusted that Hogwarts was still teaching the subject. Slytherins, unsurprisingly. "Now, I know some of you will be prejudiced but that's okay, that's fine- understandable really. That's what these lessons are for... Learning."

With her pointer, Hermione flicked the board to the title reading: Muggle Occupations. "Today will be about Muggle Occupations, better known as careers or jobs! Now they can be similar to those in our world, however there are a bunch of occupations some of you may have never heard of before!"

As the lesson went on, Hermione felt herself relax; her shoulders were less tensed, her hands stopped quivering and her smile became more genuine. Teaching students about things her parents raised her on felt empowering, things that not even the professors she worked with knew about. It made her feel, in a way, special. "Does anyone have any questions before we finish?" She asked, her fingers intertwined in front of her.

A few seconds passed and no one had raised their hand so she turned to walk to her desk, ready to dismiss the students, when all of a sudden she heard sniggering. Turning, she saw a group of students whispering, then become silent again.

"How do muggles survive without magic?" One Slytherin boy called out, without raising his hand. He had platinum blond hair and pale skin; if she hadn't known better she would've assumed he was the offspring of the Malfoy's. Hermione chuckled lightly, brushing off his snarky comment that insinuated that muggles are weak and incapable.

"They are raised without it, much like many wizards who are born to muggle parents!" The blond boy and his friends grimaced, then made gagging sounds. Hermione's blood boiled. Don't.

"Enough," Hermione snapped, slightly louder than anticipated. She felt the eyes of every student on her, but her anger quickly subsided once she noticed the time. She flicked her eyes back to the boy, then at her desk, "Dismissed, see you all tomorrow." With a brief smile, she sat at her desk and sighed heavily. She had taken her frustration out on a student in her first lesson. She didn't expect this job to be easy, especially this subject in particular, but she didn't think she'd have to defend her parents so early on in her career.