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The teachers of Hogwarts tended to keep their personal lives as secret as possible. Living in a castle full of students made that difficult but most of them agreed it’s worth it to keep from the rumors the students love to spin with each bit of information they get about any of the adults. The rumors could get out of hand enough as it was without them knowing about the staff’s personal relationships.
But when Slughorn made a careless comment to Professor McGonagall in the Great Hall, congratulating her on the engagement, the entire school erupted in theories much to the annoyance of Minerva.
“It doesn’t have to be another Hogwarts professor,” Lily said. Usually, she kept away from drama and rumors but this had sucked her in more than she’d care to admit.
“When would any of the professors have time to meet anyone else? I bet it’s Sprout. Write that down. 2 galleons. Sprout,” Mary told Marlene, setting the coins on the table.
“Could be someone from Hogsmeade, the man from Zonko’s maybe,” Pete suggested.
“You think McGonagall would date someone who works at a joke shop?” James dismissed. “It’s obviously got to be Madam Pince, yeah? Think about it. They have the same energy.” He added his own galleons to the table in front of Marlene who was keeping track of everyone’s bets and soon it devolved past the small group of friends.
Theories ranged from the new divination professor all the way to one of the ghosts to the man who ran the cauldron shop in Hogsmeade to a long-distance secret lover who only writes her owls and they’ve never even met.
“Are you sure you don’t want in, Remus?” Marlene asked. “You don’t need to be part of the bet, you can give us a guess.”
Remus shook his head. “I have no idea,” he said flatly.
It was the following day during a break from his classes and Remus sat on a bed in the hospital wing, curtains drawn tightly with his jumper off on and on his lap. Madam Pomfrey was checking the healing progress of the deep claw marks that ran angrily down his side. They were well on their way to healing but that didn’t stop Poppy from making him come in multiple times already this week and he was hoping with any luck this would be his last visit until the next full moon.
“Those are healing very nicely,” she said with a smile. A smile a bit lighter, a bit bigger, a bit longer than before.
Remus had noticed the shift the last time he was in the hospital wing. He’d also noticed the years of half-second lingering stares when a certain professor would come into the wing. He’d noticed her softening slightly when the transfiguration professor was mentioned.
Remus pulled on his jumper over his bandaged side. “Congratulations,” Remus told her.
“And what am I being congratulated for?” He simply raised an eyebrow. Poppy pursed her lips in a futile attempt not to smile.
“No one knows it’s you. There’s a whole betting pool going though. Some of the guesses are actually insane. I think my favorite was the ghost that stays on the west staircases. He was like 70 before he died 200 years ago.”
Poppy shook her head with an exasperated sigh. Minerva was always much more careful than her. Poppy would kiss her on the cheek in one of their empty offices and Minerva would go on about how a student may see them through one of the tiny windows. Poppy would throw inside jokes about their relationship that made no sense to anyone else into conversations for the sole intention of watching for the smallest bit of pink to brush her cheeks. Poppy always thought surely she’d be the one to mess up the secret. She’d say something about her girlfriend to a professor and realize too late that a student was right there or she’d forget to tuck in the new chain around her neck that carried her ring. She spent all day in the hospital being meticulous by the end she’d slip into a bit of carelessness.
“Sirius and I are together, you know?”
Yes. She knew. It was as if he’d told her the sun rises in the morning or that healing was an important skill. She’d seen the boy sneak into the hospital wing many nights to stay with Remus, sliding his way onto the bed. She’d walked in several times as they’d jerk back from each other with red lips. “I gathered.”
“I’m just saying a lot of students wouldn’t care.”
“I won’t make any comments about Professor McGonagall’s personal life and my suggestion to all students is to do the same.”
“I’m not. I’d suggest being less glaringly obvious if you want it to be a secret. I mean you practically fawn when she comes into the wing. I started assuming you were married three years ago.”
“I agree that one of us has a problem with fawning but if you think it’s me, I’m afraid I need to run some diagnostics,” Poppy said with raised eyebrows and an amused lilt.
“I never said it wasn’t both of us.”
“You’re clear to go, Mr. Lupin,” she said, gathering up his chart.
“You two are cute together.”
“Goodbye, Remus.”
“Really though. Congratulations,” he said, dropping the teasing tone from his voice.
“Thank you, Remus. Now go to class. I will not write you a late note.”
“I’m going to transfiguration. Are you sure you don’t want to make sure I get there safely?”
Poppy took a deep breath, shaking her head. But she couldn’t help but smile as she ran her fingers along the thin chain around her neck that held her ring under her apron.