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Greta thought her job at Hogwarts was going rather well, until she received a note from Dumbledore early in the morning one Thursday telling her he expected her in his office at one o'clock that afternoon.
"I'm sure it's nothing," Quirinus later assured her, as they walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where he assisted Professor Lupin while she occasionally supervised, "You've been wonderful with me, and I don't think Madam Pomfrey has said a single bad thing about you."
"That's good to hear," she sighed, squeezing his hand. They hadn't talked about that day they'd kissed, but they'd become more openly affectionate with each other the way they had been as children. Maybe even more - Greta suspected some of the older students were onto them.
He must have had the same idea, because he looked down at their hands and gave hers a squeeze back before letting go. She noticed a group of first-years making their way toward them and shifted slightly as she walked, putting a bit more space between the two of them. They glanced at each other and shared conspiratorial smiles that were far too mischievous for a pair of adults, let alone teachers.
"Miss Linden?" one of the students said, approaching them.
"Professor Linden," Quirinus corrected her with a small, nervous smile. She didn't actually teach anything, but Dumbledore had insisted she go by that title in order to emphasize her authority in the classroom.
The girl stared at him for a moment, not with fear, but with curiosity. Greta thought perhaps she'd never been this close to him before, and this was her first time seeing his scars so closely.
"Right," she said with a small nod before turning to Greta, "Professor Linden, I got close to a dementor and I don't feel well. May I go to Madam Pomfrey?"
"Oh, there's no need for that," Greta said, tapping Quirinus on the arm, "Professor Quirrell has some chocolate on him at all times."
He glanced at her, a bit confused, but nonetheless began fishing in his pocket for a few pieces of individually wrapped chocolate.
"That's right, I- I do, and so does P-Professor Lupin," he told the girl, giving her a handful. His smile became tense, and Greta knew he was silently cursing himself for stuttering. His speech had improved over the last year or so, but there were still moments he was caught off guard.
"Will this really help?" the girl asked skeptically.
Quirinus glanced at Greta, but she kept her mouth shut, urging him to speak.
"Yes, it- it will, I know from experience," he said with a small laugh, "T-Try one."
She did, and they both watched her brighten up a little.
"Thank you, Professor! I'll give these to my friends too," she exclaimed, running to catch up with the group.
After a moment, Quirinus said, "She didn't thank you."
"I didn't give her the chocolate," Greta replied, giving him a playful jab with her elbow, "Besides, it can only be a good thing that a student has had a positive experience with you."
She was right. Everyone in third year and older knew what he'd done two years ago, and most of them were terrified of him. There was a good fraction, however - mostly the older ones who'd known him before he'd gone on that trip in the first place - who seemed to trust the official story that he'd been manipulated and his time in Azkaban and St Mungo's was enough to set him straight. The fact that it was true made the lack of trust upsetting, but if Dumbledore had the parents convinced of his harmlessness enough to have him back on staff, surely the students would come around.
The first and second years, though, he had no idea what to think of. They'd heard rumors, and a few of them were hesitant around him, but after establishing himself as a kind and calming teacher (according to Greta) most of them had forgotten all about his past.
"You're right," he said, his smile coming more easily as they kept walking, "As always."
With a wicked laugh, she replied, "I know."
Once it was finally time, Greta was sitting across from Dumbledore at the desk in his office. He'd offered her tea and snacks, but she was too nervous to even think about eating. She'd skipped lunch as well, and vowed to herself she would eat something right after this meeting, if only to keep Quirinus from worrying.
"You've grown quite close over these last few years," Dumbledore observed.
"Pardon?" she said, pulled back into the present.
"You and Quirinus," he clarified.
"Well, yes, we always have been," she told him, "Until he left, and, well, you know how we were growing up."
"Yes, I remember the three of you were inseparable."
She flinched, unable to hide her hurt at the mention of Gilderoy. Even knowing now how terrible he was, even hating him at times, she missed the person he was as a student and mourned the fact that he was beyond recovery.
It made her especially angry to know that Dumbledore, who could have justly exposed him as the fraud he was, had put him in a position to be hurt instead. She wouldn't be surprised if he had done the same thing to Quirinus by switching his subject the previous year - Dumbledore had always thought of Quirinus as a more hateful person than he really was.
At least he was trying to make up for that now.
"What is this about?" she finally asked.
"You recall that your position here is only for this year, correct?"
"Yes, of course," she answered, pushing down her certainty that she was being fired.
"You're an intelligent woman, Professor Linden. Surely you've thought ahead about your future," he went on, squinting at her through his glasses.
Not knowing where he was going, she just nodded.
"I'm sure you can foresee, then, that your proximity to him will affect the way you're perceived by potential employers."
"To who...? Quirinus?" she asked, shaking her head as she tried to think of a way to interpret what he was saying, other than the way it sounded to her.
"Of course, I could be completely wrong in terms of your relationship with him. Forgive me if I've misread it."
"I can easily forgive you for misreading our relationship," she told him, doing her best to contain her rising anger, "What I can't forgive is the implication that I should care more about my career than I do about him."
"I'm not saying you should care about him less," he clarified, "All I mean is, it may be beneficial to be less public about it. Consider how his reputation may affect your prospects."
Greta gave herself a second to fully absorb what she was hearing, and replied, "With all due respect, Headmaster, just because you're ashamed to be associated with him doesn't mean I am."
He adjusted his glasses and sighed, "If I were ashamed of Quirinus, I wouldn't have hired him back at all."
Reasoning that it must be true, she let some of her tension go and said, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I only hired him back in the assistant positions because I didn't want to put too much pressure on him."
She demanded with a scowl, "And yet you think I - his best friend, possibly the only person he trusts - should try not to be seen with him? Do you know what that would do to him?"
"I expect he would acknowledge the position you're in and do his best to support you," Dumbledore answered.
Leaning back with a frustrated sigh, she admitted, "He would. Of course he would! But it would hurt him, and I refuse to put him through that."
Dumbledore rightly sensed that she had more to say, and gave her time to say it. She took a deep, shaky breath before continuing.
"I appreciate your investment in my progress, truly," she told him, her volume rising, "But I don't want to progress if it means hiding him away, as if he's some... some blight on my reputation!"
"I understand," he said, his eyes twinkling though he wasn't quite smiling, "It's a very honorable stance to take."
She scoffed, "I don't care about honor. I love him."
He did smile, then, and Greta's eyes narrowed.
"That's wonderful."
"Is it?"
"I know you think of me as rather heartless - and rightly so, after how I treated him," Dumbledore went on, "But I was wrong to do that, and I'm glad he's found happiness with you-- Am I correct in assuming your feelings are reciprocated?"
"Are you really happy for him, after what you just suggested I do to him?"
"I wouldn't expect you to tell him."
"Tell him?" she echoed, aghast, "Do you think he wouldn't realize on his own? Or do you just not care?"
With another maddening smile, he replied, "I see your mind is made up."
"It has been the whole time," she said firmly.
"Your devotion to him is admirable. Not many people would be willing to give him another chance," he said, pausing, "I certainly wouldn't have if it weren't for you advocating for him."
"Thank you," Greta said, taking a deep breath, "And-- Thank you for listening to me back then. You and Professor McGonagall were the only ones who did."
"You're welcome," he said, his smile brightening, "Now, that will be all - unless you have anything more you'd like to discuss?"
Standing, she replied, "No, thank you. I'll see you at dinner."
"Yes, see you then. By the way, would you tell him he's doing a terrific job? He's really begun to open up much more quickly than I expected."
"I do, every day," she said, before giving him a glimpse of a smile, "But yes, I'll tell him you said so."
She arrived at the Defense classroom around fifteen minutes before the period ended, and Quirinus couldn't hide the grin splitting his face in the middle of a sentence when he saw her. As she shut the door, she heard a few of the students - sixth years - snicker to themselves. Lupin seamlessly took over as Quirinus failed to recall what he was saying, and gestured for him to leave with the same calm smile he always gave when he told him to take a break because of his nerves.
"I- I'm fine--"
"I know," he cut in kindly, "Go on, I can take it from here."
With a quick thanks, Quirinus met Greta at the door, and she looped her arm around his as she shut it behind them.
"What happened to being inconspicuous?" he whispered with a laugh.
"You're one to talk, smiling like that the instant you saw me," she teased, pulling him closer and pressing a quick kiss to his temple, "Besides, the students are all in class."
"Not all," he pointed out, "Any number of them could have a free period at any time."
"Ugh, you win," she said, smiling and kissing his face again before untangling their arms.
Blushing just enough to be noticeable to her, he asked, "How did the meeting go?"
Greta hesitated, saying, "It wasn't anything dire, just a check-in."
His brow quirked upward in a way that told her he wasn't convinced.
"Alright, it wasn't just a check-in, it was..." she waved her hand around as she tried to find the words, "He was concerned about my reputation."
Quirinus took in the words with only the slightest sign that he was hurt - his smile becoming tense, his gaze wandering to the floor.
"Because of me? Don't tell me I'm jumping to conclusions, because there's nothing else about your reputation that could possibly look bad," he said, glancing back up at her with the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Yes, and I told him he was wasting his time if he wanted me to prioritize my career over you--"
"Your career?" he repeated, stopping and taking her by the shoulders, "I'm jeopardizing your career?"
"No, you're not," she insisted, "Even if potential employers see me as... I don't know, unreliable - that's their fault, not yours."
He shook his head, letting go of her and beginning to bite one of his nails.
"I understand. Really, I do. If you need some space - to be seen with me less--"
"I need you," she snapped, grabbing him by his collar, "I don't care about getting ahead in work if it means I have to pretend I'm not absolutely obsessed with you."
He was frozen for a moment, but quietly laughed, "That's a strong word."
"I have strong feelings," she said, pulling him into a tight hug, "But really, I'm perfectly happy with my job, and going back to St Mungo's at the end of the school year."
"And you're happy with me?"
Greta took a step back, examining his face. His blush and inconsistent eye contact told her he knew he was overthinking, given that she'd just expressed how much she loved him, but he was smiling.
"I am," she told him, taking his hand and lifting it to her lips, "As long as we've known each other, I've always been happiest with you."
"I feel the same. I can't imagine being with anyone else," he murmured, his blush deepening as he watched her kiss his scars. His other hand came up to her hair, running his fingers through it.
They were interrupted by a student clearing his throat, and Quirinus was so startled he nearly fell over. Greta wrapped an arm around him and squeezed his hand as she smiled at the student, who turned out to be Harry Potter.
"Sorry, Professors, I didn't mean to scare you," Potter said, his eyes wandering over them both.
Quirinus shook his head, saying, "Don't- Don't- Don't--"
"Don't apologize to you, I know," Potter said, rolling his eyes, "Anyway, if you're trying to keep your relationship a secret, you're doing a really bad job."
"That's no way to speak to a Professor," Greta gently scolded.
Shrugging, Potter told them, "Sorry, it's just really obvious, and class has just ended."
He was right. There were more students in the corridor now, and they were lucky they were in a position that could easily be mistaken for Greta comforting Quirinus in a moment of panic. That was part of her job here, after all.
"Thank you, then," she said, patting the boy's shoulder, "Go on, get to class."
When he was gone, Quirinus sighed and leaned against her as she patted his back.
"He doesn't seem afraid of me at all," he whispered.
"No, he hasn't as long as I've been here," Greta said, beginning to lead him back to the classroom, "Are you afraid of him?"
"Not him, exactly. I know he can't hurt me, and doesn't want to..." he answered, chewing on one of his long nails, "I don't understand it. That's what scares me, I think."
"That's alright, you don't have to understand it."
With a nervous smile, Quirinus said, "You're right. Let's just hope he doesn't go telling his friends what he saw."