dfcresswell:
It wasn’t often that Dirk went up to Hogsmeade these days, considering most of what he needed could be found in Diagon Alley and much as he found apparition useful perhaps it was a mixture of his Muggle upbringing and his athletic youth that had now fizzled out into spending most days of the week sat at a desk but he preferred it when he could walk to places. Living in London meant that it would always be his first stop for anything.
Today, the Hogwarts students were in the village for the last Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays and it had always been one of Dirk’s favourite times, with the village blanketed in a carpet of snow and carollers outside the Three Broomsticks and a buzz around the place that you didn’t really get in London. Not in the way a true Northerner would appreciate, at least. On top of that, one of his old teammates had suggested a catch up. When he left the Three Broomsticks after a few Butterbeers with the seventh year captain, Dirk headed down the village, taking in the sights with a rare hint of nostalgia and paused when he noticed a familiar face in a window seat of Madam Puddifoot’s. He had been in the teashop exactly once before and it wasn’t a great memory but Dirk pushed open the door anyway and shivered in the sudden warmth of the room.
“I think the parents would have something to say about it if you did,” he replied with a laugh but he sat down and smiled warmly at Minerva. She had neither been his Head of House nor his absolute favourite teacher (as that honour went to Professor Slughorn) but he had enjoyed Transfiguration and recognised that she genuinely cared for the students in a way that was quite rare from such a good teacher. “Thanks. I was just thinking that I haven’t been in here since I was seventeen. Too many students in the Three Broomsticks for you?”
“Parents will say what they wish.” Minerva flitted the notion away with the wave of her hand. In her two decades of experience, she learned that no matter how she taught, how strict or soft she was, parents always had something to say, and smiled quietly. It reminded her of how a student did claim to be bitten by her once, when she was in her animagus form, and how the claim almost got her license revoked.
Dirk was always respectful in her classes, which Minerva always took note of in her students. She never had problems with him and thought he was quite bright, as most Ravenclaws were. Considerate, as always, Minerva was comforted by his presence. “Just trying to keep a low profile, Mr. Cresswell. What have you been up to since graduation? Seems like just yesterday you were in my classroom.”
