He gazed after her with half a smile as she scolded the children mercilessly. They never appreciated her or the work she did for them. She put her heart and soul into her work and all for naught. His face contorted in a grimace. Nasty brats. And yet, it was mostly thanks to them that he had opportunities to spend time with her.
There was that time someone had dripped chocolate onto the table and he’d been called in to clean it up. He’d stared mesmerized at her as her eyes glimmered and grew a little brighter with each swipe of his rag across the table. And the time a student had accidentally performed a Cutting Curse on the page. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he’d felt a bit guilty for the pleasure he’d felt at being called in that time. Still, he’d gathered the scraps into a rubbish bin and, with a last longing glance thrown her way, he’d exited through the doors.
He heard a couple of students speaking against her in the hallway and it was all he could do not to defend her honor. That dratted Harry Potter and his no-good friend, that Weasley (just like his brothers, no doubt). Then he heard his name mentioned and froze. Had he been found out? His secret desire, his longing, and suppression of his feelings had been discovered by these brats?
He relaxed minutely as they laughed, clearly not believing a word out of their own mouths.
He hoisted the bin onto his hip and looked down at his faithful Mrs. Norris. "Come, my sweet," he murmured ruefully as he cast one last longing gaze past the library doors to feast his eyes upon her. He sighed and began to shuffle away. "It's just another day."