DH Skies
February 12, 2019 5:46 AM
Seeking help [tag Mary Brooding] by DH Skies
Selina tried to balance the degree to which she frequented the staff room. She was aware that she was, to everyone except Mortimer, ‘the boss’ (though Tarquin had a hard time talking to her that way, which was one of the reasons she frequented his office - it was nice to occasionally be someone’s long-standing friend, rather than the Deputy Headmistress, or The Head of Crotalus, or the Transfiguration Professor). People needed space from their bosses in order to gossip about them, or if not them personally, the establishment, the children in it, or any of the other myriad unprofessional thoughts that a group of teachers needed to sometimes get off their chests without worrying it would impact their next performance evaluation. On the other hand, familiarity bred trust and comfort. She could not be ‘one of them’ any more, but she could be friendly and accessible, and holing herself up in her office would not make that the case. So, she was an occasional visitor.Today, her primary goal was not actually being sociable or fostering a sense of trust and accessibility. It was cookies. She had decided that she was not allowed them in her own office, and nor was she to summon the elves to bring them. If she wanted cookies, she had to want them enough to be bothered to go to the staff room and get them. That stopped her from excessive snacking, curbing the times she did it out of boredom during a particularly long stack of marking. It also meant that she had walked and thus exercised in order to acquire them, and therefore their calories were less damaging. Probably in the same way that being hexed whilst already on the floor was ‘less damaging’ but it made her feel better.
She had acquired a mug of coffee and a cookie, when the door opened.
“Ah,” she smiled, as Mary Brooding came in, “I was going to come and see you after my snack break. Nothing horrible,” she added quickly, aware that her position made those words potentially terrifying. Given that she wasn’t sure her assurances that it was nothing horrible would be fully reassuring, she cut straight to the point.
“I wanted to ask you about veela. Particularly whether you have any friends in that community. I don’t mean your ex, I wouldn’t ask you to… But whether you knew anyone else through her? I have been trying to work with Cleo on using and controlling her powers, but it’s not exactly a subject I’m deeply familiar with, and it feels like there’s only so far I can take it. You mentioned you’d be happy to help.
“It seems like… incidents where she uses her powers are becoming more frequent. And it seems at least partially related to her liking someone. And I think she finds it confusing to try to know what that means. So, it might not only be about her powers.
“Her father wasn’t very open to the idea of her mixing with veela at first - I don’t think he has a particularly favourable impression of them - but I think he’s come round to the idea that it’s really the only way to help her.”
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DH Skies
Seeking help [tag Mary Brooding]
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Professor Mary Brooding
February 12, 2019 10:37 PM
Offering it! by Professor Mary Brooding
When Mary was stopped in her tracks by none other than Deputy Headmistress Skies, she was pretty sure being sassy was not appropriate. Their last encounter hadn't gone poorly, but it was fairly clear that there were aspects of Mary's life that made the more experienced witch uncomfortable. Maybe that was a strong word . . . but for a strong woman like Selina to be in the position of questioning something must be rare. Mary couldn't fault her for that.While Mary would've quite enjoyed telling the deputy headmistress that nothing horrible was hardly a high enough bar to be comforting, the fact that she was coming to the staffroom with a jar of peanut butter and a large spoon in her hands made her feel like she should probably refrain. Of course, she was also the professor who singlehandedly made it important for the hot chocolate supply to be kept up in the staff room, so perhaps the fact that she was eating peanut butter by the spoonful wouldn't be so odd. She offered a grateful smile at the promise of nothing horrible and acted like it was perfectly normal to be washing a spoon in the sink. The peanut butter had to be held as it was her own; there was no way around that oddity.
However, it all seemed perfectly forgettable when Selina got her whole question out. "Yes, certainly," Mary said, "I'm always happy to help."
She was glad that they were alone in the staff room for a number of reasons. For one, it was a good place to be when stray memories of a life she might've had came floating back in. It was a very grounding place and a very good reminder that she wouldn't have wanted any other life for herself. It was also the sort of place she'd prefer to be when she wasn't explicitly "out" to everyone on staff and Selina was hardly quiet about referring to Mary's ex in the matter. Still, she was sure the deputy headmistress wouldn't have been so flippant had anyone else been present.
Finally, her mind returned to the mental Rolodex of people she hadn't seen in what seemed like a very long time. A smile crossed her face as a few perfect figures came to mind. "I can think of a few people I could write to," she said. "Tawny is a little older than me and she's been married to a very lovely gentleman for a few years. They actually just had a little girl, too, so she's very family oriented and I'm sure she'd be thrilled to meet Cleo. Another woman, Virginia, is a little bit older. She has twins, a boy and a girl, and they're probably a couple years Cleo's senior. Her husband passed away, he was a muggle mechanic."
The idea of getting to see her friends again and introduce them to Tabitha was exciting enough that Mary made a mental note to write to them whether or not Selina wanted to make introductions. "Do you want me to put you in touch with any of them?"
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Professor Mary Brooding
Offering it!
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DH Skies
February 14, 2019 8:17 AM
Accepting it by DH Skies
Mary Brooding had either run out of utensils (and couldn’t be bothered to Transfigure them) and thus been spreading peanut butter using a spoon or she had been eating spoonfuls of it. Selina was pretty sure she had done both of those things in her twenties. And her thirties. She wasn’t going to judge.She smiled when Mary was not only able to suggest people, but able to suggest very stable sounding married people, with experiences quite relevant to Cleo’s. Selina appreciated both elements of this very much. She wasn’t sure how common it was for veela to marry humans, and she found herself slightly surprised at having two such suitable options. But then, as Mary had dated one, maybe it was… some sort of community, the more… liberal ones, who were okay with that sort of thing. She suspected not all veela were.
“They both sound like good options. Perhaps the one with older children would have more time on her hands, and might better know how to deal with a teenage veela and the questions she’s likely to have. But it would be great if you could write to them both - just let them know the basics, that we have a half-veela student and we’re looking for someone to work with her to help her understand her powers better - and if they’re interested, they can write back directly to me letting me know what times would be suitable for me to Floo call them.
“Thank you,” she smiled warmly. She was sure MACUSA could have put her in touch with someone, but it felt much better knowing a bit about the people they might be involving in her student’s life.
“Everything going alright with you?” she checked. She had no reason to suspect it wasn’t - Mary seemed happy, and the students seemed to like her, from what Selina heard on the grapevine, but it seemed a good chance to check in.
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DH Skies
Accepting it
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Mary Brooding
February 16, 2019 3:12 AM
Like Christmas! by Mary Brooding
Professor Skies seemed so happy about this whole thing and Mary wondered how long this had been weighing on her mind. The fact that she was seeking out another professional on the matter should hardly have been surprising - Selina was nothing if not practical - but Mary still felt like it must have been a burden on the woman's mind if she was to the point of bringing in such external help. Mary herself hadn't particularly noticed any increasing tendencies of Cleo's, but she was also probably less likely to notice than others were, as she was perhaps a bit oblivious at times."I'll do that," Mary promised, making a mental note to do so as soon as they were done here. It would feel good to stretch her letter writing hand again.
When Professor Skies turned the conversation back to Mary, the latter couldn't help wondering whether she was meant to answer regarding her professional life or her personal one. Perhaps both? That seemed like dangerous territory.
"Yes, things are quite well," she confirmed neutrally. "Classes picked right back up! I was worried I would feel out of practice with teaching with summer off, but I think I just missed it so much that it felt really natural to start again. And it's so fun to meet all the new first years," she smiled. "How are your classes going?"
When professional courtesies had been paid, Mary shifted the topic again. "I've actually been meaning to come speak with you as Well," she admitted. Really, she and Tabitha both had, but they hadn't quite discussed what that would look like yet. She supposed she should confirm with Tabitha before just going for it but when the opportunity presented itself so neatly as this, it was almost rude to turn down fate's gift. "I'm not sure whether you had heard already or not, but we wanted to catch you before you heard just in case . . . "
Mary wasn't quite nervous, but almost. She felt like a schoolgirl again, and tried her best not to look like one. She was well aware that she didn't have a ring to show for her engagement, which always threw people off. If anyone would be thrown off by this news, it would be Selina. There was also the risk of professional repercussions.
"We haven't picked a date yet, but we were wondering if you'd like to come to our wedding?" Mary said, quickly deciding that an invitation was better than an announcement. "Tabitha and I were engaged over summer," she said. It sounded better than Tabitha and I were engaged during finals week on school grounds and proceeded to . . . Well, she would stop her thoughts and words there both. "We're thinking of a Christmas wedding."
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Mary Brooding
Like Christmas!
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Selina
February 17, 2019 8:43 AM
I prefer jewellery for that. Or wine. by Selina
“Oh, you know Transfiguration - things are always changing,” Selina replied. It was a terrible joke. It was a terrible joke that she had been using for several decades. It still made her smile.She listened curiously as Mary seemed to be building up to saying… something. And then the phrase ‘our wedding’ was blurted out.
“Congratulations,” Selina smiled. She was well used to dealing with surprises, and managed to get that default and expected reaction out whilst her brain processed the anxious jumble that Mary had presented. “Hang on, Tabitha as in… our Tabitha?” she asked. It was not a common name. And, frankly, whilst working at a boarding school, who else was Mary going to meet? Obviously it was their Tabitha. “I had no idea you two were involved,” she remarked, pleasantly and politely, no suggestion of censure in her voice, “I must say you’ve kept that very discreet,” if anything, that part almost sounded approving.
“If I’m able to, I’d love to come, but Christmas can be such a busy time. My daughter’s expecting her first baby, so we’ll be back to Christmasses with a little one in the house,” she beamed, obviously delighted by the idea, even if she preferred to phrase it as her daughter having a baby rather than she herself becoming a g- well, she would deal with that word once there was a baby attached to make it much more palatable. “You’ll have to let me know when you’ve settled on a firm date,” she added, not assuming for a second that Mary meant Christmas of this year. Just… a Christmas, in general - some people wanted a wedding at a particular time of year - once they found a venue they liked that availability. It was a popular time to get married after all.
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Selina
I prefer jewellery for that. Or wine.
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