Exploring on Labyrinth Gardens

Professor Jacob Carter

November 10, 2009 1:40 AM

Exploring by Professor Jacob Carter

Jacob Carter hadn’t had long to explore Sonora by the time the students arrived so he had quickly set up his room and gone exploring. Now he walked the Labyrinth Gardens, his hands locked behind his back biting his lip. His brown hair curled under his ears and his soft brown robes seemed to fit in the gardens.

After twenty years he had returned to school, he had not attended Sonora but a school in New York long since closed, this was the next best thing. The thirty seven year old had spent a couple of years travelling the world before taking a job at the ministry as part of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad where he had been for the last fifteen years.

Jacob had begun feeling like he was missing sometime last year and began searching for a new job. After sometime his sister had told him about the open transfiguration position here at Sonora and had applied now expecting a lot. So when he was hired it had come as a pleasant surprised. He was happy to be teaching transfiguration as it had once been of his favorite class when he was in school.

Yet now he realized what he was missing in his life after the welcome feast, children. He was missing the happy wife and children, and he was getting no younger. Just three years away from turning forty he felt he missed his chance at having a family, and would have to settle for the children of the school as children.

He stopped for a moment and glanced around Sonora was very beautiful and he was glad that it wasn’t ungodly hot like he figured Arizona would be. He heard someone behind him and turned to make sure it wasn’t a student as it was now well past eleven at night and they should have been in their common rooms over long ago. “Hello?” He called into the night.

0 Professor Jacob Carter Exploring 0 Professor Jacob Carter 1 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

November 10, 2009 9:33 AM

Taking in the night air by Coach Amelia Pierce

The Crotali were all settled in and abed. Even the older students were tucked away in their rooms, if not yet asleep. She was fairly sure it was safe to leave her office and stretch her legs without risking any of them coming down to consult with her about anything. Just the same, she put in a few extra wards around her Commons side door so that anyone knocked, she'd hear it where ever in the school she might wander to.

Though she'd come a few days before September first to set up her room and Head of House office, Amelia was still more in the eastern time zone than she was on Arizona's. It didn't feel like bedtime yet, so she took off her professional robes, double checked that the gray slacks and purple blouse underneath weren't sporting any unexpected wrinkles, and headed outside to take the rare opportunity to get some fresh air.

Having lived in Boston for the last twelve years, with very few excursions outside of the city, the air in Sonora's gardens tasted sweeter than she could clearly recall air ever tasting. There wasn't even the faintest hint of gasoline in it. It was good getting away. She vaguely regretted missing Belinda's twenty-second birthday, but Bel wouldn't have been home for much of it either, since that was when she was supposed to show up at her college.

But other than that small absence - and Bel had had her party the day before Amelia left, so she still got cake and saw the girl open her present - Amelia felt refreshed and rejuvenated and like her life was starting up again. It had stalled out when she'd been made a mother of two teenagers at twenty-one, but now they were grown and Amelia's life was her own again.

The slate her future was written on seemed as clean and clear as the desert air.

The thirty-three year old woman froze when she thought she heard something nearby. She slowly drew her wand and crouched lower. She'd heard tell that the Gardens were home to some creatures that might mean her harm, especially at night.

Except dangerous creatures did not call out 'hello' into the darkness.

She stood up again and put away the wand. "Hello!" she called back, trying to trace the origin of the voice back to the man who owned it. Ah, there. Not one of the staff she'd met yet.

She ran a hand through her dark hair, making sure there weren't any twigs from the hedges mysteriously stuck in there and causing a poor first impression. Once she was confident that there wasn't, she stepped forward with a hand outstretched.

"Amelia Pierce of the Boston Pierces," she introduced herself. The family branch was every bit as much a part of her identity as her name was. Even if purebred etiquette ingrained in her since birth would have allowed her to leave it off, she didn't want to. She was proud of her family, proud to be a part of them, and it was absolutely critical that she not be mistaken for either of the other two Pierce branches. One was too radically liberal. The other was too stuffily conservative. In her utterly unbiased opinion, only the Boston branch held a happy middle ground of reasonability.

"Quidditch Coach and Head of Crotalus House," she added, almost as an afterthought.

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Taking in the night air 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob Carter

November 10, 2009 1:58 PM

Lovely evening by Jacob Carter

Jacob was surprised when a female voice called back, he didn’t expected anyone to actually be there he had thought it had been more of something not a someone but when the woman he appeared he smiled at her.

She introduced herself as Amelia Pierce, he had heard the name at the welcome feast but he had been seated too far away to see her. He could understand why she had said her branch line as most pureblood families hated to be confused with another. Thankfully he didn’t have to deal with that, being a halfblood.

He pushed his hair back and smiled. “Jacob Carter, Transfiguration Professor.” He introduced himself. He carried a name basically unknown by the purebloods though there were two branches of the Carter’s there was only one wizarding and that was his. His father had been a muggleborn and his mother a half blood. “Nice to meet you Amelia.” He said after a moment and with a nod of his head.

“I was just exploring the school a bit, and happened upon these beautiful gardens.” He smiled a bit embarrassed at the word exploring. “I’d hate to have some first year get lost and try to help them and get lost myself.” He laughed as nervously ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had since he was a teenager. He stopped his rambling and looked at Amelia.

0 Jacob Carter Lovely evening 0 Jacob Carter 0 5

Amelia Pierce

November 10, 2009 5:41 PM

It is indeed by Amelia Pierce

"Pleasure," Amelia returned politely, to complete the proscribed formula for an introduction. She would have felt off for days if she hadn't, even if Jacob hadn't been a pleasure to meet. As he did seem friendly enough, the statement was even true.

She did note that he didn't offer a family branch of his own which, she reminded herself sternly, wasn't grounds for outright dismissal. Merlin, she'd been out of wizarding circles too long. It wasn't right that she could work in close quarters with a muggle man who had no idea magic existed for eight years without blinking, but as soon as wizard's name didn't register in her mental directory of purebloods, she was inclined to walk away.

Liberal, Amy, she reminded herself, You're a liberal now. You work for DISCUSS. Equality for all, remember?

If he'd been a witch, it wouldn't have mattered. If he'd been a student, it wouldn't have mattered. If he'd been about ten years older, it wouldn't have mattered. If he'd been wearing a hat made of pink bubbles, it wouldn't have mattered. If he'd been wearing a wedding ring, it wouldn't have mattered. If he'd been fatter, it wouldn't have mattered.

But nothing in his first impression disqualified him as potential significant other material, and her upbringing rebelled when faced with a reasonably decent single wizard who didn't have a pedigree name. Druscella would be so proud.

Druscella's approval was unnecessary. Though, heck, at this point, anyone with a Y chromosome would make the old woman happy, despite Amelia's many and repeated attempts to convince the New Hampshire Matriarch that she was not, in fact, a lesbian. The news that Amelia had been hired to be a Quidditch coach seemed to have been the final nail in that coffin. There were days when Amelia wanted nothing more than to strangle her grandmother.

It was hard enough finding a date without her own family spreading the rumors that she batted for the other team.

She smiled at Jacob, thinking, Meet, Like, Get to Know, Still Like, then Date - you have plenty of time to find something else wrong with him before you go blood elitist on him and make Belinda disown you from the branch you're Matriarch of. Aloud, she said, "What you do when that happens is: one - never admit you're lost, two - offer to let the kid sit on your shoulders, three - ask him if he can see the school from up there. He'll look around and you can figure out which direction you need to go from there. If he can't see it, you wander around and repeat the process, saying 'we should be getting closer now, can you see it yet?' until he does. Use magic to get through the hedges if you have to."

She grinned. "Raised two kids. As the grown up, you have be all knowing or they freak out. Bel's twenty-two now, and she still freaks out if I don't have the answer to something."

After a moment's delay, Amelia hurried to add, "She's adopted. I was eleven when she was born. I was her cousin before I was her mother." It was bad enough Amelia sometimes felt ancient. She didn't need anyone thinking she had a biological child who was twenty-two already.

1 Amelia Pierce It is indeed 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob Carter

November 10, 2009 7:51 PM

Ah yes by Jacob Carter

Jacob chuckled when she offered up the suggestion of letting the child sit on his shoulders. “Ah an ingenious idea.” He said with a smile. He nodded when she said she raised two kids, not that they were hers but raised them. She didn’t look old enough to have a twenty two year old child.

“I know that children freak out when adults don’t know that answer.” He said with a laugh. “My niece is five and freaks out every time I don’t know something, I’ve learned a simple go ask your mother works for me.” He smiled as he moved his hair out his face.

“Though I must say it makes a bit more sense that Bel is adopted, I didn’t think you looked old enough to have a twenty-two year old.” He smiled. “I’ve only been around my sister’s children but they keep me on my toes.” Jacob shifted a bit and then smiled. “You wouldn’t mind walking with me would you? I’d like to explore a bit more.”

0 Jacob Carter Ah yes 0 Jacob Carter 0 5

Amelia Pierce

November 11, 2009 9:41 AM

Quite so. by Amelia Pierce

Amelia smiled, pleased that Jacob not only noticed but mentioned she looked too young to be Bel's biological mother. Validation that she really hadn't aged beyond her years was nice.

"Sure," she agreed at his request to join him on his walk, doing her very best not read too much into it. A guy and a gal could go on a walk together and not have it mean anything. They were co-workers, getting to know each other and their new surroundings.

She fell into step beside him. "Figure it might be good to know my way around as well." She shook her head and laughed, "With my luck, I'd stumble upon the super tall first year who weighs as much as I do." Which would be quite the large first year, really. At an athletic 5'4", she was hardly diminutive. Still, even a small eleven year old would probably be hard to get up on her shoulders. "I could probably 'teach' him the Point Me spell, to 'help him if he ever gets lost again' - but it might be good to actually know the way back."

"I take it you didn't go to Sonora as a kid, either?" She'd worked as the assistant to a private investigator for eight years, but she didn't think she needed the prerequisite to figure out a new teacher afraid of getting lost hadn't been at the school before. "I was a Salemite."

1 Amelia Pierce Quite so. 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob Carter

November 11, 2009 3:08 PM

Delightful! by Jacob Carter

As they walked Jacob listened to her and chuckled softly when she spoke about her luck. “My luck I’d have the one child who is afraid of heights. Yes the point me spell would be very helpful in this type of situation, you should be the Professor not I, all these innovative ideas.”

He smiled and nodded when she had asked. "I take it you didn't go to Sonora as a kid, either?" “I went to the Warlock Institute of Magic, all boys’ school. My parents thought it would be best for my studies if I had no girls to interrupt them.” He said with a small smile at her.

“Salemite hmm.” He began with a smile. “I’ve heard that was a nice school when it was opened, too bad it closed we don’t have many schools around.” The deeper they went into the gardens the darker it seemed to grow, he liked it but wondered if Amelia did. He liked her easy presence it wasn’t often he felt comfortable with a woman one on one.

“What made you choose to come to Sonora then if you don’t mind me asking?” Jacob said after a moment’s silence. He ran a hand through his hair and sigh, hoping he wasn’t coming off as awkward as he usually did in social gatherings. He blamed that on going to WIM and having very few friends.

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Amelia Pierce

November 14, 2009 11:57 AM

Splendid! by Amelia Pierce

Amelia smiled, laughed, and shook her head at the idea that she should be a professor. She was going to be a flying instructor; that was about as close as she had any desire to get to standing in front of a class full of students. She'd hated tests and homework as a kid, and she doubted she'd like grading them any better as an adult. If Aladren had been the House left without a Head instead of Crotalus, she suspected she would not have been the one asked to step in.

"Yeah," she agreed sadly when he lamented on Salem's closing, "Seven of my best years were there. Fortunately, both my kids had graduated by the time it shut down, so I didn't have to find them new schools. Bel was in the last year that graduated before the trouble started."

They walked in silence, Amelia half grieving over the loss of her old school, and half enjoying the late night walk. After a little while longer, Jacob asked a question that was more related to their previous conversation than he realized.

"Well, I left Boston to get away. Everything was . . ." she shook her head, unable to come up with a way to put the problem into words. "I felt like I was living somebody else's life and mine was stuck on pause. I had to drop everything when Derry, Bel, and I were disowned. I was twenty-one, and suddenly I had two kids that I had to take care of, both of which were going through a lot of emotional turmoil. I had to quit my coaching job at Durmstrang, and set up a home for us."

She shook her head. "Since then, I've just been watching out for them, making sure they had everything they needed to live their lives. And now, finally, it looks like they're getting settled and moving on. Derry's married, and his wife is almost done with her Healer training. They're looking for a house. Bel's going back to college after her first job fell through and already has a pretty solid plan for what she wants to do with the rest of her life. And then there was the fact that my previous employer was going bankrupt and I hadn't gotten paid in three months. He told me to start looking for a new job. Everything just seemed to line up and say it was time for me to start over. Finding another coaching position seemed like a good way to get back to where I'd been before the world as I knew it fell apart."

She smiled a little and shook her head. "So that's why I left. Why I picked Sonora, specifically, is because I have a few cousins and a younger brother who are rumored to be coming through here in a few years. I'm disowned, so this seemed like the best way to get to meet them, assuming Druscella doesn't change her plans just because I'm here."

Shrugging, Amelia concluded, "So that's my life story. What brought you to teach at Sonora?"

1 Amelia Pierce Splendid! 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob Carter

November 14, 2009 2:04 PM

Intresting by Jacob Carter

Jacob was surprised when Amelia told him so much about her life, most people didn’t like to open up so easily to strangers, he was glad though that she was so easy to talk to. He nodded slowly as he listened, he felt bad that at twenty one she had to put her life on pause. Of course at twenty one Jacob had already been applying for Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and had his life planned out.

“Well I’ve lived in New York all my life and have worked for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad for the last fifteen years. Last year I realized I hated my job and I needed to get away from New York. My sister told me about the open job here, so I jumped at the chance to go somewhere warm.” He smiled and laughed. “I’ve led a pretty boring life I guess.” He said with a shrug.

He turned to look at her as they walked. “It seems you led a pretty interesting life though.” He smiled. “I was lucky enough to see Durmstrang when I was overseas, it was a very impressive school. Did you try to go back to Coach there or applied right to Sonora?” He asked with a smile.

0 Jacob Carter Intresting 0 Jacob Carter 0 5

Amelia Pierce

November 16, 2009 11:50 AM

That's a chinese curse, I hear by Amelia Pierce

"Interesting," Amelia repeated with a sideways look and a wry expression. "That's one way of putting it." She would have liked a 'boring' life like the one Jacob described. Well, no. No, she probably wouldn't have. Interesting did have its benefits, and she was positive that both Bel and Derry were better off as Boston Pierces than they ever would have been as New Hampshire Pierces. Amelia was too, in all honesty.

"No," she denied, shaking her head. "Didn't even apply back to Durmstrang. It's too far. Bel wasn't happy with me going to Arizona, nevermind crossing an ocean and leaving the country." That, and she wasn't entirely sure how they'd respond to her being disowned. Wizards were a bit more traditional over there than they were in the States.

"So, you said you had a sister. And she's got at least a daughter. Any other family?"

1 Amelia Pierce That's a chinese curse, I hear 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5

Jacob

November 16, 2009 9:25 PM

If you say so :) by Jacob

Jacob nodded when she spoke of Bel being unhappy, he was glad that he had not had to deal with anyone freaking out about his change of career. Eliza was quite happy with the fact that he was changing his career. He smiled and nodded. “The only family I have is my sister, her husband, and their three children. All who I love dearly, Marcus is just like the brother I asked my mother for when I was younger.” He said with a soft chuckle.

He smiled again, it was awkward to admit he had never been married or have any children, for some reason most people expected everyone to settle down but Jacob had never had. He ran a hand through his hair again. “And you, do you have any family besides your adopted children?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. He wondered what would cause someone to be disowned but he didn’t ask, he knew that wasn’t proper to talk about.

0 Jacob If you say so :) 0 Jacob 0 5

Amelia

November 17, 2009 12:22 AM

That's what I've heard. by Amelia

Amelia smiled as Jacob talked about his family, and did her best not to think about Arnold. Her brother would have probably had a wife and children by now. Of course, even if he had, she wouldn't have been allowed to meet them. It was the one good thing about being dead to most of your family. Most of the time, you could forget that some of them really were.

Putting away the thought as she did every time Arnold crossed her mind, she shook her head and grimaced wryly. "It depends on how you count family. There's Bel and Derry, obviously. Derry's married, so his wife Gabriella is family now. After that, it gets twisted and confusing. The New Hampshire Pierces disowned me, and my mother's family was never really involved in my life, so they followed suit, figuring the Pierces had a pretty good reason for such a drastic action."

Amelia shrugged, not going into what that reason was, but the gesture acknowledged that they had a solid one. "But my grandmother and I get on better now than we ever did when I part of the family. Same with Berta, my great-great-aunt. It's like, by becoming a matriarch, even if it was just of a tiny little disgraced group of three people, I was suddenly important enough to be allowed to join their old girls club. Dru's the New Hampshire Matriarch. Berta's been the support behind the family seat since before there was a New Hampshire branch."

She laughed shortly and shook her head. "And the amount of interest Druscella shows in my love life, you'd think she was my mother. Even if I did miraculously find a decent pureblood man who would both meet her impossible specifications and marry a Boston Pierce, she still wouldn't take me back, so I don't know why she keeps harping on it."

A moment of bitterness struck her as the one theory she had on the subject came to mind. "The rumors must reflect badly on her, somehow, I guess. I'm not a lesbian, by that way, in case you were wondering. Just because taking care of Bel and Derry, not to mention working full-time to pay all the bills, left me little opportunity to date, nevermind find a husband, doesn't mean I'm gay." It was a sore point, so she got a little more agitated than she really meant to.

She shook her head to clear and took a deep breath. "But yeah, that's it for family. Bel, Derry, Gabby, Druscella, and Berta. Maybe, in a few years, I can add my baby brother, and my three youngest cousins, but I've never met any of them, so it seems a bit premature yet. They were all born after the disownment, to replace the three of us. My parents and Derry's both needed heirs again when the disownment left them childless, and Bel's parents were hoping for a boy."

0 Amelia That's what I've heard. 0 Amelia 0 5

Jacob

November 17, 2009 12:59 PM

Well we shall have to check it out by Jacob

Jacob listened intently to her family and smiled as she spoke. When she explained her family he thought it was a bit odd that the New Hampshire Matriarch would speak to one that was disowned. Not that it was a bad thing maybe it would start to heal old wounds so to speak. Jacob chuckled when she said that she wasn’t gay. “I know how that is, my mother used to harp on my unmarried state and often wondered if I were gay.” He said with a smile.

“Of course they wouldn’t have minded my parents were very opened minded folks.” He said as he messed with his hair some more. “Now that my parents have passed though my sister Eliza has taken up the harming. She even had her husband set me up on a blind date that was a disaster.” He chuckled and shook his head. Looking over at Amelia, she seemed nice and very open about her life which was refreshing; he had spent three years with a woman who hadn’t spoken about her family. That had ended six years ago and he had yet to steadily date another woman.

He paused walking and then turned around slowly. “I think I’m lost.” He said with a laugh. “I do enjoy these gardens though.” He grinned at her. “Whoever developed them had quite the imagination I have to say.”

0 Jacob Well we shall have to check it out 0 Jacob 0 5

Amelia

November 17, 2009 2:52 PM

Cross-examination will be difficult; the witness vanished by Amelia

Amelia smiled in sympathy, but didn't comment. She appreciated the attempt to reassure, but she couldn't help but feel the situations were incomparable given how understanding Jacob implied his parents had been, versus how conservative Druscella was. But she'd already made her point so she didn't revisit it.

Attention drawn back to the path and gardens when Jacob said he thought they were lost, Amelia looked around as well. "No, I think we're all right," she said. She didn't recognize anything, not having been down this particular path before, but her sense of direction was fairly reliable. "The school should be right over there," she pointed in the appropriate direction.

"I don't suppose it matters, though, until we want to head back. I'm happy staying out a bit longer. It is very nice out here. It's been too long since I've gotten fresh air. Almost never had a chance to leave Boston, and when I did, I generally flooed directly to wherever I was going. Grew up in the mountains, so all this flat is a little disconcerting, but it's definitely very nice out here."

She smiled, a little teasingly, "So, a blind date, huh? I was fortunate enough to avoid that. My parents threatened an arranged marriage once, but they were a bit more moderate back then, and they'd never meant it seriously." Of course, at the time, even Amelia had figured she'd find someone respectable on her own. She was just given the freedom to chose who. Whether or not that would have remained the case if she'd still been under their influence was anyone's guess.

"By the time I was old enough for anyone to start really meddling, the only people I answered to were Bel and Derry. And they wouldn't dare." When it came to offering dating advice, those eight and a half years separating her age from Derry's must have felt truly insurmountable, because the other Boston Pierces had never once broached the subject. Amelia was truly grateful for that. It was hard enough fending off Druscella and Berta.

Especially when Berta's Seer's gift often meant Druscella knew about Amelia's few failed attempts to meet people before Amelia herself did. She'd learned early in her matriarchy that keeping secrets was more trouble than it was worth, with Berta had taking a more direct interest in her life. Neither was Berta one to keep secrets, seeing as she was quite possibly the biggest gossip in all three branches of the Pierce family, so Amelia tended to just assume the whole world already knew even her innermost thoughts.

It was actually very freeing, except when it was really annoying. Especially when Berta saw fit not to spread the news that Amelia was straight. The meddling old witch no doubt had her own agendas, though what they might be were well beyond Amelia's ability to guess. The old maid had spent her whole life - not yet two centuries, but getting closer to that mark every year she held on longer than she had any right to - making everybody she met dismiss her as harmless and batty. Amelia knew her well enough now to know she was neither of those things.

Berta was, after all, Derwent the First's full-blooded sister. Woe betide any who forgot that.

0 Amelia Cross-examination will be difficult; the witness vanished 0 Amelia 0 5

Jacob

November 29, 2009 3:14 AM

Most Unfortunate by Jacob

Jacob smiled when Amelia said that she was happy staying out a bit longer, that means he hadn’t scared her off just yet. He was known for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time usually ending up in offending someone he shouldn’t have. He nodded when she commented about the flat being a little disconcerting. “I feel as if it’s too open, I’m used to tall skyscrapers and thousands of people pushing past me on the sidewalk.” He said with a smile. “Part of me misses that but part of me doesn’t but I have to agree it’s very nice out here.”

“Ah yes a blind date.” He said as he blushed a bit. “Let’s just say the date ended when she hexed me for refusing to come up for a night cap and that was after a long list of other missteps. Like telling me when we get married I’d have to cut my hair, and how many children we were going to have and what their names would be. One of the names I remember is Anastasia Penelope, and that’s because her grandmother was the grand duchess herself and Penelope after her childhood best friend.” Jacob laughed remembering the date vividly in his mind.

“So count yourself lucky no one is able to really meddle in your private life.” He ran a hand through his head. “Though it does make for some funny stories to share with co-workers.” Jacob looked over at Amelia and grinned. “I’m sorry I was rambling, it happens when you get me talking about my blind date from hell.

OOC: Sorry for the delay in response, I had to spend a couple of weeks doing holiday things.

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