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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 6, 2008 0:14:06 GMT -5
This is a small office to the side of the Arithmancy classroom. It is an office for Professor o Raghallaigh to talk to her students on matters of Arithmancy, and to her Gryffindor students, on house matters. All around the walls are ancient books on Arithmancy passed down from mother to daughter through Ceallach's family for centuries. A large oak desk sits in the middle of the room, stacks of parchment and books arranged haphazardly across it. Photos also adorn the desk, in gilded frames. Photos of Ceallach, and her friends.
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 10, 2008 11:57:24 GMT -5
Nathalie tapped on the door of Ceallach's office. This was her first opportunity to speak to her since she arrived at the school to take up her post as DADA teacher and head of Ravenclaw house. She knew Ceallach well, of course. Their boyfriends were brothers - identical twins, in fact - so they knew each other well outside school. She looked down at the bottle in her hand and grinned. Ceallach's capacity for Firewhiskey was legendary, and she certainly wasn't planning to suggest a drinking contest - just a quiet drink before dinner.
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 10, 2008 12:41:35 GMT -5
Ceallach looked up from that blasted pile of notes she was still trying to organise and sighed, as someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" she called, a smile slipping onto her face when she saw who it was. "Nat! How are you?" she exclaimed, standing up and running around her desk to greet her. "What's up?" she asked, then spotted the bottle in Nat's hand. She smiled, chuckling and shaking her head. "Nice thinking."
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 10, 2008 13:18:24 GMT -5
"I'm fine." Nathalie grinned, returning Ceallach's greeting, and putting the bottle on the desk. "Yeah, I figured we could have a few drinks to get the new term started. And maybe you can give me a few tips on dealing with students. Somehow I think it's going to be different from dealing with rookie aurors! So how are you? What's Aidan up to?"
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 10, 2008 14:15:00 GMT -5
Ceallach smiled and took out two glasses from the cabinet behind her desk. "Sounds good to me!" she laughed, opening the bottle and pouring two drinks, handing one to Nathalie. "A few tips? Hmm. Let me see," she said, tapping her finger against her chin. She sat down in one of the chairs, then motioned for Nathalie to do the same. "They're practically the same as we were in school. Well, me mostly. More worried about themselves and their social lives than they are their classes. Definately different to dealing with rookie aurors. I actually think the kids might be more mature," she laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "I'm great. What's Aidan up to? Being Aidan. He worked a lot during the holidays. Actually, he's been working a lot lately," she murmured. She regained herself and gave Nathalie a smile. "So, how have you been? How's Zach?"
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 10, 2008 17:11:27 GMT -5
Nathalie sat down, taking a sip of her drink. "Yes, definitely different from the rookies I'm used to dealing with. They're so focused on their work you can barely have a normal chat with them." She nodded when Ceallach told her about Aidan, trying not to frown when she said he'd been working a lot. It was more Ceallach's manner when she said it - she seemed to become slightly distant for a few seconds. Nathalie gave herself a mental shake. One of the occupational hazards of being an auror was that she was always on the alert for hidden meanings.
She smiled when Ceallach asked how she'd been. "Busy! Tying up my caseload with the ministry, sorting out what books and stuff to bring to Hogwarts, figuring out a teaching plan... you know the sort of thing. Zach's away in Sweden right now - it looks like the black market in dragons' eggs has been picking up. I'm a bit worried about him, I admit. I've dealt with smugglers in the past, and they can be... well, pretty violent, to be honest." She sighed, then smiled, and added, "But he's glad that I'm not in the field any more. Says it's one less thing to worry about."
As she moved in her chair, she heard a faint crackling, and pulled some letters from her pocket. She grinned. "Letters - they were sent from Hogwarts to my house, and then had to be brought straight back because I'd already left. The owl was furious!" She opened one of the letters. "Ah, this is what I've been looking for, my class list." She ran her eye down the list of names, pausing at one about halfway down. "It's amazing how time flies. Draco Malfoy's son already a fifth year." She grinned to herself reminiscently, hoping that Ceallach wouldn't notice her blushing slightly.
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 10, 2008 20:50:13 GMT -5
Ceallach listened as Nathalie spoke about her and Zach. They actually seemed happy, even though they were apart. Now, she was determined to find out why Aidan spent so much time at the office. "Those bloody smugglers. Well, I'm glad you're not out there as well. I was getting lonely all by myself, with the three of you gone all the time," she laughed.
Ceallach looked over at Nathalie as she spoke about Draco Malfoy's son. "Mhm. Gabbie's daughter is in fifth as well," she said, noticing the blush. "Hmm. What's with the blushing, Nathalie?" she teased.
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 10, 2008 22:56:37 GMT -5
Nathalie blushed even more, and laughed. "I should have known you'd notice. Oh, it's nothing, really, just..." She looked at Ceallach, shaking her head. "The only person I've told before is Zach - and he thinks it's hilarious. You see - when I was about 13, I developed a huge crush on Lucius Malfoy! My parents moved in the same circles he did. I'm sure he didn't even know I existed, but I was convinced I was in love." Nathalie laughed again. "He had dinner at my parents' house one night - I spent the whole evening lying on the landing, hoping just to hear his voice! Thank god I had the sense not to say anything to anyone else." She looked at Ceallach. "Go on - I know you're dying to laugh!"
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 11, 2008 0:30:14 GMT -5
Ceallach listened with wide eyes, holding back a laugh. When Nathalie said she could, she burst out laughing. "Oh dear, young Nathalie. I did too, to be honest. Doesn't sound as intense as yours, but I did none-the-less," Ceallach laughed. "My parents used to mix with the Malfoys. Father used to sell him a lot of things," she admitted. She shook her head again and smiled. "You know, when Zach gets back, the four of us should go out for dinner or something. We havn't done that in ages," she suggested.
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 11, 2008 1:50:13 GMT -5
Nathalie giggled when Ceallach confessed to having had a crush on Malfoy too. "What was it about him? Completely and thoroughly evil - but so d**n sexy? And now we're teaching his grandson!" She was about to ask what the youngster was like, but decided it was better to wait and form her own opinions about her students. She nodded in response to Ceallach's suggestion. "Yes, Zach should be back in a couple of weeks - so long as his current mission goes according to plan. He was saying before he left that he hadn't seen much of Aidan lately."
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 11, 2008 2:05:50 GMT -5
"Oh I know! Pity Draco wasn't as good looking. Scorpius looks a lot like his grandfather," Ceallach noted. She smiled as Nathalie agreed with her suggestion. "Hmm. No one has seen much of Aidan lately, not even me, to be honest. During the break, he was gone before I got up in the morning. The only sort of good morning I got was a letter on the bench. And he went to bed when he got home." Ceallach shrugged. "Oh well. You don't know why he'd be at the office for that long everyday?" she asked. Had she done something wrong?
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 15, 2008 0:23:37 GMT -5
Nathalie frowned slightly. Ceallach was trying to sound casual, but she was obviously worried. "I don't know what he's been assigned to lately - especially now I'm working here at Hogwarts. Have you asked what he's working on? If it's something complicated, it's easy to get so focused that you get tunnel vision. Maybe he doesn't realize how he's been acting lately." Nathalie knew it sounded lame even as she said it. She poured another drink for them both. "Ceallach, is everything... well... okay... between you and Aidan?" It was a very personal question, but they'd known each other long enough that if Ceallach didn't want to answer, she could tell Nathalie to mind her own business without causing offense.
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 15, 2008 2:43:55 GMT -5
"Yeah. I asked him. He just said it was work. Like he thought I wouldn't understand. Rather annoying actually," Ceallach said, still trying to keep the casual edge to her voice. Not easy. When Nathalie asked her next question, Ceallach's calm broke. She sighed. "It would be okay, if he'd talk to me. If it didn't seem like he's avoiding me. The block on his mind is stronger than it's ever been around me. Almost like he has something to hide. This is killing me. I feel like I've done something wrong, but I don't know what," she said, rather quickly. She took another gulp of her newly refilled drink, and groaned. "Sorry. It's just, I haven't really had anyone to talk to about it," she said softly. Her parents still weren't talking to her, and her brother never writes back.
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Post by Nathalie Desjardins on Oct 15, 2008 13:47:05 GMT -5
Nathalie listened sympathetically as Ceallach poured out her worries. This was something she hadn't had to deal with herself. Her few relationships while at school had been fairly straightforward teenage romances, intense while they lasted, then quickly over. Devastating at the time, but at least without the agonizing uncertainty that Ceallach was going through. And with Zach, she'd never felt any uncertainty. Once they started dating, they had seemed have a strong current of communication. It wasn't that they never fought - just that they had always been able to discuss whatever it was that was causing the problem.
As the eldest of five sisters, Nathalie had done her share of consoling during her youth. She leaned over and rubbed her hand comfortingly across Ceallach's back. "Sometimes it's hard for an auror to discuss their work with someone who's not an auror. Not just because of secrecy, but because, well, we see some pretty terrible things. Stuff you wouldn't want to hear details about." She paused. Last time she'd heard, Aidan was doing some fairly routine administrative stuff. Of course, it didn't mean he wasn't working on something difficult now. But she remembered the reputation the Fischer twins had had at school. They'd both had an eye for the girls, from what she'd seen and heard. Was Aidan, perhaps, reliving his wild youth? It could explain his distant behaviour towards Ceallach, his reluctance to talk, his use of occlumency. She sighed.
"Look, I could owl Zach, and see if he knows anything. I needn't tell him all the details, just that something seems to be bothering him. I don't even have to say you've talked to me. Aurors look out for each other, it won't sound strange if I ask Zach that."
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Post by Rees Bellagio on Oct 15, 2008 14:02:08 GMT -5
"It's not even the not talking that's annoying me the most. I understand there are somethings he doesn't want to talk about, or can't. I respect that. It's more his closed mind. You know how frustrating it is for a mind reader to not be able to read what is going on. Massive frustrating. Especially when you know the person is making a concerted effort to keep it closed." Ceallach sighed, slightly calmed by Nathalie's hand on her back.
Ceal shrugged. "Yeah. If you want. I don't care what you say to be honest. I just want to know what's gong on," she sighed. Ceallach had never felt this desparate in her life.
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