au_hogwarts | (no subject)

It's late on a September school night - students should all be doing homework now, really. The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor certainly is. She's marking papers in her classroom, and occasionally batting away an errant pixie.

She's new to the school this year - this month - but she's been told that legend has it a batch of Cornish Pixies were released in this room around 1992 and nobody's ever managed to exterminate them properly. Legend has it, too, that they've evolved and become ever more intelligent, due to the high levels of magic in the air around Hogwarts.

Legend has an awful lot of things. Professor Brown is still making up her mind on whether or not any of them are real.

Teaching is kind of a new gig, and Hogwarts isn't very clear on what, exactly, the expectations for this Defence class are. So her first paper for the sixth-years is along the lines of: "This is what's attacking you. How do you defend? Give three options and three possible escape routes."

Her students' responses to that are -- apparently kind of entertaining, judging by the occasional hint of muffled laughter audible even from the corridor.

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Sorry Steph, Kate got over the guilty looks by the time she was kicked out of her third school. She also has a handy excuse that usually works.

"Lost an earring earlier," she says holding up a particularly dangley specimen as proof. "Sorry if I interrupted you."

"That's no problem," Steph reassures her. "Do you want some help looking for it?"

Oh yeah, she will look for that earring for you.

Kate's eyes might have widened a bit as usually teachers assume she's found the earring when she shows them the decoy.

"If you're not too busy. I wouldn't want to keep you from whatever was so funny." She's grasping she knows but she keeps a smile on her face.

Professor Brown regards her, thoughtfully, for a few moments longer than is really comfortable.

"What was your name again?"

"Kate Kane, 4th year Gryffindor ma'am," she replies. She's tempted to lower her eyes but she knows that will look like guilt and likely raise questions.

Steph nods solemnly. "Remind me to ask the Charms teacher to work on a finding spell," she say thoughtfully, and grins at Kate suddenly. "For your earring.

"Go on, off you go."

She probably should dock house points, but the girl wasn't doing any harm, and th days of terror of Argus Filch are long over.

"Thank you ma'am," Kate says relieved to be excused. "See you tomorrow."