All I See Are Tomorrows

[Celia Vuong]

Strictly speaking, Celia had no real reason to continue visiting Professor Corrins. It had been a while since they'd gone over a new charm and even longer since she'd taken a class with the woman. She'd already gotten the head girl badge and built up more than enough goodwill to ask for a recommendation letter, so it wasn't like she had to continue to curry favor with Professor Corrins. And after last year's howler had revealed to the whole school her muggle heritage, she no longer needed a private place to do her non-magical coursework.

And yet Celia found herself standing in front of Professor Corrins' door. Sometime along the years, she'd grown to genuinely enjoy her conversations with the woman. It was nice talking to an adult who didn't try to condescend to her, who treated her like an equal. It was also just nice talking to someone who didn't automatically assume the worst about her. Plus Professor Corrins always had good tea (both figuratively and literally). So, as she'd done many times over the past five years, Celia knocked on the professor's office door. "Professor Corrins? It's Celia."

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory had been staring at the ring on her finger for hours, smiling like a fool with her chin propped in her hand. She couldn't believe it, he'd finally taken that step. She'd managed to keep it out of her thoughts, during classes at least, and she'd been able to finish her paperwork. But she was finished with all of it now, and was free to be focused on it. She sighed happily, before being drawn by her thoughts by a knock on her door. She smiled brightly, and with a flick of her wrist, the door opened. "Celia, come in," She spoke with a gentle smile. "How are you?"

 

[Celia Vuong]

The door opened, and Celia immediately noticed that Professor Corrins seemed to be in high spirits. There was an almost... lighter air about her. She returned the smile. "I'm good. A little busy with all the usual start-of-the-year stuff, but good." She assumed Professor Corrins knew by now about her new badge. There were also college applications and her added duties with the Student Defence Association to contend with, but Celia didn't mind. It was a nice change of pace, and she had no issues balancing everything. If anything, she was thriving with all these new responsibilities. "I just thought I'd stop by to say hi." She took a seat on one of Professor Corrins' couches. "How have you have been?" It was pretty obvious that Professor Corrins was in a good mood, but Celia wondered if anything in particular had caused this cheerful spell.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory let the door shut behind Celia, moving over to sit on the couch a bit away, her tea set following her. She made herself a cup, listening to Celia easily. "Oh, I have heard you have a lot going on this year," She offered easily. When Celia asked how she was, Mallory couldn't help but smile. Instead of answering, she just put out her hand, palm down, fingers out to best show off her brand new ring. "Much better," She sighed happily, sipping on her tea.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia hesitated, wondering if Professor Corrins' comment was about all her new leadership positions or a veiled reference to the rumors about her dad. She wanted to believe the professors didn't care about adolescent gossip, but the howler had taken place in the Great Hall, in front of everyone. "That's one way of putting it," Celia said with a small laugh, deciding to act as if this was just about the new leadership roles she'd taken on.

Her doubt was immediately forgotten when Professor Corrins put out her hand. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, he proposed??" Celia leaned forward to get a better look at the ring. It was kind of tacky, and if it were her, she would've demanded a more elegant ring. But Professor Corrins seemed happy with it. At least there were a lot of diamonds. "It's so pretty. Congratulations!" Celia said with a smile. She leaned back and poured herself a cup of tea."How'd it happen? Did you have to talk to him?" she asked, remembering their conversation from last year.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory smiled gently. "I'm sure you can handle it all. You're a strong, independent young woman. You've got a lot of responsibilities now, but I'm sure you've got it covered," She sipped her tea. "And you know that my door is always open, if you need a break or some support, the usual," She gave Celia a smile.

At her question, she giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "He did," She sighed happily. "I didn't, he proposed when I went home for the long break," She took a deep breath. "We've only just started planning for the wedding," She rubbed her thumb over her cup. "My cousin is designing my dress, and we're having the wedding at the Inn. They specialize in wedding packages anyway, but the Inn is where we met, it's home, it just feels right," She laughed shyly. "I'm sorry, I must be boring you with all the wedding talk."

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia resisted the urge to snort at the cliché, but she did relax a little. It seemed Professor Corrins had only been referring to all her new responsibilities after all. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you," she said with a smile, though she doubted she would ever take Professor Corrins up on the offer. She didn't want Professor Corrins — or anyone — to think she couldn't handle her duties. "I've actually been enjoying it. It's nice being busy." Leadership agreed with her, she thought.

Objectively, it was probably a little sad that the closest Celia got to girl talk these days was listening to her former professor talk about her engagement, but it wasn't like she had many female friends, not after the implosion of the Sisterhood. Besides, Celia had never been one to discriminate when it came to gossip. She "awwww'd" as Professor Corrins explained the reasoning behind their venue choice. At the woman's apology, Celia shook her head. "I don't mind. Your wedding's more interesting than anything else happening at this school." It was nice to hear about something that had nothing to do with her. Lately, Celia had felt like she was always at the center of the drama at Hogwarts (and never in a fun way), though she knew that was probably observer bias. "Do you know what you want your dress to look like? And have you thought about your honeymoon yet?" she asked, always eager to talk more about two of her favorite things, fashion and travel.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory bit her lip, considering a moment before letting Celia draw her attention fully to the wedding. She let out a sigh, and summoned over her notebook. "I, ah, here," She offered with a shy smile, holding out the drawing of her dress. "I spent a weekend of tea and biscuits with my cousin and Tyra drew this up for me. What do you think?" She asked, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, a blush on her face. "I, um... I think it would be pretty on me,"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia leaned in eagerly to examine the drawing, curious to see what Professor Corrins' dream dress looked like. She had always believed that you could tell a lot about a person based on their personal style and tastes. To her surprise, the dress was quite pretty, not at all tacky like the ring. "Oh, I love the sleeves!" They were a statement, and that was something Celia could definitely respect. Some wedding dresses were so boring, which she had never understood. What was the point of having a wedding if you weren't going to wear something striking? "And the draping across the neckline. The skirt, too. It's so airy and romantic. Your cousin designed this?" she asked, wondering if Professor Corrins' cousin was famous. Celia wasn't sure why Professor Corrins was so self-conscious about the dress. The sleeves, as dramatic as they were, weren't that out there. "I think it fits your style well," she said honestly. "Have you picked out fabrics yet?"

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory blushed, smiling shyly as Celia complimented her dress. She nodded at the question. "Yes, she's wonderful. She went to school for design in Paris, but she had to return to New Zealand when her parents died so she could take over the family Inn and raise her little sister." She explained, tucking her hair back. "But she never gave up designing- most of the robes I wear came from her." She admitted, picking up her tea to steal a sip. She considered the question about fabrics. "I'm not sure... I want something soft, light on the body and smooth to the touch. Tyra will probably put something together, but I'm sure whatever she does will be wonderful." She cradled her tea, feeling a little giddy at the thought of it.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia grimaced in genuine sympathy. "That's awful." She couldn't say she understood the bereavement of a parent — her own loss was so different — but she could empathize with the deferral of a dream. She was a little surprised to hear that Professor Corrins' cousin had designed her robes; she'd assumed most of them were store-bought. "She's talented. Do you think she'll ever design full-time?" The idea of having to run an inn in Middle of Nowhere, New Zealand, instead of being a fashion designer in Paris sounded absolutely tragic to Celia. She listened attentively as Professor Corrins talked more about her dress. Even though Celia had no real plans to enter the fashion industry, she still loved talking about anything fashion or design. No detail was too minute. "And the bridesmaid dresses? Have you picked those out yet?"

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory smiled softly. "I think she may, she's designing for most of the family- and there are a lot of us, so she's never really given her dream up. Once her kids are old enough- I think she just needs someone to take over the Inn to free her," She admitted gently, sipping on her tea. She was distracted though as Celia asked about the bridesmaids dresses, and she opened the sketchbook to a new page. "I was thinking of something like this," She told her, running her fingers gently over the page. "I'm not sure it's very traditional, but I just think they look so pretty," She giggled shyly.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Despite Professor Corrrins' comments, Celia still thought her cousin's situation quite sad. There was a difference between making a garment for a family member and working at a fashion house. She forced a polite smile. "I hope she finds someone who can take over for her soon." Talk turned to bridesmaid dresses, and Celia leaned forward a bit to get a better look at the sketch. The dress was fine on its own, she supposed, but she was less sure about how well it would work in a wedding. It was much less formal than Professor Corrins' wedding dress, and it was just a few shades away from white. Celia was well aware that it was not her wedding they were talking about, but she figured she should say something and save Professor Corrins from herself. "It's not traditional, no," she agreed. "But I love the appliqué detailing and the tulle." On their own, they might be a tad childish, but they did fit with the boho, fairytale-esque theme Professor Corrins seemed to be aiming for in her wedding. Celia took a sip of her tea. "The color's unique," she said, choosing her words carefully. "You know, most brides wouldn't let anyone wear a color so close to white to their wedding."

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory listened to Celia's comments seriously, oddly pleased at the compliments the girl gave her. She was a little taken back by the girls comment about the color, and she looked down at it. "Oh," She smiled easily, and grabbed her wand. She tapped it, and a wordless spell lit up the picture in a way to mimic sunlight on the dress, changing the color from its light shade to a shimmery lilac, soft but still distinctly purple. "Is this better?" She asked with an almost shy smile. "It's an outdoors wedding, I was wanting something that really stood out in the sunshine,"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia was a little surprised that Professor Corrins was so amenable to her not-so-subtle hinting. She assumed most brides-to-be had a Vision for their wedding that they refused to deviate from. Then again, it was hard to imagine Professor Corrins ever being a bridezilla. Nevertheless, it pleased Celia that Professor Corrins took her suggestions seriously, and she watched as the illustration lit up and changed colors. She made a mental note to ask about the sunlight spell later. "It's lovely," she said. "I think if you choose the right fabric, it definitely will. Something subtle but shimmery enough to catch the light." Between college apps and all of her start-of-year responsibilities, Celia had been incredibly busy lately, and she'd forgotten how much fun it was to think about fashion design. "You'll want to make sure you stand out the most though."