Closed Been Looking at the Skyline and Our Timeline

[Harper Alston]

When Harper had agreed to guide Charles through the animagus training process, she hadn't given much thought to just how much time she was committing herself to. All she'd wanted to do was repay the favour. Besides, she had been pretty sure that Charles would complete his training quickly. She certainly hadn't expected that she would still be here a year later, overseeing his training. For the most part, Harper didn't mind, but she had to admit that her lack of foresight was about to cause issues. She was supposed to leave for her around-the-world trip soon, which would make holding these sessions a lot more difficult.

Harper knew it was a little optimistic even for her to think that Charles would somehow complete his training today, so she'd brought a pair of magical two-way mirrors. They would be able to use them to keep in touch while she traveled and do some sessions remotely. Harper was fully prepared to portkey back at a moment's notice, however, if he did manage to make any unexpected leaps in progress while she was gone. She'd made a promise to him last year, and she intended to keep it. In the meantime, though, they had a session to get through, and Harper waited patiently for Charles to arrive.

 

[Charles Abberline]

In the weeks between their sessions, Charles had practised as much as he could. It often proved to be more of a challenge than expected, having three new classes to teach was always going to have a priority over his ambition to become an animagus, but so long as he was making progress towards his goal, he generally didn't mind the challenge of trying to fit in hours to practice into his already busy schedule. However, despite most of his attention going towards teaching, Charles had come a long way since the last time they had seen each other for this. He could now transfigure most, if not all, of his limbs and was currently working on transfiguring the entirety of his head while maintaining a conscious mind. It wasn't as easy as he would have liked it to be but he was sure that she could help him with that during today's session.

He was so sure that he was close to finishing the transformations that he reckoned it would only take him a couple more months before he could drink the potion and complete his training. So, confident in his ability to transfigure most of his body parts without something going awry, Charles smiled brightly as he entered the all too familiar backroom. ''Hello there,'' the Professor said, beaming up at Harper when he saw that she had already arrived for their training session. ''How have you been? I haven't kept you waiting, have I?'' If all would continue to go well, she'd be free of him soon and he would no longer feel as if he was a burden on her shoulder.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper generally made it a habit to show up early to all her appointments, so she knew she had a bit of time before Charles showed up. Luckily, they were in a library, so there was no shortage of interesting things to occupy her time. Harper had plucked a text about transfigurative potions from the shelves and was idly flipping through it when Charles entered the backroom. "Not at all," she answered with a smile, setting the book aside. "I got here early," she explained, not wanting him to think he was late.

"I've been good. Haven't done much since the holidays except for some last minute packing." Harper knew she'd told Charles that she planned on doing some traveling during her gap year, but she wasn't sure if he remembered exactly when she would be gone. Better to try and subtly remind him that she would be leaving soon in case he'd forgotten. "Speaking of, I have some ideas on how we can continue these sessions while I'm away," she added. "But we can go over that later." Charles had progressed immensely, and Harper was sure he would be able to complete a full transformation soon. She wanted to make sure he had ample time to practice during this session. "How've you been?"

((so sorry for how late this is))

 

[Charles Abberline]

''Oh, yes, that's right.'' Charles couldn't blame himself for forgetting that she would soon leave the country to travel around a bit, but it made him appreciate the fact that she'd made time for this session even more. ''Good, because I've made quite a bit of progress since we last saw each other and I am eager to finish things soon.'' The thought of almost having completed this arduous task filled him with happiness, for it meant that he could soon truly help out those who wanted to become an animagus as well. ''I've been well, thank you. Nothing has happened to anyone in class thus far and Speckles remains unheard of.'' It was a good thing that his Jobberknoll hadn't made a hoot or a tweet or a chirp yet. As long as it would remain quiet, all was well. ''So, have you figured out where you're off to then?'' he asked, wondering which places she would visit first on her travels.

I'm very rusty

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper's eyes lit up when Charles mentioned making progress. He was already very far along in the process, and there wasn't much left to do. So any progress was significant. "That's great! When you're ready to take the final step. I'll definitely be there. I've already got a one-way portkey booked," she assured him. Harper could still clearly remember the moment when she'd finally completed her training and fully transformed into a falcon for the first time; it was her patronus memory. There was no way she would miss that moment for Charles.

She smiled at Charles' answer. "No boggart or grindylow disasters then?" Harper joked. "That's good." She wondered what Speckles would think if she saw Charles in squirrel form. Would she recognise him? At Charles' question, Harper nodded. "Yeah, I've got a whole list. I'm starting off in Thailand and working my way up Asia before heading to Europe. London's definitely on my list, so I'll get to see the other Leaky Cauldron. I'll also spend some time in the States and then South America." Hogwarts field trips aside, Harper had never been outside of the country, and she was eager to see as much of the world as possible.

me too x.x