Birds of a Feather

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Flipping the page of The Daily Prophet before her, Cyndi was pleased to see no mentions of her husband or anyone else in her family today, not even in the gossip section. The woman took that as a sign that today was going to be a pleasant day. Munching on a piece of toast with jam, Cyndi Kingsley sat back with a content expression on her face as she overlooked the common room. The semester had been a fairly easy one, but she was quite looking forward to the end of the semester and a tiny break from the routine of grading papers and developing lesson plans.

She spotted Noah, her eldest son, speaking with one of his housemates. It was difficult to see him growing up so quickly- he was looking more and more like his father each day. Jake was following close behind, each day bringing them closer to when he’d be coming to the school. He was counting down the days, looking forward to getting his wand. At least, she still had Ellie. She was years away from wands. Bringing her attention back to the paper, the woman glanced at an advertisement for The Medley and an event that would be coming soon.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi didn't know if she would ever get used to eating meals at this end of the Great Hall. Even after two years teaching at Hogwarts it still felt like somewhere she shouldn't be, like she should head back down to the Slytherin table with her old housemates. But at the teachers table she was, sipping a cup of tea and thinking. She had forgotten how much life fell into a rhythm at Hogwarts, but with another semester about to end time felt like it was ticking past in the same old reliable way. Never really any different, comfortable and familiar. A far cry from balancing university and her old job, certainly.

Glancing down the table, Kahurangi shot a brief smile at Matt at the far end. She wasn't sure if he would see it, but it was refreshing having someone from her own school days around. She spent a lot of time curled up in her office with a book these days, not sure what else to do with her time but keep studying now that she didn't have classes and homework of her own to do anymore. It kept her fresh on the course material, but due to the isolation Kahurangi hadn't really made many friends among the staff yet. The only other Professor she had spoken with much was Cyndi, who was conveniently seated nearby. Deciding to take a step against her own recent reclusiveness, she turned to her coworker with a friendly smile. "Anything interesting in the news today?" She asked lightly, hoping to strike up a conversation.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi turned, a smile on her face as she considered the question. "There's a niffler loose in Takarakaro park, it seems. Causing all sorts of trouble" she finished on a chuckle as she slid the paper towards the woman. She was pretty much done with it anyway. Finishing off her toast, Cyndi chewed for a minute and then spoke again. "If that's the worst thing happening in the park today, I'll take it. I bet they catch it by the evening addition" she said with a nod at the paper. With the Scitorari presence in New Zealand, there was always the chance that far worse could be happening.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi chuckled, glancing over the article. "Well, things must be doing alright if that's all they've got to print..." She said with a smile, and took another quick sip of her tea. "Hopefully it's not causing too much trouble..." And... there, Kahurangi had run out of conversation. Small talk had never been her strongest suit, and it took her a moment to think of something else to talk about. "I didn't realise your husband was the minister until the staff party." She said after a moment, relieved to have thought of another topic. "How did you meet?"

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi let out a chuckle as she imagined someone chasing after the Niffler as it chased anyone with a shiny piece of jewelry. She didn't even register the small moment of silence, her face softening into a smile as one of her favorite subjects- her husband- came up. It was funny that he kept coming up so much lately when it seemed that everyone had refused to discuss him for several years prior. "Sometimes, I try to forget he is" she stated quickly and then quickly regretting that she'd said that out loud.

"The first time I met Cam was when he was here for the Triwizard. He was the Durmstrang champion. I thought he was an arrogant little sh**, but he was my best friend's brother so I dealt with him" she smirked. "And then about ten years later, I was in a club and was in an argument with someone who then went to hex me when I'd turned my back, and Cam stepped in." She hadn't thought about that moment for a long while. Clearing her throat from the emotions that had suddenly clogged it, Cyndi spoke again. "And the rest is history. Are you with anyone?" She didn't know too much about her colleague.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi smiled as she listened to Cyndi's story, sipping her tea. "Wow, that must have been a bit of a shocking reunion." She said, setting her cup down again. "I imagine it can be stressful, being married to someone with such a high profile job." Kahurangi didn't know quite how anyone could handle the pressure of such a big spotlight. When Cyndi asked her next question she laughed awkwardly, picking up her cup again, taking a small sip to hide behind it as she thought. "Well, not as such." She said after a moment. "I was seeing Daisy... Nurse Mason, for a while, but that sort of... fizzled out pretty quickly. I think we were just looking for different things. It's been a while since I've had a serious relationship." Kahurangi took another sip of her drink, trying to avoid the 'unfortunately' her brain tacked on to the end of that sentence. As nice as it was to hear about other people's relationships, it always made Kahurangi miss having someone to come home to.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

"Hmm" Cyndi stated, neither confirming nor denying the truth in her colleague's statement. Her husband being minister had encouraged a practice in patience, a new outlook on the media and how it portrayed people, and a protectiveness over her family that was astonishing even for a Gryffindor. "I've learned a lot, that's for sure" she admitted, reaching for her glass.

She'd just brought the glass to her lips when Kahurangi continued on, her eyebrows lifting at the information, her mouth twisted into a smile full of amusement. She tossed the idea around in her head, and it was hard to imagine. She saw Kahurangi with someone older and more settled, not that she knew the nurse well. She knew of her. "That's always the hard part, finding someone on the same page" she replied sympathetically. "Do you have any plans for the holidays?" she asked.