Educated Opinion

[Liberty Kaelen]

The reunion at Hogwarts New Zealand had been a terrifying experience for Libby. She'd been out of the country for fifteen years, and after having no contact with any of her previous friends, she'd had no idea who would be attending. As is often the case, the event hadn't been as awful as Libby first predicted. While it remained that there were only a few people there that she knew from school, one of those was Aeon Summers. The two had been friends early on in their education, and while they may have drifted apart towards the end, Libby was glad to finally meet someone she recognised.

After a brief discussion, the pair had decided to meet at a later date to catch up properly. This is where Libby now found herself, waiting for Aeon in Brightstone Village. As it was approaching noon, the former Hufflepuff had managed to find a reasonably quiet cafe for lunch. For now she ordered herself a simple coffee, and took a seat in the corner. As she waited, Libby became increasingly nervous. What if Aeon had changed so much, they no longer got on well together? Or visa versa? Although entirely possible, Libby tried to reassure herself by the reminder that they'd been fine during the reunion, and that they'd have plently to talk about.​

 

[Aeon Summers]

Starting employment at Hogwarts those few years back had brought with it a flood of old memories crashing through Aeon's mind, not all of them particularly good. Naturally, it was the positive ones the wizard focused on when he recalled his time as a student, from the day he was sorted to the day he graduated. Ridiculous antics, dangerous adventures and stressful study made up the largest parts of his youth in the castle, a drastic change from his life as it was now. A professor, a father, a proprietor. He had too many responsibilities to live the life he once did.

What Summers missed most about his childhood were the friends he had. If it weren't for them, his life could have turned out entirely different. The people he spent time with helped to shape the person he came to be. Their encouragement, their criticism, all of it contributed to his growth of character. Now, so many years later, he had contact with very few of them. The thought of it was upsetting, and going back to Hogwarts for work every day was a constant reminder of what he once had. Even the reunion turned out to be something of a disappointment with only a small handful of people he knew making an appearance. He didn't know what had happened to the others, where they were, or if, like Scorpius, they had passed away.

However, the reunion had not been for nothing. Aeon only had a chance to briefly catch up with an old friend, one of the Hufflepuff girls he got along with quite well in his earlier years, but it was enough for them to reconvene at a later date and further discuss their lives since school. The wizard apparated to Brightstone Village, eyes on the castle in the distance for only a slight moment before he turned on his heel, heading toward the cafe Liberty had suggested. It didn't take him too long to find her, as much as they'd grown, her face was still familiar. Removing his dragonskin jacket, the man hung it across the back of a seat, before sitting himself. "Hey, hey!" He greeted her with a warm smile, holding back the urge to say her name. He was unsure if she still went by Libby, as she had as a teenager, or if he should start calling her Liberty now. "Hope you weren't waiting too long, one of the silencing charms on a fwooper back at the Menagerie wore off as I was getting ready to leave. Had to cast one myself until I can get a Charmer into the store to place a more lasting one on it. So, how are things?"
​

<i></i>

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

For Libby, being back in Brightstone Villiage and being surrounded my magic, felt just the same as it had when she'd first joined Hogwarts. As she sipped her coffee she watched the others in the room as they read their moving newspapers, and glanced at the bar to see items moving about for themselves. She had missed this, and she felt like an excited first year all over again.

She spotted Aeon instantly, as he came through the door dressed in a beautiful dragonskin jacket. It was this sort of thing that just wouldn't happen living as a muggle, and Libby was glad once more she'd left when she did. "Hi!" she smiled brightly, pleased her old friend had found the place without too much trouble. Although Libby had been to the village countless times, the cafe was tucked away and therefore usually forgotten. "Not at all" she replied truthfully, making a mental note to visit this Menagerie Aeon spoke about. "I'm so pleased you made it. Would you like a drink?" she offered, glancing in the direction of the counter in the hope of getting someone's attention. Libby wouldn't allow anyone to go thirsty in her company, and proceeded to beckon over one of the waiters.

Libby's life right now, although hectic, was the quietest it had been in a long while. "Well, my children are at school so I can't complain" she smiled unsure of whether to explain further. Even Larissa was only aware of her first born. "How have you been? Do you work at the Menagerie alongside Hogwarts?" she asked "It sounds like you've your hands full with animals and children" she laughed softly. On their previous encounter, Aeon had mentioned his Profession within the school, and Libby hoped at some point this afternoon she would be able to pick his brain for tips. ​

 

[Aeon Summers]

"Sure, I could go for one." Summers responded to the offer of a drink whilst the woman got the attention of one of the waiters. It felt wrong to not have something to drink whilst someone else did, almost as if he were being rude by not having anything. "I'll take an iced mocha, with whipped cream, thanks." The wizard informed the waiter as they arrived, turning his attention back to Liberty once they'd jotted it down and departed. "My kids still have a ways to go before they can start school. I wouldn't mind having them out of the house already. How old are yours?" Whether or not his son and daughter were going to attend a school before Hogwarts was something Aeon hadn't quite decided on yet, a fact that needed to be further discussed with Broderick. A muggle education would be useful for their social skills and basic learning, but having magical children in the same place as muggle children wasn't always ideal. Their untapped magic was too unreliable and there was the chance they could be ostracized by the other kids if they realised they were at all different. Their house elf could teach them just as well, if not better than some non-magical adult in any case.

"I've been alright. Life is a lot different now than it used to be, but I'm happy with how things are." It felt like they'd all grown up too fast. He was already in his thirties, and it was difficult to come to terms with the fact he was aging beyond his twenties. He'd wanted to stop once he'd hit twenty one, but not even magic could make him young forever. "I run the Menagerie during the holidays mostly, or whenever I don't need to be at the castle, otherwise I leave it to my husband and employees to take care of it. It's generally the most busy during the Winter Break, when all of the new students are looking for a pet to bring. So if any of your children need a pet, you know where to come." He grinned, shamelessly advertising his business. He'd convince anyone to buy from there if he could. "Anyway, yeah. Life gets a bit overwhelming between raising a family, teaching kids and running a business, but it keeps me occupied. There's never a dull moment. What about yourself, what do you do now?" He realised he hadn't had a chance to ask about her career, and it was always interesting to find out how far people had come. One of the Ravenclaws he'd known was an Auror last he heard, Mercer played Quidditch and Arisa was a florist. Everyone else seemed to fade into obscurity.</COLOR></SIZE>​

<SIZE size="50"><COLOR color="black">

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

"Well I have three" she replied, beginning to introduce her children to Aeon. Unsure of whether he knew why she had to pull out of school in her fifth year, Libby continued nervously "Keanu is sixteen. He's will be a sixth year Gryffindor in Scotland this year" she said. "Then I have the twins who are fourteen. Ferrah is a Ravenclaw, and Belladonna, Slytherin" she added. She had considered having more children, but quite frankly it was too tiring. Besides, her own youngest sister had a twelve year age gap, and she knew it had been hard on Natalie growing up as the odd one out as the others were in the their teens. "How many do you have?" She asked Aeon curiously.

"You can say that again" she smiled in response to life being different. She listened as the Professor shamelessly mentioned her children should purchase their pets from him, and she loved the prospect of shopping in Brightstone with the three. "Well, after I graduated I moved to France with my ex-Husband" she said. For her last two years of education, Libby had attended Beauxbatons to be closer to her family. "Alex and I ran a pub there, called "Le Trois Dragons". It was a pleasant little place really but I couldn't stand living as a muggle for the rest of my life" She added truthfully. "Anyway, a few years ago I moved back to New Zealand without him. The children came too but decided to attend Hogwarts Scotland as to be closer to their father when I remarried" Libby took a sip of her coffee. She didn't enjoy waffling about herself for too long. "Anyway, I was thinking of rejoining the school. I've always wanted to be a Professor. Have you been working there long?" She asked.

​

 

[Aeon Summers]

"Sixth year? I can't even imagine mine being teenagers yet. I have two - Lysander and Eleanora, both are only four. They grow up too fast, but at the same time, not fast enough. They're adorable, but I get so frustrated at how difficult it is to explain such simple things to them. It's taken a lot of getting used to." The wizard was glad of the experience he had dealing with children already, as a professor, it was to be expected, and while he hoped that parenting would get easier as his children grew up, he knew that wouldn't be the case. There'd always be something to get frustrated over, at any age. They were bound to be disagreements and rebellious phases, none of which he was looking forward to. Thankfully, he'd skipped the goth stage in his youth, but he same couldn't have been said for a few of the people he'd known. If one, or both started dyeing their hair black and listening to screeching music, Brodie could deal with them.

"Ooh, France. Fancy." Aeon commented as Liberty discussed her life until now, only just being able to translate the name of the pub she described, thanks to a particular french phrase involving three people, he could decipher what it meant. "I get what you mean by having to live as a muggle. Bar some of the technology, it's not exactly a fulfilling life to lead. I'd rather be able to be myself and live the life I was born into, rather than hiding who I am, you know? It's too much stress having to hide our magical abilities every day, which is why I moved to Obsidian Harbor." It wasn't fair, to not be allowed to practice magic so freely, to use the powers he was born into anywhere and any time. He didn't hate the muggles for the fact wizards had to hide, but he didn't particularly like the fact, either. "Funny that you mention wanting to be a professor, actually." Summers grinned, idly circling his spoon around the edge of his coffee cup. "There's a few positions available at the moment, actually. you're in luck. I'm fairly certain the Headmistress is looking to hire, which isn't too surprising, because it feels like we're getting new professors all the time. It's the same as when we were in school, just a constant change. I've been there for a few years now, though, so I think I've escaped whatever curse seems to be on the school." For whatever reason, not a lot of the professors seemed to stay on for too long. It felt like every year they were looking to find replacement staff members.
​