Closed It's Been Awhile

[Professor Yvonne Dubois]

When Yvonne accepted the job at Hogwarts New Zealand she was fully prepared to move across the world and not know a soul at her new job. But she had been pleasantly surprised to hear a familiar name while being shown around the castle when she arrived. She had known quite a few Drages from her time at Ilvermorny, and Lydia was definitely one she recognized. Yvonne had been meaning to check in on her old school acquaintance but as a new professor she had been so busy getting ready for the semester, she found it hard to make the time to climb down from her tower to have a chat. Finally, once the semester had started and there was a lull in her lesson planning Yvonne made the trip down to the first floor and peaked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to make sure there were no lessons in progress before searching for Lydia's office. When she found it, Yvonne read the note on the door and laughed lightly. She hoped working with slightly older students would prevent her from needing a sign like that on her own office door. But she did as she was instructed and knocked twice on the door and waited to see if Lydia was even in her office at the moment. @Professor Lydia Drage

 

[Lydia Drage]

Lydia had cracked open her copy of Confronting the Faceless, which was streaked with bright highlighting. Notes were scribbled between the lines and over the margins. Her mother would have smacked her for defacing a book in this way, but Lydia figured it wasn’t so bad if she retained the information. She was reviewing a section about resisting the Imperius when there was a knock on her door.

“Please come in,” Lydia said, waving her wand at the door and prompting it to fall ajar. A bit lazy of her, but what was magic good for anyway? She wondered if it would be a student, colleague, or her favorite poltergeist. Lydia sincerely hoped it wasn’t Liusaidh Fergusson with another glitter bomb. She was still finding the hellish, sparkling dust everywhere in her office.

 

[Professor Yvonne Dubois]

Yvonne heard the greeting and was just about to enter when the door started to open on it’s own. She smirked and poked her head in. “Of all the people I could have run into all the way in New Zealand, I wasn’t expecting to find you here.” she teased lightly. “But it is good to see you.” she added sincerely, as she finally entered. “So this is what the office’s look like down here. Sorry It's taken me so long to pay a visit.” she said thoughtfully as she took her time inspecting the place, before taking a seat in front of Lydia's tidy desk. Her eyes eventually landed on the kettle and she laughed. “Does it bite?” she asked playfully.

 

[Lydia Drage]

Lydia looked up to see Professor Dubois. She smiled broadly. “Hi, Yvonne,” she said, glad that the other witch felt comfortable enough to take a seat. “No worries, I’m the one who should apologize, I could have climbed up to the Towers to welcome you by now.” Lydia smiled wickedly when Yvonne asked about the teapot. “Perhaps.” She sipped at her own mug. “Would you like a cup of mint tea?”

 

[Professor Yvonne Dubois]

Yvonne shrugged off Lydia's apology. "Well stairs do go two ways." she said lightly. There was no use arguing over politeness now. But she raised an eyebrow at the other woman's grin when she asked about the teapot. "That sounds delightful." Yvonne said kindly, but made no move toward the questionable teapot. The answer to her question hadn't been no so she didn't want to risk what might happened if she tried anything. She didn't need to be a seer to know that.

 

[Lydia Drage]

Almost as Lydia spoke, the teapot lifted itself and hovered above its table, pouring steaming tea into two mugs. “If there’s any glitter in your cup, I’m very sorry,” Lydia said, handing the mug to her former schoolmate. “One of my students decided to prank me. Glitter is the theme of my life now.” She rolled her eyes as she took a sip. “Why’d you decide to move out here?” she asked.

 

[Professor Yvonne Dubois]

Yvonne took the tea carefully and blew on it before taking a sip. She paused at Lydia's warning. "How unfortunate." she said slowly, and lowered the cup before letting out a laugh. "Well remind me to stay on their good side." she said warily, thinking about what a nightmare it would be to get glitter out of the plush rug in her office. Yvonne inspected her tea carefully before taking another sip when it looked clear to her. She wasn't surprised by Lydia's question but she still hesitated. "Sometimes you just need a changed." she said with a shrug, and stared at her cup. "And sometimes that change involves ending your relationship and moving to a different continent." she said good humoredly but there was still a sting too it even after several months. "What about you? When did you make the move out here?" she asked.

 

[Lydia Drage]

Lydia snorted. “I’m not sure if that child has a good side,” she said good-naturedly, thinking of Liusaidh Fergusson again. Given that the glitter would never truly leave her office, how could she ever forget her? She nodded when Yvonne discussed her reasons for leaving the States. “Change is good,” she offered, feeling a little lame as she said it. Seeing as Yvonne had opened up somewhat, she decided to be transparent herself. “My Mom died. She still owned her house out here, and Olivia decided to move back, so I followed. I’ve been in New Zealand- two years now?” Lydia couldn’t believe how quickly the time had flown by.

 

[Professor Yvonne Dubois]

Yvonne didn’t hide her grimace at Lydia's answer. “Well, hopefully they will decide divination isn’t for them." she said coolly and shrugged, before cracking a smile herself. But it fell quickly as Lydia explained how she had ended up down here. Yvonne kept her face neutral, not wanting to burden the other woman with her sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear that.” she said softly and took a sip of tea and waited for the moment to pass. “Well I’m glad you here even if circumstances that lead you here weren't ideal.” she said with a warm smile not wanting to dwell on the somber mood. “Two years?" she mused, moving on. "How do you like it when you’re not being tormented by students?" she teased, "What's there to do around here?” Yvonne wasn't feeling stir crazy yet but she imagined staying at the castle for months at a time could make her restless eventually.