Closed Last Minute Advice

[Rose Holland]

With everything going on in Rose's NEWT year, she had pushed off this visit until the last possible moment. Graduation was soon, and most others probably had their careers planned already. Rose knew she wanted to do something with Herbology, like her dad, but maybe not exactly like her dad. She liked the work he did, but she was curious what other options there were. Who better to ask then Professor Castillo? He'd done a lot in his field, as Rose had seen his name in some books on the subject, he seemed to have done a lot of interesting studies. Rose would have asked Professor Carter, who remained one of her favorite professors, but it seemed wise to talk to Professor Castillo first. He'd done a lot with Herbology before becoming a professor, and probably had better insight in what sort of work Rose could do after Hogwarts. She was a bit nervous to ask this so late in her Hogwarts career, and hoped the professor wouldn't comment on it. Surely she wasn't the only person who still had questions about what to do after graduating, right? Rose hesitated for a moment longer, then knocked on the door of his office. "Professor?"

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel didn't like being stressed. And, try as he might, all the OWL and NEWT stress that was currently covering the school was starting to rub off on him. It also probably didn't help that he'd left a lot of last minute exam grading and prep until the very last minute and was currently having a particularly unproductive staring match with it at his desk. It was a relief to hear a knock at the door, rescuing Angel right as he was about to pick up a 5th year essay. "Oh thank god," He said, immediately sliding the work away, grateful for any distraction. "Come in," He called, swinging the door open for his visitor. He recognized Rose Holland from his 7th year classes, there weren't nearly as many of them to remember by the time they got to NEWT level. He wondered if she was here to have a NEWT related freak out and considered coming up with an excuse to avoid that particular interaction. However, as his eyes slide back to the marking still spread over his desk he quickly quashed that idea, ushering Rose inside. "Coffee?" He offered, slapping a few questing tentacles of the flitterbloom he hadn't returned back to greenhouse away from the coffee tin. "Or maybe tea, kiwis are more about their tea aren't they."

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose didn't make a habit of visiting teachers in her free time, and she was a bit surprised by the welcome she got from Professor Castillo. She had worried she would be disturbing him, as the end of the year had to be a busy time for professors too. But he seemed happy to see her. She gave him a hesitant smile as she stepped into his office. "Oh, uh... tea would be nice..." She said uncertainly. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, professor?" She noticed the glance at his desk and saw the work he had been marking. "I could come back later if that's better." She stood awkwardly near the door, not sure if she should take a seat or not.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

“No no, it’s fine, make yourself at home, that’s not going anywhere anytime soon,” He said, shooting the stack of marking a dirty look as he waved Rose over to a seat. Angel wasn't sure what Rose wanted, but he was more than happy for the distraction. She was a seventh year though, so it was probably some sort of NEWT related question. Hopefully she wasn't here to have any major breakdowns, Rose didn't seem the type but it was hard to tell what might break a student when they were under so much pressure. Angel at least figured he wouldn't be anyone's first choice to have any big heart to heart just yet so he was probably safe. Setting about making them both some tea, he heated the kettle he'd unearthed from a pile of the previous occupant's belongs with a flick of his wand. Angel wasn't wild about hot tea just yet, but he decided if he was going to stay in New Zealand for any length of time he should try to get used to it.
"Right," He said, setting the tea down front of both of them, "What's up?"

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose took a seat after a moment of hesitation. She hadn't really expected to be offered tea, or really anything at all. She had expected the conversation would have to be short, as professors seemed to be so busy around this time of the semester. But maybe Professor Castillo had already done most of the work? Rose folded her hands in her lap, feeling not entirely at ease. She didn't know Professor Castillo very well, as she had only had him as a teacher for one year. But she did know he knew a lot about Herbology, and she hoped he would have good advice. "Thanks." She said as he put tea down in front of her. "I was wondering if you could... give me some advice on a career in Herbology. I've read some of your studies... and you seem to have done a lot of different things in the field. My dad is a Herbologist too, and I'm a bit worried about just copying what he's doing. I want to see what it's like to try out more different branches," she had to stifle a small snort at the unintended pun, "uh, of Herbology." She shrugged. "I kind of wonder how you got started, Professor?" She picked up her cup and took a sip.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel paused when Rose mentioned she'd read some of his studies. He hadn't expected anyone, especially not the students, to go out of their way to dig those up. But her dad was apparently a herbologist, so that would explain it, of course. Shoving down any complicated feelings over his research, Angel leant back in his chair, giving Rose what he hoped was a contemplative, relaxed smile as she spoke. He chuckled at Rose's unintended pun, gently setting down his cup while he took a moment to think. "Mm, okay. Well herbology ran in my family too, so I mostly got started just copying my uncle and helping him," Angel said slowly, still considering his answer. He could understand not wanting to just follow what your parents had done blindly, but he was hesitant to be too open with his own past. "But there's a lot more to herbology than just growing things you know, you can really get out there to explore and experience things in their own terf. There's so many more things outside of the greenhouse so to speak." He said expansively, hoping he sounded appropriately inspiring. Angel wasn't exactly used to being someone's role model or even giving out advice, but the idea was rather appealing the more he thought about it.

 

[Rose Holland]

It surprised Rose to hear that the professor and her had similar reasons for going into Herbology. There had been a part of her that had worried that she was taking the 'easy' choice, going with a field one of her parents already worked in. Hearing that Professor Castillo also started his interest in Herbology because of a family member made her feel slightly better. His next words caught her interest. "You mean... traveling and seeing plants in the wild?" She asked, intrigued by the idea. She had grown up around her father's greenhouse and had seen many plants there, but there was merit to what the professor was saying. "Is that what you did? For example, with the study about puffapods, did you go look for them in the wild or cultivate them yourself?

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel nodded encouragingly when Rose mentioned travelling. He didn't really think he could offer her much honest advice, but maybe even a little push for some of these kids to get out the the towns they were born in he would consider that something of a positive impact. In fact the idea was rather growing on him.

"Uh.. Puffapods.. Puffapods..." Angel paused, twirling a finger as if to pluck the paper details from mid-air. "It was a bit of both.." He settled on. "A lot of time you need to study them in a controlled environment, naturally, but it's always incredibly important to also see the plants in uh. Context," Angel finished with a confident nod. "I think a lot of herbologists forget the importance of field work," He added magnanimously, taking another sip of his tea. "You think that's something you might be.. interested in?" The sudden thought that Rose might actually be considering his advice for her own career was starting really sink in and it made Angel sweat a little. He was suddenly feeling a bit under prepared for this conversation.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose nodded as the professor told her he'd done both for the research. Maybe that was smart, comparing the two. "Like... comparison?" She asked, just to make sure she was understanding him correctly. "See how a plant does in the wild as opposed to in a greenhouse?" That actually sounded pretty interesting to Rose, and she tried to make sure she would remember it. She nodded when he asked if it was something she was interested in. "I think so, yes... I've been thinking I wanted to go into Herbology, but I also don't just want to copy what my dad does. I would like to find my own path." She said earnestly. "I think you already helped me, Professor... but could I write you if I have more questions?" She kind of wished she had thought of asking her professors a bit earlier than the last week of her last semester at school. But better late than never, right?

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

"Comparison's always good, but it's important to see things out in the wild. You'll never really get the full understanding of something if you spend all day in the greenhouse," He said confidently. That sounded like good advice, and Angel felt pretty pleased with himself for offering something that could be applied not just to plants. "That could be said for non-herbology related things too, you know. Make sure you get out and experience some stuff for real," He decided to add, sharing his newly thought up wisdom.
He nodded when Rose mentioned finding her own path, he could relate. "Do what feels right, you'll learn sooner or later what that means for yourself," He said simply. Angel was just feeling full of that sage advice today. He'd spent most of his life following his gut, with mixed success. Sometimes you had to make a few bad decisions to get where you were going.
Angel couldn't help but beam into his teacup when Rose mentioned he'd helped. He knew teachers would always go on and on about the rewards of helping kids and all that, but he had to admit it was good for his ego at least a little bit. "Sure, write any time." He said happily, not really thinking about it. Angel was in a good mood now and honestly an owl every now and then might be nice.