Maybe I’m Hungry for More Than I’ve Got

[Celia Vu]

Celia was relieved to have a brand new slate of professors this year. Aside from a select few, she didn't like her old teachers very much. Most of them had been utterly inept, cancelling class at the last minute or giving them pointless assignments. One professor Celia would miss was Professor Corrins. She still wasn't a huge fan of the woman's teaching methods in the classroom, but she had come to enjoy their private lessons and tea-time chats.

Celia knew Professor Corrins probably wouldn't have time to continue the private advanced Charms lessons, but she hoped the woman wouldn't mind her continuing to stop by to chat or study. Her office was one of the few places in the castle where Celia felt comfortable working on her muggle schoolwork. She didn't have to worry about anyone coming across her and asking why she was reading up on American history or solving math equations.

Today, though, Celia just wanted to catch up with Professor Corrins and see if she had any interesting gossip. The professor had always been remarkably candid with her, sharing details about her former life as an heiress and her current one as a professor. By now, Celia had a pretty good sense of Professor Corrins' class schedule, and she made sure to visit when she knew the woman would be free. She was glad to see that her office door was open, and she knocked on the doorframe. "Hi Professor Corrins," she greeted with a smile.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory always enjoyed coming back to school. She knew that not all the students would love her, or even like her, but that was just fine with her. She loved all her students anyway. There was just something so satisfying about watching them learn, watching them grow, watching them live that just got to her. On in particular was Celia. She was growing into such a fine young witch. And while Mallory might not be tutoring her anymore, it made her happy that the girl still took time to come visit.

Mallory was just reading over a letter from Atkin when she heard the knock. She looked up, smiling warmly at the young girl standing in her door. "Celia! Do come in," Mallory greeted, waving a hand to set the tea on. "What brings you by, darling?" Mallory asked, setting the letter aside and turning her attention fully to the Slytherin.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia brightened, glad that Professor Corrins seemed to be free to chat. Her own schedule was fairly packed, so she didn't really want to have to come back later. "I just wanted to say hi," she said with a small shrug as she took a seat in the chair across from Professor Corrins' desk. Her gaze flickered toward the piece of paper the woman had set aside, but Celia couldn't tell what it was from this distance. "It's kind of weird knowing you won't be my Charms professor this year," she said, giving Professor Corrins a small smile. She wondered what Professor Haden would be like; she didn't know anything about him other than the fact that he'd been teaching for a while and that he had been good-natured (or possibly foolish) enough to volunteer for a jinx demonstration with Professor Drage a couple years ago. "How have you been? Have there been a lot of changes? You know, with the new headmaster and everything."

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory smiled, summoning over the tea tray as Celia sat down. "Well, hello," She replied good naturedly. She chuckled at Celia's comment, starting to fix a cup of tea. "Well, you're always welcome to stop in," She replied. "Misha is a good man, and a dear friend of mine." She promised. She just knew Celia would love his classes. She smiled at the girls questions, and shook her head gently. "Oh, nothing too terribly drastic. Professor Alcott-Ward seems to be a good man," She mused, blowing gently on her new steaming cup of tea. "I don't know him very well, I'm afraid, but he seems to be a friendly sort," She commented, before shaking her head as if to clear it and turning her attention to Celia. "How are you, dear?" She asked, always happy to check in with a student. Though at this point she would consider them friends, perhaps.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia accepted the teacup with a smile. Even if Professor Corrins was just being polite, Celia decided to take her statement as an open invitation to continue to use her office as a study space. "That's good to hear," she said, though she had a feeling Professor Corrins liked everyone she met. This was a person who refused to discipline students who wrote her rude notes. "He helped out with a demonstration for DADA once, and he seemed pretty nice."

She was a little disappointed when Professor Corrins didn't have any good gossip about Professor Alcott-Ward. "It seems like not many people know him well," Celia commented. Granted, that was mostly an inference based off of the fact that he barely appeared in old issues of the school paper and the yearbook. She smiled. "I'm good. I know OWL year is supposed to be really hard, but I'm looking forward to the advanced classes. Some of the new charms sound really useful." Celia decided to not to mention that she had already attempted a few of them. "It'll also be nice not having exams this semester. I've got muggle exams to prep for," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. In addition to her usual distance learning courses, she had standardized exams to worry about.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory nodded. "Misha is a good man," She agreed with a soft smile. She sipped her tea, listening as Celia spoke. "Oh, if you're looking for information, I would try speaking to Professor Gillespie. He's teaching Astronomy for the fifth years and up," She told Celia. "Norton is engaged to the Headmasters daughter," She explained, a warm smile on her face. She sighed happily, cradling her tea. "Aren't weddings just lovely?" She murmured almost absently, glancing to the letter on her desk. Would she ever marry? She pushed the thought from her mind, turning her attention back to Celia.

She chuckled as Celia talked about the OWL year and the advanced charms. "Surely nothing you're trying ahead of class, I hope," She teased gently, remembering very well why she had started to tutor Celia in the first place. "But if you need a quiet place to study, or try those new charms, my door is always open." She promised with a gentle smile.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia supposed she should feel a little embarrassed by how easily Professor Corrins had seen through her ploy for information. But she was mostly excited that the woman was finally offering up good gossip. Spilling tea and sipping tea, Celia thought, hiding a smile behind her teacup. "I didn't even know he had a daughter." She would have to look back through those yearbooks for more Alcott-Wards. "Have you met Professor Gillespie yet? I'll have him next semester." Celia thought it very interesting that Professor Alcott-Ward had hired his future son-in-law for the upper years Astronomy position. Combined with Louis' prefect badge, Gillespie's hiring suggested that their new headmaster had a proclivity for nepotism. "I've never actually been to a wedding," she admitted. "But they do seem like fun." Any opportunity to dress up and dance and judge other people's outfits sounded like a good time.

Celia shook her head. "Of course not," she said perhaps a little too quickly. She relaxed when she saw Professor Corrins' expression, and she returned the smile. "That would be nice. I saw some spells that are in the textbook, but I don't think we'll be covering them in class." Celia knew better than to admit to practicing any of the spells Professor Haden would be teaching them. But all the others were fair game, right? After all, they were in her fifth year textbook. She took a sip of her tea. "How are the new first years?" Professor Corrins had mentioned having issues with rude students in the past, and Celia wondered if things had gotten any better.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory hummed. "I may be wrong but I think he has two," She mused, her fingers tracing absently against her cup. "I have met Norton, yes, he's a good man." She nodded. "He's very... sincere." She decided on, smiling gently. Her eyes flashed to the letter when Celia mentioned weddings, an almost bittersweet smile on her lips. "I've never been to a wedding before, either. My brother eloped, and my sister isn't the type." She sighed almost sadly.

Mallory chuckled at Celia's quick denial. "You can still get private lessons if you'd like them," She offered. "I'll just have to talk to Misha first so I know what his syllabus is, and so that he knows where you are academically." She mused, sipping her tea. At the question, Mallory chuckled. "There is one in particular that's rather full of themselves. A rich student, I'd guess, perhaps a bit too spoiled at home. I know the life, of course, it can be quite the culture shock having to clean up after yourself." She almost teased, gently.

 

[Celia Vu]

This conversation was proving to be extremely fruitful, and Celia wondered why she had ever bothered trying to get information out of Louis. "Sincere's good," she commented even as she noted the way Professor Corrins had paused. "At least he won't be one of those professors who acts like they hate teaching." If she ever had another Crabapple, she was going to lodge a formal complaint with the Ministry. It might have just been her imagination, but Celia thought she detected an undercurrent of longing in Professor Corrins' words. "Maybe you'll get invited to this one." She hesitated for a fraction of a second before adding, "And you'll always have your own in the future..." If it was any other professor, Celia wouldn't have dared. But Professor Corrins had been forthcoming about other parts of her life, and Celia was always on the lookout for good love gossip.

Celia nodded at Professor Corrins' offer, privately thrilled. This visit was going even better than she'd hoped. "I'd like that." Hopefully the extra lessons would give her leg up in not just the Dueling Tournament, but also her OWLs. She took a sip of her tea, leaning forward slightly in anticipation of whatever horror story Professor Corrins had to share about her new first years. However, the woman's answer surprised Celia, and she wondered if the almost teasing tone in Professor Corrins' voice was directed at her. She was growing rather tired of people assuming she was spoiled — which she wasn't — as if it would be a terrible thing to be well-off and loved. Celia forced a smile. "I'm sure they'll have a great time during the scourgify lesson."

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory sighed softly. "Who knows," She answered morosely. "Somehow I don't think it will be anytime soon." She took a breath, before picking up her tea and sipping on it. Mallory noticed the smile Celia gave, and she couldn't help but smile softly. "Oh, she's only a first year. I'm sure she'll be alright." She traced her fingers over her cup. "We all have our own battles to work through. We come out the other side stronger."

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia silently noted the melancholy in Professor Corrins' tone. She couldn't help feeling sorry for the woman. Professor Corrins had once been an heiress and now she was alone in a miserable school with no one for company except for a couple of ugly cats. Celia really hoped for the professor's sake that she was telling the truth when she claimed that she found teaching at Hogwarts fulfilling.

"Most people don't change that quickly," Celia said somewhat dismissively. She doubted this girl would suddenly come around in time for the scourgify lesson. "Doesn't magic spoil people anyways?" Celia asked, unsure why she was spending so much effort trying to distance herself from this unknown first year. (Well, she did know why, but she wasn't going to admit it.) "Spells can take care of most simple chores. And for more complicated tasks, there are house elves."

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory chuckled at Celia's words. "Perhaps. But there are still some people who are too proud to cast the spells themselves." She countered. "I don't expect she'll ever be the type to clean on her own. But wouldn't it be more embarrassing to not even know how?" She asked. "It's alright to not use the basics. But you should at least know how," She mused, sipping on her tea. "One should never be too proud to learn."

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia shrugged. "I don't disagree." She was no longer feeling quite as defensive as she thought it rather obvious that she wasn't one of those people. She had never turned down an opportunity to learn a new spell. "I'm sure there are some people who see it as a point of pride that they don't have to learn those types of spells." It wasn't a perspective Celia had never understood. She couldn't imagine ever being so dependent on others, so helpless. "It's like those nobles in the Middle Ages who purposefully got fat to show that they didn't have to work." It was a very backwards way of thinking, but Celia supposed she shouldn't have expected anything else from the magical world, which often felt as if it was stuck in the Middle Ages. As someone who had grown up going to the most expensive private schools in the city, Celia had been exposed to her fair share of wealth, and yet most of her muggle classmates still had some form of ambition — a quality many Hogwarts students seemed to lack.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory chuckled. "Pride is mans greatest downfall," She murmured, sipping her tea. "Just look where it got my father. All three of his children left him." She shook her head. "But the world we live in is a flawed one, isn't it?" She smiled softly. "I digress. Listen to me, gossiping away like I was still young," She chuckled. "Tell me, how have you been?" She asked, turning the subject to Celia.

 

[Celia Vu]

While Celia understood Professor Corrins' point, she wasn't sure Professor Corrins' father had suffered that much of a "downfall." He was still an extremely rich and powerful man who she assumed got to enjoy his riches. This world definitely wasn't a fair one, and she nodded at Professor Corrins' comment. Celia took a sip of her tea. "I don't think you can ever be too old for gossip." Some people liked to act as if gossip was a terrible and immature thing, but everyone still did it. "I've been fine," she said with a shrug. "None of my classes have done much yet. It's mostly been introductions and stuff." She would have thought she was too old for those as a fifth year, but it seemed the professors believed otherwise. "I'm a prefect now though," she said proudly. There was a good chance Professor Corrins already knew, but she still wanted to share the news in person. "I'm looking forward to all the new responsibilities." And by responsibilities, she meant perks. Celia couldn't wait to take points from people and hang out in the private common room.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory chuckled. "You may be right," She agreed, sipping on her tea. She smiled as Celia told her she was a prefect. "That's wonderful!" She replied immediately. "I'm proud of you," She offered with another warm smile. "Perhaps we could celebrate," She mused. "What would you like?" She asked, turning over a few ideas in her mind.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia beamed, letting Professor Corrins' enthusiasm wash over her. It was nice to have someone who was happy for her. She was a little surprised, however, when Professor Corrins suggested that they celebrate. Celia immediately thought of the fight she'd had with her mom over the break and the cake she'd found in the fridge, remnants of a celebration that had never come into fruition. "We don't have to celebrate," she said with a shake of her head. It was rare Celia turned down such an offer, but she really didn't expect anything like that from Professor Corrins. The professor had already been plenty generous with her time.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory smiled softly. "Oh, sure, we don't have to," She agreed with a small smile. "But it would be nice to. We can keep it small, if you'd rather. Why don't you stop by next weekend and I'll get you a little gift and some cupcakes?" She offered. "Just the two of us, unless you'd like to bring someone."

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia was admittedly a little intrigued by the idea of a gift, and if Professor Corrins was truly insisting, then she wasn't going to say no. "That sounds nice. I'll stop by, thank you." However, her smile quickly disappeared when Professor Corrins brought up the idea of bringing someone else. Celia shook her head. "No, none of my friends know I've been getting extra lessons." And she planned on keeping it that way. A reputation was a difficult thing to craft, and she wasn't going to ruin hers by letting word spread that she was getting extra tutoring from a teacher.

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory chuckled softly. "Oh, no worries, sweetie. Why don't you stop in again with the new semester and I'll get something really nice arranged for us?" She offered with a gentle smile. "You can tell me all about your break and we can talk about life," She finished her tea.