Sneaking Home

[Isolde Glasson]

((I'm figuring Isolde's place is near yours, I hope you don't mind. ))

She had only been back teaching at Hogwarts for a week (after having a couple of weeks off) but already Isolde was beginning to feel trapped in the castle. And she already missed her apartment, which was a lovely apartment near Obsidian Harbor. She had bought it a little while back, before she had become a Professor, but now that she had to stay at Hogwarts a lot, she rarely saw the place. Still, she made a nice amount of muggle money by renting it out. Muggles (and wizards, for that matter) were always looking for places to stay, and there was a tidy sum to be made from the rental market.
However, Isolde's apartment was currently unoccupied, and as she had finished her work for the week, she decided to make a trip home. She figured the castle could survive without her for 24 hours. Besides, it was always good to keep in touch with the muggle world.
Leaving the castle dressed in muggle attire of jeans and a t-shirt, Isolde walked in to Brightstone Village, before disapparating with a loud crack, and appearing just outside her apartment block. "Damn," she muttered. "I should have apparated inside." However, she could not see anybody around, so she figured she was safe.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

(What if I say no : )

Christopher Rogers had for a year now, known about the Wizarding world. It had been a strange revelation to him, and the family for that matter. He was sitting home marking some exams. Looking out of the window he give a deep sigh. "Typical Northern Ireland." He said. It was a miserable day, dull and rain. He put his books back into his briefcase and rested back on his chair.

Observing the living room he wondered what could relieve his boredom. Something caught his eye. The fireplace. The fireplace which had let people come and go as they please to and from New Zealand. The portal which let him and his family visit Patricia whenever they pleased. After one last look outside, he decided a quick trip to New Zealand might be just what he needed. Grabbing his briefcase he went to the fireplace and within a few moments he was looking at the living room of the house in New Zealand.

After cleaning the soot of his long swede coat he looked outside and saw how the day differed from Northern Ireland. Going into the kitchen he made himself a strong coffee and went outside to the table and chairs set up in the garden. Opening his briefcase again he took out the papers he stopped marking and started again. Sipping on his coffee every few moments, he appreciated the quietness. After a few minutes he heard a loud cracking noise. It startled him so much so he spilled some coffee over his papers. Looking up saw a young woman, who wasn't there a minute before hand. "Nice trick." He called out, trying to wipe the coffee of his papers.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

Isolde blushed as she heard a voice. I didn't think there was anyone around, she thought, cursing herself for being so foolish with apparition. She gave a start when she saw a young and - she had to admit it - rather attractive man dealing with some coffee he spilt on his newspaper. "Sorry!" she called, walking a little closer to the man and approaching the fence, biting her lip. "I didn't mean to do that..." she began as an explanation, before looking around and seeing that this time, there really was nobody else around. She pulled her wand out and aimed it at the spilt coffee on the paper. "Scourgify," she stated, hoping to clear up the mess she'd assisted in creating, before quickly putting her wand away again. "I'm most terribly sorry," she apologised, again. "I really didn't intend on startling you...well, I really didn't intend on startling anybody, it's just you happened to be in the vicinity and..." she stopped, checking herself. "Oh gosh. Listen to me, blabbering on. I'm Isolde, by the way," she said with a grin, giving a small curtsey.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris looked up again when he heard the woman speak. He forgot about the spilled coffee and looked at the woman, who was approaching him. "Oh it's not a problem. The children are used to me ruining their exams." He said with a short laugh.

Chris watched as she took her wand, he knew that it was something to expect, but it caught him off guard. He watched in amazement as water emitted from the tip of her wand. Looking at his papers he saw plain white pages instead of the stained brown ones that was there moments before hand. "Now that's a nice trick." he said.

Chris looked at the woman as she talked. She's a rambler he thought to himself. When she stopped and introduced herself Chris immediately put out his hand and said, "Pleasure to meet you Isolde." He said with a small bow. "My name is Christopher, but call be Chris." He said with a smile.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

"Likewise," Isolde said genially, smiling back at Chris. "Hope you don't mind me showing off," she motioned to where she had placed the wand in her jacket, "I just thought I'd clean up after causing such a mess. I know what it's like to stain homework and exam papers," she laughed, thinking back to all the coffee and tea she'd spilt while marking exams. "I take it you're a teacher too?" she asked, more as a statement than a question. "Oh, and forgive me if I'm annoying you. Just say the word and I'll leave you alone, I just haven't seen any other adults to speak to in a little while," she admitted, colouring slightly at that admission - that and the fact that she didn't shut up. Isolde was naturally quite a talkative person, she just couldn't help herself.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris shook his head, "Oh not at all. I love watching people perform magic, it's quite," he looked away for a moment, trying to think of the word to describe it, looking back into Isolde's eyes he said, "Mesmerising." with a smile.

Chris nodded, "Well, teaching assisant, I'm in my final year of studying for my degree." He said happily. "I just get dumped with everything the teacher is too lazy to do himself." He said with a laugh. "I take you teach up in Hogwarts." He said, pointing in the general direction of the castle.

"Oh no, not at all." Chris said quickly. "In fact, I'm happy to have the distraction." He admitted. "Would you like to join me?" He asked, pointing to the chair opposite him.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

Isolde grinned at this statement. "Well, then, I'm glad I've done something mesmerising," she said with a girlish giggle, amazed at how silly that must have sounded. Hardly like a teacher at all. I'm behaving more like a student who's just come of age, she thought to herself.

"Still, teaching assistant is pretty awesome," she said, nodding in approval. "Sometimes I wish I had an assistant to take on my jobs," she laughed. "And yeah, you're right. I teach History. What do you teach?" she asked, curious as to what Chris might teach. Her guess was Science, then again, she could have been wrong and he could be an English teacher.

"Well, if you're sure..." she muttered, taking a seat and desperately hoping she wasn't intruding too much. She was glad of the company, in any case. All she'd been intending on doing was curling up on her sofa with some good movies and some chocolate, but meeting somebody new and having a nice chat was just as relaxing, and just what she needed in her time away from the castle.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris give a small bow, "Why thank you." He said with a small grin, "Normally people don't understand the amount of work that a teaching assistant actually does." He stated, glad of some recognition of his job.

Chris smiled, "Oh, so your the new teacher Patricia mentioned." he said recalling Patricia mentioning a new History teacher on one of her letters at the beginning of the year. "Seemingly that job is somewhat," he paused and looked around to see if anyone was about. Leaning closer to Isolde he whispered, "Crused," he leaned back out to his full length, laughing at his over dramatising. "Three teacher's last year I believe?" He asked, to make sure he was correct on his facts.

"I teach Science and Maths. But Science is my main passion. Can you guess which field?" He asked, taking his glasses off and bitting one of the legs.

Chris smiled as she took the seat. Chris resummed his seating postion once again, and looked at Isolde. "Positive." He replied simply. "So," He started, "Tell me about yourself?" He asked.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

"Ah!" Isolde smiled, nodding in recognition. "Patricia Rogers, yes?" she stated. "She's a good student. One of the few second years I taught last term who actually put in a decent effort," she explained, rolling her eyes. She'd taught Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, and it was as if the Slytherins really couldn't care less. There were only a couple of Hufflepuffs, but they'd at least tried. No wonder Hufflepuff were leading in the house points. Isolde grinned. "Oh, believe me, I've heard that too. Three teachers last year, I think the students were wondering how long I was going to last. But, I don't have any intention of leaving soon," she said with a laugh, a defiant glint in her eyes.

She grinned when Chris said he taught Science and Maths. "That was my guess," she laughed. "Which field...hmmm. Physics? Or Chemistry?" she asked before biting her lip, unsure which of the two it was.

"Hmm, well, let's see now. Born in Cornwall, sent off to Hogwarts when I was eleven, did extremely well in History of Magic so basically spent a good few years travelling and avoiding getting a real job. I researched and enhanced my studies of history," she added, regally, with a wink to show she didn't really believe that. "Moved to New Zealand about a year ago and voila, here I am," she said with a shrug, smiling at Chris. "What about you? From the accent, I'm guessing you're not from around here," Isolde stated, noting his particuarly obvious Irish accent.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris nodded with a smile, "Yes, she's my sister." Chris listened to Isolde, he couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, well, that sounds like Patricia alright." He said. "But she did say it is mostly your doing that she has such interest in the subject." He added. Realising what he just said he quickly added, "But don't tell her I said that. She would kill me." He said with a laugh. Chris started to think how Patricia would actually feel that he was talking to one of her teachers, outside of school. Chris beamed, "Well I'm very happy to here that you don't want to leave anytime soon, Patricia may just loose her favorite teacher." He said with a wink. And my first friend he thought to himself.

Chris give a small nod in admiration, "Very good. My field is Chemistry but followed very closely after Physics." He said. "And then there's a bit of maths thrown in there somewhere." he said moving his hand over the papers in front of him.

Chris listened to Isolde, intrigued by her story. "Your very observant aren't you?" Chris said jokingly. "No we are from Northern Ireland. I'm just here today because the weather was depressing me and when your marking papers, it doesn't help to be depressed." He said. "Well, lets see. As I said, born and raised in Northern Ireland. Went through the whole schooling system, excelled in science and maths." He said with a hand gesture that suggested that statement was rather obvious. "Went to University in England, studied Forensic Chemistry with Chemistry and took a teaching assistant job in my old school, and currently studying for my teaching degree." he finished. He didn't bother to mention Isabella, not something you say to a person you just met.

"So any specific reason you moved to new Zealand?" He asked.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

"Ah!" Isolde responded, nodding. She noticed the similarity between the two. There seemed to be a large age gap, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. She felt a blush rising at Chris's next statement. "Oh, really? Well, I, um, try my best," she stammered, a little embarassed. "I'm glad there's someone there who likes me. Might have to start giving her bonus points," she joked, blushing a little at his wink. Would have done so before if I'd known she had such an attractive brother, she thought to herself, having to resist the urge to laugh at this.

"Nice, very nice," Isolde nodded. "Never a fan of science, but I must admit, I do quite like maths. Only the basic stuff, though, I was never very good with complicated formulas and the like," she giggled.

Isolde listened to Chris's story, smiling gently to herself. "Hah, I know how that feels," she responded, referring to the depression with marking papers. "Precicely why I decided to escape the gloomy castle for the day and come home. I hope New Zealand is a nicer working enviroment for you...much less depressing," she said, with a smile. "Sounds interesting, how long do you have left until you get your degree?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I'd be lying if I said there was," she grinned. "Just figured it was a nice change from England, somewhere interesting and new, and a growing magical community, so a chance of a job for a history buff - who, honestly, hasn't done much of worth these past few years - like me," she admitted.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris smiled to himself, amused by the idea of Isolde been embarrassed by what he just said. "Oh yeah, she definitely enjoys your classes and your a big part of it." He said with a wink. Laughing he said, "Oh she would love you for that. You should do it." He said nodding frantically.

Chris pulled a fake shocked face, "You don't like Science. Well it was nice knowing you." He said pretending to stand up, but sat right back down again, "Ah I understand. I mean I do have quite a few children who complain to me about Science everyday, so I'm used to it." He said with a shrug. "Mm, maybe I could show you sometime, if you think your up for the challenge?" He said,

Chris nodded, "Oh it's definitely less depressing. Home is just too dull." He said with a heavy sigh. "Umm let me see." He said starting to count on his fingers, looking to the sky. He moved his right index finger into the air and drew out a number 1 saying, "Carry the one." To himself. "I should graduate next summer." He said finally with a wide smile. "This year is work placement." He explained.

Chris laughed, "Well at least your honest. But they are all pretty darn good reasons." He said with a nod. He picked up his coffee mug and saw there was none left. "Could I tempt you with a cup of coffee?" He asked pointing behind him to the house. "Or do you know anywhere good in town?" He asked, interested in exploring a bit more, apart from the house and outside a bit.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

Isolde blushed. "Oh, stop it, enough flattery!" she laughed, secretly enjoying it. It wasn't often that people claimed to enjoy History of Magic. "I might just have to. I'll have to tell her that her brother put me up to it, though," she said, innocently, wondering if it was weird to be hanging out with the (attractive) older brother of one of her students. Isolde didn't really mind, however, she was enjoying herself for a change, and that was something.

"Oh, no, no!" she quickly responded, shaking her head. "It's not that I don't like science, it's just that it was never really my thing. No good at it," she explained - although she knew he was joking. "I think I'm up for a challenge," she responded, with a coy smile.

"Awww, well, at least you have this lovely place to go to," Isolde smiled. "Next summer? Ooh, nice. Good luck...not that I think you'll need it, though," she added, a slight girlish blush appearing in her cheeks.

"I'm not really familiar with the town," Isolde said, honestly, "however if you would be willing to accompany me for a walk I'm sure we could find something. I've been wanting to get out in the fresh air and go for a walk," she explained. "Unless you don't want to, that is, I mean, I understand completely if I'm distracting you from work and all," she babbled.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris chuckled, "OK, I'll stop." He said holding up his hands in surrender. Chris hung his head in a solemn manner and with a sigh, "And then she'd have to kill me." He said, shaking his head. "You wouldn't want that, now would you?" He asked jokingly.

"I'm sure you were just fine at it." He said reassuringly. Taken off guard by her willingness to take up his challenge. "OK, remind me to set you up with one of the exams I give my, um, younger students." He said with a sly smile.

Chris give a sigh, "It is nice. Too bad I can't visit as much as I'd like too." He said. "Ha! Who's the one flattering who now?" He said pretending to blush by covering his face. "But thank you nonetheless." He said with a small bow.

Chris rolled his eyes as Isolde began to babble. "No, a welcomed distraction." He said with a smile. "Shall we get lost then?" He said standing up.

 

[Isolde Glasson]

Isolde smiled brightly, looking over at Chris. It had been an awfully long time since she'd had a chance to sit and relax and have a conversation, without having to think about students or classes or grading. Before that, she'd rarely had the opportunity to speak to anyone else. "Yes, let's get lost," she grinned, standing up as well.