Summoned, I come

[Finley Mackintosh Baros]

Finley was a little nervous, which wasn't something he could usually say about himself. But since he was standing out front of the Charms Office and he really didn't know why (other than the note he'd received to come here), he figured that was probably a good thing to be a little nervous about. See the problem was that he'd been half way through reading the note when Lemon had apparently gotten upset with the lack of attention she was being paid and she'd jumped up and eaten it out of his hands, so if she'd stated a reason for him to be here, he hadn't gotten to that part yet. Was he in trouble? He didn't know what he'd done to justify getting into trouble, and if he was in trouble, why wasn't he seeing Professor Cade and not Professor Grayveson? It was a bit confusing for sure. His last few lessons had gone well - better than usual, even. He hadn’t blown anything up, accidentally set anything on fire, or caused anyone to sprout feathers (all incidents from his earlier years, admittedly). Yet, here he was, summoned to the professor’s office with no explanation. "Uhm, professor?" He called out, not even sure he wanted to knock on her door. "You wanted to see me about something?" Couldn't he have at least brought Miles or Adrien with him?​

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory was cleaning up her office- she was going to pick up Peter tomorrow, and wanted everything in place for when she got back. She'd already gotten most of it done, and was currently just dusting, when there was a voice from the door. She stopped, waving open the door. "Hi, Finley? Come on in," She smiled, moving to sit down as the tea began to brew. "Shut the door behind you, don't want the cats getting out," She chuckled, relaxing in her chair. "Thanks for stopping in."

 

[Finley Mackintosh Baros]

He hadn't really thought this far ahead. Okay so maybe he shouldn't have said what he'd said to Angelo, but what was he supposed to say, he'd said he wanted to trim his wand! What if no one had said anything and then he'd gone and done it? What would have happened? Would he get expelled for cutting off the top of his wand? Was that destruction of property? He didn't even know and now he never would know (which was a good thing) because he hadn't let Angelo do it. So he stepped into the room, careful to avoid any cats that might try to get past him and then shut the door behind him. "I'm sorry I've been late to class, it's really not my fault, I keep forgetting to actually wake up and then when I finally do it's usually half way through class!"​

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory blinked, and smiled softly. "Finley, please," She motioned again for him to sit. "Calm down. You aren't in trouble. While I may invest in getting a watch for you, I didn't summon you here to scold you." She tucked her legs up under her. "Didn't you read my note?" She questioned gently. "Sapphire sent me a letter, asking me to look after you while you're here," She reiterated. "She and I are cousins. Your father is worried, and in an effort to soothe that, Sapphire promised to reach out."

 

[Finley Mackintosh Baros]

He eyed her suspiciously unsure why she would have asked him to randomly come to her office if it wasn't for any trouble he'd caused, he wasn't stupid after all. She could clearly see him in class. He did take a seat though, not really sure what else to do in the situation. "Well, I would have, but Lemon ate it, and it got all ruined and then I couldn't read it so I just figured I would come and see what it was about." He wasn't sure why this woman had been asked to look after him when his Step dad was literally at the other end of the school. His dad was so weird sometimes. "Huh... well, I don't know why he would do that, seems weird. I don't even know you... no offence Professor." Truth be told, Ben was not his professor yet, so he wasn't sure what the man could or would do, and Professor Grayveson was, she was at least teaching him this year whereas he wouldn't run into Ben in classes for a couple more years yet. Maybe his dad was covering all his bases. "I don't really need a babysitter, professor."​

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory nodded. Ah, pets. They were adorable and pesky and worth every bit of love poured into them. She chuckled softly at his words. "Oh, I'm not offering to babysit you," She countered. "I feel like you'll grow more on your own without me hovering. But just to appease your father, and to offer a safe place like I do all my students, what do you say to tea once a week or so? Or hot chocolate if you'd prefer. You can stop in, sit with me for fifteen or so minutes, more if you'd like, and just tell me about your week. I'll write to Sapphire, she'll probably tell your dad the same things you're already telling him, and maybe he won't worry so much. And you get some free drinks out of it."

 

[Finley Mackintosh Baros]

If free drinks were really on offer, who was he to say no? "Well, that's more than my step-dad offered, not that he didn't offer me anything at all," when he'd stopped in to see Ben, he'd said he could drop by and help out whenever he wanted, so that was nice and about what he expected from the man, he always seemed so concerned about stepping in where he wasn't necessarily able. Finley got the feeling that his dad and Ben didn't really get along, though he'd never specifically seen them interact so he wasn't sure why he felt like that. "I mean, if you're offering free drinks..."​

 

[Professor Mallory Grayveson]

Mallory blinked. "Your step dad?" She asked. Sapphire hadn't mentioned a step father in the letter she'd recieved. "Is he here at the school?" She tried to go over Professors in her mind, but the best that did was tell her who it wasn't. She shook her head- trying to clear it. Finley would tell her if he wanted, it wasn't exactly her business either way. She just smiled at him, chuckling at his statement. "I am offering free drinks. What's your favorite? I like tea, myself."

 

[Finley Mackintosh Baros]

He nodded when the professor asked if his step-dad was at the school. “Yeah, Ben Kaster, he’s the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, married to my mum,” he wasn’t sure he needed to explain that because she probably could have figured it out herself but oh well. “I don’t see him much coz I live with Dad, but he’s nice to me, I have two half sisters,” he added, because even though the triplets were his siblings by blood, they were cousins technically because no one outside of the immediate family knew about that arrangement. Even Finley didn’t fully understand it, they were just cousins to him. “I secretly think he got a job here because mum wanted to keep an eye on me,” he whispered conspiratorially to her - no one seemed to trust him, it was a bit annoying actually. “I like… hmm,” what did he like? “Chocolate milk!”​